Understand the Post-Mortem
A post-mortem is a team meeting that takes place after the project has ended. It’s a chance for you and your team to attempt to analyze what went well and what could have been improved.
This is not a meeting where you point the finger or assign blame. It’s for reaching a consensus on what worked and what didn’t work, all within a supportive atmosphere so that valuable lessons can be learned for the future.
A post-mortem should include the entire project team. It’s a collective learning experience where everyone can contribute and benefit from constructive lessons.
Why do a port-mortem?
A post-mortem is very useful if you want to learn from your experience. It’s a chance to reflect critically on your methods and performance in order to find ways to improve.
This can lead to tangible improvements in future projects and foster teamwork.
Carrying out a post-mortem requires planning skills and sensitivity. You need to organize a meeting where everyone feels comfortable sharing their opinions and feelings about the project.
Run an Effective Post-Mortem
Here are some steps to help you run an effective post-mortem:
Prepare for the meeting: Think about the format, timing, tools, and subjects you will want to cover in the meeting.
Call the meeting: Invite all relevant project team members and stakeholders.
Encourage participation: Ensure that everyone feels comfortable speaking openly.
Note the important points: Keep track of the ideas, concerns, and suggestions raised.
Write a report: After the meeting, summarize the conclusions and create a report with improvement actions to implement.
In practical terms, you first need to choose a meeting type: synchronous or asynchronous.
Synchronous: The advantage of this method is that everyone is there at the same time, which can facilitate communication and engagement. However, this can be difficult to organize, particularly if the team is spread across different time zones.
Asynchronous: This method lets everyone reflect and respond in their own time, which can encourage more thoughtful and detailed responses. However, this can lead to a loss of immediacy or momentum because responses might trickle in over time.
Once you’ve chosen your meeting type, you can use the keep drop start approach:
Keep: List all aspects of the project that went well.
Drop: Identify the aspects that didn’t work and should be dropped or changed to be more effective.
Start: Suggest new activities or methods that weren’t used on the current project but that could contribute to future improvements.
After completing the “keep drop start” retrospective, it’s time to discuss all of the points raised with the team in a supportive environment. You can take notes during these discussions and create a plan of action for the future.
Finally, provide a nice closing for the meeting and thank your team for joining you on this shared adventure!
Over to You!
Background
You’ve just received a post-mortem summary from your team members for the completed project. Seeking to continuously improve the process, you need to analyze their feedback and plan actions for future projects.
Instructions
Your task involves completing the “keep drop start” kanban board with actions designed to improve the project process. Use the information provided by your team as a basis.
Keep: List all aspects of the project that went well and that you’d like to retain for future projects.
Drop: Identify the aspects that didn’t work and should be dropped or changed to be more effective.
Start: Suggest new activities or processes that weren’t used on the current project but that could contribute to future improvements.
The post-mortem summary is available in Notion. This includes specific details and team feedback.
Complete the Kanban: For each category (keep, drop, start), indicate the corresponding activities in the kanban.
At the end of this exercise, you’ll have a well-defined kanban board that will guide you through the improvements and adjustments required for future projects that align with the lessons learned from the team.
Let’s Recap
Invite all team members and stakeholders, encourage open participation, and create a report containing details of conclusions and improvement actions.
Use the post-mortem as a learning tool to understand what went well and what could be improved to help refine and optimize future processes.
Use this meeting to reinforce trust, openness, and collaboration within the team and to recognize and commend everyone’s work.
Identify and analyze problems, suggest improvements, and take responsibility for implementing effective changes.
Assess the pros and cons of each type of meeting (e.g., synchronous allows direct engagement, asynchronous allows more thinking time) and choose the most appropriate approach.
And that’s it! We made it to the end of the course! I really hope it met your expectations. You made the right decision to invest in yourself, because quality performance depends on solid preparation. Stay confident in your abilities and your teams. Persevere despite the obstacles, because you are capable of achieving amazing things! In the meantime, I wish you all the best for the future, and I hope to see you again someday!
