Post mortem Meetings

Anup Joshi

November 25, 2016

Objectives
• What is a Post Mortem meeting?

• Why is it important?

• The process

• Mock presentation

• Do’s and Don’ts

• Conclusion
What is a Post Mortem meeting
• Aftermath of a project
• Usually done 1-2 weeks after completion of the
project
• Detailed analysis of the do’s and don'ts

A smart man learns from his mistakes.

A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

-Anonymous
Why is it important?
• Learn from past experience
• Carefully analyze a project after completion
• Determine which existing methods to follow/unfollow
• Give closure to a project
The process
• Duration: The postmortem should be anywhere from 2 hours to one entire day.
• Room: The room should contain a round or oval shaped table so that everybody is
‘equal’. Reserve the room at least one week in advance.
• Preparation: Send out the agenda (this checklist/framework) one week prior to the date
of the postmortem meeting
• Deadline: Request that participants email in their issues at least two days before the
meeting.
The process (contd..)
• Focus: Stick to matters related to process. Stick to the issues and not attribute blame.
• Time Limits: Keep each topic limited to about five minutes.
• Facilitator: A neutral person should facilitate the postmortem to ensure that participants
stay on focused, do not argue, etc.
• Recorder: Somebody should be selected as the note-taker for the postmortem meeting
The process (contd..)
• Writer: Somebody should be selected to compile the notes, and write up a
Recommendation Report summarizing the key points derived from the postmortem
meeting.
• The Ugly: What went badly (discuss as walk through agenda items)?
• The Bad: What should be done differently (discuss as walk through agenda items)?
• The Good: What went well (discuss as walk through agenda items)?
Mock Presentation Agenda
• Post Mortem on release of XYZ 2017 version
• Timing: 28-11-2016, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
• Meeting Room 3
• Purpose: To discuss the complete aspects of the project of XYZ ‘17
• Objective: To conclude the project release and discuss the positives and negatives
• Participants:
– Sajitha Jayaprakash (Project manager)
– M. Manohar, Rehan B (Dev team)
– Mukund K, Kartik S (QA team)
– Vaishali T, Faizan C (Documentation team)
Mock Presentation Agenda (contd..)
• Revisit goals and responsibilities.
• Explain the goals of the post-mortem.
• Present project summary.
• Present a summary of the project, project stage, or key milestones.
• Identify accomplishments and contributions.
• Identify those project or milestone items that the team members think worked well.
• Hold group discussion.
• Identify problem areas.
• Identify those project or milestone items that the team members did not think worked
well.
Timeline for the project
Dev team
May 2016 August 2016 28th October 2016
Planning stage Beta release of software. GA release of software
completed. 80% completion 20% + QA errors from
Dev process start expected. previous 80% expected.

QA team
May 2016 August 2016
28th October 2016
Coordination with the Complete reviewing
Complete QA for the
dev teams for of 80% dev work for
final GA release.
updates on release errors with reports.

Doc team
August 2016 28th October 2016
May 2016 Beta release of GA release of software
Initiate the doc process software. Mention functionalities
along with Dev team 80% completion which could not be
expected. completed
Mock Presentation
• Accomplishments

Goals for XYZ ‘17 release

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Functionality A Functionality B Functionality C Functionality D Functionality E Functionality F Functionality G Functionality H

Achieved Target
Do’s and Don'ts in a post mortem meeting
• Let everyone contribute what-ever they think interesting.
• Give everyone be given the opportunity to speak.
• It should be a no blame meeting, everyone is here to learn model.
• This is not a place to vent, place blame, argue, etc.
• The purpose is to generate a recommendation report for other colleagues, and future
projects.
Do’s and Don'ts in a post mortem meeting (contd..)
• Do not use the comments and concerns raised in this meeting against participants in
reviews, etc.
• Lay the ground rules for the discussion. Do not interrupt or attack other participants, etc.
• Set expectations that if anyone is out of line. Correct them.
• Establish the role of the recorder.
Post mortem report
After the meeting is concluded a report should be created considering the following
points:

• Identification
• Project, project stage, or key milestone name
• Document identification number
• Post mortem Facilitator
• Project or Project Stage Manager
• Date of post mortem
• Post mortem method (meeting or written questionnaire)
Post mortem report (contd..)
• Project Summary
• Summary of the project, project stage, or key milestone, including begin and end dates
and work performed.
• Accomplishments
• Detailed list of each accomplishment identified.
• Problem Areas
• Detailed list of each problem area identified.
• Action Items
• Detailed list of all action items generated to resolve the problem areas.
Recap