In the previous article on postmortems, we covered the basics of a postmortem: when it occurs, why it should be done, and who should attend. In this article I will dive more deeply into what exactly goes into a postmortem.

What goes into a postmortem?
Whoever is scheduling the postmortem needs to come prepared with an agenda. This should obviously be happening for all meetings, but it's especially important for a postmortem. Many times a postmortem will go off on tangents, so as the organizer of the meeting, you need to make sure you cover all the items within the time allowed, and this will help you keep people the meeting on track. Before the meeting, send out questions to be delivered back to you, then use the those questions to customize the agenda and send it it out a couple of days before the meeting.

Start by looking at the planning phase of the project. Items like:

• Initial conception (maybe even compare to final deliverable)
• Risks that were identified (or not) up front
• Adherence to the schedule
• Accuracy of estimates

Address the process throughout the project. Cover items such as:

• Were tasks coordinated and sequenced correctly?
• Did we miss any steps in the process?
• Were tasks with a higher priority identified?
• Did we find that certain steps in the process took longer than originally thought? Did this cause the project to slip?
• Were JIRAs assigned for tasks on the project? Was the information in them detailed and accurate? (Due dates, detailed instructions, commenting, etc)
• Was the project schedule kept up to date throughout the project?
• Did we address out-of-scope items appropriately?

Cover communication within as well as outside the internal team.

• Did the group hold weekly status meetings?
• Did the different groups respect each other’s expertise?
• Were there difficulties coming to a consensus on key decisions?
• Were there any issues communicating with third party groups or the client?
• Were stakeholders kept in the loop regarding changes to features?
• Did the group receive regular minutes after meetings?
• Were the goals of the project communicated clearly to the team?
• Were team members accessible to everyone to help answer questions?

If necessary, talk about team members and their roles.

• Was your role clearly defined on the project?
• Was it clear who had decision-making power at every level?
• Did the PM have someone to perform all the functions necessary for a successful project?

In part three of Successful Postmortems I will go through the items you should avoid in a postmortem and more importantly, the action items that you need to define, assign, and execute on.