In project management, learning from past experiences is a crucial aspect of continuous improvement.
One of the most effective ways to facilitate this learning process is post-mortem meetings.
This guide will provide an in-depth look at post-mortem meetings, their importance, and how they differ from retrospectives. It will also offer best practices for conducting these meetings and provide examples of their use in large teams.
Definition of a Post-Mortem Meeting
A post-mortem meeting, also known as a project post-mortem, is a structured review process conducted after a project’s completion.
The primary goal of this meeting is to identify what went well, what went wrong, and what could be improved for future projects.
This reflective meeting allows teams to learn from their experiences and apply these lessons to future endeavors.
Background Overview
Post-mortem meetings have been used for many years in various industries, particularly in software development, engineering, and project management.
These meetings are an integral part of the project lifecycle, providing a platform for teams to reflect on their performance and identify areas for improvement.
They are typically conducted at the end of a project, but can also be held after significant project milestones.
Why and When to Use Post-Mortem Meetings
Post-mortem meetings foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within a team or organization.
They are particularly useful when a project has been challenging, deviated significantly from its initial plan, or has not met its objectives.
By conducting a post-mortem meeting, teams can gain valuable insights into their processes, identify gaps in their skills or resources, and develop strategies to improve their performance in future projects.
Benefits of Post-Mortem Meetings
Post-mortem meetings offer numerous benefits.
They promote transparency and open communication within a team, allowing members to express their thoughts and feelings about a project in a safe and structured environment.
They also foster a culture of accountability, as team members are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.
Furthermore, post-mortem meetings provide valuable insights that can be used to improve future projects, enhancing the team’s overall performance and productivity.
How Post-Mortem Meetings Differ from Retrospectives
While post-mortem meetings and retrospectives are reflective processes, the two have critical differences.
- Timing: Post-mortem meetings are conducted after a project’s completion, while retrospectives are typically held at regular intervals throughout the project lifecycle.
- Scope: Post-mortem meetings focus on the project as a whole, while retrospectives often concentrate on specific sprints or phases.
- Purpose: Post-mortem meetings aim to identify lessons learned for future projects, while retrospectives aim to improve the current project.
- Participants: Post-mortem meetings usually involve all project stakeholders, while retrospectives are often limited to the project team.
- Focus: Post-mortem meetings focus more on the project outcomes, while retrospectives concentrate more on the team’s processes and dynamics.
- Documentation: Post-mortem meetings often result in a formal report, while retrospectives may not require formal documentation.
- Frequency: Post-mortem meetings are less frequent and occur only at the end of a project, while retrospectives can occur multiple times within a project.
- Outcome: Post-mortem meetings aim to produce a set of recommendations for future projects, while retrospectives aim to create actionable items for the next sprint or phase.
- Perspective: Post-mortem meetings often take a broader perspective, considering external factors that may have impacted the project, while retrospectives focus more on internal team dynamics.
- Structure: Post-mortem meetings are usually more structured, with a formal agenda and predefined questions, while retrospectives can be more flexible and open-ended.
Best Practices for Post-Mortem Meetings
- Plan the meeting: Ensure that the meeting is scheduled well in advance and that all relevant stakeholders are invited.
- Set a clear agenda: Provide a clear structure for the meeting, with predefined questions and topics to guide the discussion.
- Foster an open and safe environment: Encourage all participants to share their thoughts and feelings openly, without fear of judgment or criticism.
- Focus on learning, not blaming: The goal of the meeting should be to learn from the project, not to assign blame for any failures or mistakes.
- Use a facilitator: A neutral facilitator can help guide the discussion and ensure that all voices are heard.
- Document the discussion: Record the critical points of the debate, including the lessons learned and recommendations for future projects.
- Follow up on the meeting: Ensure that the meeting’s outcomes are communicated to all relevant stakeholders and that any recommendations are implemented in future projects.
- Review past post-mortems: Before starting a new project, review the post-mortem reports from previous projects to ensure that past lessons are not forgotten.
- Use a structured approach: Use a structured approach, such as the “what went well, what went wrong, what could be improved” framework, to guide the discussion.
- Reflect on the process: At the end of the meeting, take some time to reflect on the post-mortem process itself and identify any ways in which it could be improved.
Examples of Using Post-Mortem Meetings in Large Teams
- After completing a significant software development project, a large tech company conducts a post-mortem meeting to identify the lessons learned and develop recommendations for future projects.
- A multinational corporation uses post-mortem meetings to review its global marketing campaigns, identifying what worked well and could be improved.
- Following a significant product launch, a large manufacturing company holds a post-mortem meeting to review the launch process and identify any areas for improvement.
- After a significant organizational change, a large non-profit organization conducts a post-mortem meeting to reflect on the change process and learn from the experience.
- A large healthcare provider uses post-mortem meetings to review its response to a public health crisis, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of its response and developing strategies for future crises.
- Following a significant event, a large event management company holds a post-mortem meeting to review the event planning and execution process and identify any areas for improvement.
- After a large construction project is completed, a construction company conducts a post-mortem meeting to review it and identify lessons learned.
- A large government agency uses post-mortem meetings to review its policy implementation processes, identifying what worked well and could be improved.
With 30+ years of experience, Catherine Fitzgerald, B.A., M.A., PGDip, founded Oak Innovation in 1995. Catherine received her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s from University College Cork. She holds qualifications in Professional Development And Training from University College Galway. She is completing a second Master’s from University College Cork. Since 1995, clients include Apple, Time Warner, and Harvard University.
