Postmortem Writing

---
version: 4.1.0-fractal
name: postmortem-writing
description: Write effective blameless postmortems with root cause analysis, timelines, and action items. Use when conducting incident reviews, writing postmortem documents, or improving incident response processes.
---

# Postmortem Writing

Comprehensive guide to writing effective, blameless postmortems that drive organizational learning and prevent incident recurrence.

## Do not use this skill when

- The task is unrelated to postmortem writing
- You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

## Instructions

- Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
- Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
- Provide actionable steps and verification.
- If detailed examples are required, open `resources/implementation-playbook.md`.

## Use this skill when

- Conducting post-incident reviews
- Writing postmortem documents
- Facilitating blameless postmortem meetings
- Identifying root causes and contributing factors
- Creating actionable follow-up items
- Building organizational learning culture

## Core Concepts

## 🧠 Knowledge Modules (Fractal Skills)

### 1. [1. Blameless Culture](./sub-skills/1-blameless-culture.md)
### 2. [2. Postmortem Triggers](./sub-skills/2-postmortem-triggers.md)
### 3. [Postmortem Timeline](./sub-skills/postmortem-timeline.md)
### 4. [Template 1: Standard Postmortem](./sub-skills/template-1-standard-postmortem.md)
### 5. [What Happened](./sub-skills/what-happened.md)
### 6. [Why It Happened](./sub-skills/why-it-happened.md)
### 7. [System Diagram](./sub-skills/system-diagram.md)
### 8. [What Worked](./sub-skills/what-worked.md)
### 9. [What Didn't Work](./sub-skills/what-didnt-work.md)
### 10. [Detection Gap](./sub-skills/detection-gap.md)
### 11. [What Worked](./sub-skills/what-worked.md)
### 12. [What Could Be Improved](./sub-skills/what-could-be-improved.md)
### 13. [Customer Impact](./sub-skills/customer-impact.md)
### 14. [Business Impact](./sub-skills/business-impact.md)
### 15. [Technical Impact](./sub-skills/technical-impact.md)
### 16. [What Went Well](./sub-skills/what-went-well.md)
### 17. [What Went Wrong](./sub-skills/what-went-wrong.md)
### 18. [Where We Got Lucky](./sub-skills/where-we-got-lucky.md)
### 19. [Supporting Data](./sub-skills/supporting-data.md)
### 20. [Related Incidents](./sub-skills/related-incidents.md)
### 21. [References](./sub-skills/references.md)
### 22. [Template 2: 5 Whys Analysis](./sub-skills/template-2-5-whys-analysis.md)
### 23. [Why #1: Why did the service fail?](./sub-skills/why-1-why-did-the-service-fail.md)
### 24. [Why #2: Why were database connections exhausted?](./sub-skills/why-2-why-were-database-connections-exhausted.md)
### 25. [Why #3: Why did the code bypass the connection pool?](./sub-skills/why-3-why-did-the-code-bypass-the-connection-pool.md)
### 26. [Why #4: Why wasn't this caught in code review?](./sub-skills/why-4-why-wasnt-this-caught-in-code-review.md)
### 27. [Why #5: Why isn't there a safety net for this type of change?](./sub-skills/why-5-why-isnt-there-a-safety-net-for-this-type-of-change.md)
### 28. [Template 3: Quick Postmortem (Minor Incidents)](./sub-skills/template-3-quick-postmortem-minor-incidents.md)
### 29. [Running a Postmortem Meeting](./sub-skills/running-a-postmortem-meeting.md)
### 30. [1. Opening (5 min)](./sub-skills/1-opening-5-min.md)
### 31. [2. Timeline Review (15 min)](./sub-skills/2-timeline-review-15-min.md)
### 32. [3. Analysis Discussion (20 min)](./sub-skills/3-analysis-discussion-20-min.md)
### 33. [4. Action Items (15 min)](./sub-skills/4-action-items-15-min.md)
### 34. [5. Closing (5 min)](./sub-skills/5-closing-5-min.md)
### 35. [Do's](./sub-skills/dos.md)
### 36. [Don'ts](./sub-skills/donts.md)