Postmortem Process Guide

Overview

A postmortem is a structured review of an incident to identify root causes, learn from mistakes, and improve processes. This template ensures consistency in capturing key details, diagnostics, and follow-ups for continuous improvement.

Steps to Run a Postmortem

1. Gather Key Stakeholders

   • SRE Lead
   • Developer Lead
   • Incident Manager
   • Any other relevant team members

2. Prepare Data and Timeline

   • Collect logs, metrics, and alerts related to the incident.
   • Compile a timeline of key events during the incident.

3. Conduct the Postmortem Meeting

   • Walk through the incident timeline.
   • Discuss root causes and contributing factors.
   • Identify lessons learned and areas for improvement.
   • Use the "Open Questions" section to clarify unresolved aspects.

4. Document the Postmortem

   • Use the postmortem-template.md to record findings.
   • Assign follow-up action items with owners and deadlines.

5. Review and Publish

   • Share the postmortem report with relevant teams and stakeholders.
   • Update any public status pages if necessary.

6. Track Follow-ups

   • Ensure action items are completed within the due dates.
   • Incorporate feedback from retrospective reviews into future incident management processes.

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Usage

1. Copy the postmortem-template.md into a new file (e.g., postmortem-incident-YYYY-MM-DD.md).
2. Fill out each section based on the postmortem meeting discussions.
3. Submit the report to the relevant repository for documentation and tracking.