Most post-mortems produce a document nobody reads and three lessons nobody applies. The team vents for an hour, someone types 'communication could improve,' and the next program repeats the failure on schedule.
This template is structured around the only output that matters: what changes, owned by whom, due when. The timeline and the what-worked sections exist to feed that last table, not to be the deliverable.
What's inside
A timeline, not a blame line
What happened, in order, with impact. Facts first; the causes argue themselves once the sequence is visible.
What worked gets equal billing
Teams repeat failures because they only study failures. The things that worked are decisions too: keep doing them, on purpose.
Changes with owners and dates
The output table has three columns: the change, the owner, the due date. If it has no owner, it is a wish, not a change.
How to use it
- Fill the timeline before the meeting, not during it. Facts gathered in the room arrive pre-spun.
- Run the session blameless: causes, not culprits. The moment it becomes a trial, the information stops.
- Leave with 3 to 5 changes, each with a name and a date.
- Check those changes at the next program's kickoff. That loop is the entire point.
When you outgrow the free version
The full Post-Mortem Tool ($39) adds the blameless facilitation guide and the 90-minute agenda. It pairs with the Pre-Mortem Tool ($39): predict the failure at kickoff, audit the prediction at closeout. Both together in the Pre/Post-Mortem Pair ($49).
Questions PMs ask
Is this really free?
Yes. Email in, file out, unsubscribe anytime. No card.
What does the $39 Post-Mortem Tool add?
The blameless facilitation guide: the 90-minute agenda, the scripts for the awkward moments (the retro that starts hunting for a person, the exec who wants a culprit), and the severity clustering worksheet. The free file is the artifact; the paid one teaches you to run the room.
Is this the same as an agile retro?
No. Sprint retros are team-level and recurring. This is for program-level closeouts and major milestones: bigger scope, executive participation, decisions that change how the next program runs.