Incident postmortem template
Learn from what broke, without looking for someone to blame.
- Stage
- Test
- Sections
- 8
- Updated
How to fill it in
- 1Say what broke, and for how long.
- 2Write the timeline in order.
- 3Ask why until you reach a cause.
- 4Turn each action into an owned task.
Blameless: describe what the system and the process allowed, not who was at fault.
Summary
What broke, who was affected and for how long, in two or three sentences.
Impact
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Started | |
| Detected | |
| Resolved | |
| Who was affected | |
| Severity |
Timeline
- Time — what happened, what we saw, what we did
Root cause
The chain of causes, down to the one that, if it had been removed, would have prevented this.
What went well
What went badly
Where we got lucky
Actions
- Owner — action — by when
What’s inside 8
- Summary
- Impact
- Timeline
- Root cause
- What went well
- What went badly
- Where we got lucky
- Actions
Where to find it
In Kanso, add a page and pick this template, or type / in any doc.
Read the guide: How to write a blameless incident postmortem
Questions
One that looks at what the system and the process allowed to happen instead of who made the mistake, so people are honest about failures.
More templates
All templates
Use the incident postmortem in Kanso.
Free does not expire. No card required.