How to take notes for a post mortem

During a post-mortem, a team gathers to review a project or event, discussing what went well, what went wrong, and how to improve in the future. Notes are taken to document key points, action items, and decisions made during the meeting.

These notes are typically shared with all team members involved in the project, as well as stakeholders, to ensure transparency and accountability. They may also be used as a reference for future post-mortems or to track progress on action items.

Good post-mortem notes are detailed, objective, and include all relevant information about the incident, including the timeline of events, root causes, and action items for prevention in the future.

1. A short summary of the incident or project: what happened, who was affected, and how serious it was.
2. A timeline of events, from the first sign of trouble to the resolution, with dates and times.
3. The impact, such as downtime, affected customers, missed deadlines, or lost revenue.
4. The root causes and contributing factors, not just the immediate trigger.
5. Any additional context that helps explain what happened, such as logs, metrics, alerts, or customer reports.

Post-mortem notes: Key items

• Incident summary: A few sentences on what happened give anyone reading the notes the context they need.
• Timeline: Recording when the issue started, when it was detected, and when it was resolved shows where response time was lost.
• Impact: Documenting who and what was affected helps the team judge severity and prioritize fixes.
• Root cause: Understanding why the issue happened is essential for preventing it from happening again.
• Contributing factors: Noting gaps in process, tooling, or communication shows what made the problem worse.
• What went well: Recording what worked helps the team keep doing it next time.
• Response actions: Documenting the steps taken to detect and fix the issue helps evaluate how well the response worked.
• Action items: Giving each follow-up an owner and a due date makes sure prevention work actually happens.
• Communication: Recording who was notified, such as customers, leadership, or partners, and when, shows whether the right people heard in time.

Common mistakes in taking post-mortem notes (and how to avoid them)

• Not documenting all relevant information: Failing to record all key details can lead to incomplete or inaccurate records.
• Using vague or ambiguous language: Clear, precise language is essential for ensuring findings and conclusions are easily understood.
• Failing to follow a standardized format: Without a structured approach, important details may be overlooked or recorded in a disorganized manner.
• Not including a clear summary or conclusion: Every post-mortem should include a summary outlining findings and conclusions.
• Assigning blame: Post-mortems work best when they focus on processes and systems, not individuals, so people feel safe sharing what really happened.

Avoid these mistakes:

• Automatically record all relevant information discussed during the meeting to ensure no key details are missed.
• Use AI-powered technology to generate detailed and clear notes, avoiding vague or ambiguous language.
• Follow a standardized format for meeting notes, keeping information organized and easy to interpret.
• Automatically assign action items based on the discussion, summarizing tasks clearly.
• Integrate with various apps like HubSpot, Slack, and Salesforce to easily share notes and update relevant platforms.

How do we make sure that follow ups for my post mortem actually happen?

After a post-mortem, follow-ups may include implementing changes based on findings, conducting additional investigations, and sharing results with relevant stakeholders. These steps help ensure that lessons learned are applied effectively and prevent similar issues in the future.

Here are some examples of what you can use Circleback to automate:

• Automatically send meeting notes and action items to all team members involved in the project for review and follow-up.
• Integrate with Zapier to create a Zap that updates a Trello board with action items from the post-mortem meeting.
• Send meeting data to HTTP endpoints to update a project management tool like Asana with key insights and next steps.
• Log the meeting and its action items on the HubSpot deal or contact.
• Automatically update Salesforce opportunities and contacts with any action items or tasks assigned during the meeting.