The post-mortem problem

Post-mortems in software engineering often fall short because they are treated as compliance documents rather than meaningful communication tools. The text argues that post-mortems should focus on storytelling and specificity, involving honest accounts of incidents while avoiding blame. Writing should occur soon after an incident to capture raw insights, as this helps in understanding the nuances of what happened. The document criticizes the cultural tendency to see post-mortems as punitive, suggesting instead that they should be actionable and informative, with a focus on learning from events rather than merely documenting them. It also discusses the nuanced role of AI in the post-mortem process, advocating for AI to assist with preliminary tasks, while humans should handle the crucial analysis to extract meaningful lessons. Emphasis is placed on making post-mortem writing a habitual, constructive part of engineering culture, rather than an onerous task, to ensure that these documents serve their intended purpose of fostering improvement and understanding.

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