How to Write Post-Mortems That Are Actually Useful and Get Read

A well-written post-mortem should be readable by anyone, including those not present during the incident, and must clearly convey a timeline, quantified impact, and concrete action items. Dr. Samson Tanimawo outlines a five-part structure covering a brief summary, precise UTC timestamps, measurable impact, root cause analysis, and assigned action items with due dates. He emphasizes that root cause investigations should go beyond 'human error' to examine why the system allowed a mistake to reach production. Post-mortems should be written honestly, including embarrassing details, as sanitized reports offer little value for learning. Storing them in a searchable archive and referencing them in future design reviews helps teams build lasting institutional memory.