You’ve probably been involved in any project and know that things don’t always go according to plan. Even if your project was completed on time and within budget, there are still ways you can improve the way you run it.
A project post-mortem meeting is the best way to evaluate your work. (For those who feel a certain way when you hear the term post-mortem, it’s also known as a retrospective meeting).
Let’s take a closer view at what a post-mortem meeting in project management looks like.
What is a post-mortem in project management?
A project post-mortem is a meeting that takes place at the end of a project. It allows the team to review the successes and challenges. There are many ways to conduct this meeting. However, the primary goal of any post-mortem project is to find better ways to collaborate.
This post will give you the tools to prepare for, conduct, and follow-up on your own post-mortem project meetings.
Benefits of project post-mortem discussions
How to prepare for a post-mortem project
How to manage a project after a post-mortem meeting
How to write a post-mortem for your project
Get started by downloading our Google Sheets post-mortem report template.
Benefits of project post-mortem discussions
Although many teams are aware of the importance of post-mortems and appreciate their value, they don’t always take the time to conduct them. There are many reasons to skip project post-mortem meetings. These include being too busy, not having enough money, or not knowing how to properly run a meeting.
The organization is at the heart of everything. To conduct a post-mortem project, you need support. Companies must invest in processes and efficiency. Talk to your leaders about the benefits of project post-mortems.
Increase efficiency: You will discover better ways to approach tasks or projects.
Increase morale: Your team will be closer together if they can talk about problems and celebrate wins. This will help them get excited about the next project.
Your team will be more effective when they listen to all perspectives.
Learn from your mistakes: This is a time for you to look at what went wrong and to find better ways to approach your projects moving forward.
Provide closure: This meeting can be one step to officially close the books on projects.
Information can be shared internally: By sharing the outcomes of meetings with other members of your organization, you will inform better practices and foster a dialogue about how you work within your company (not just with your colleagues).
Celebrate the successes. It’s not just a meeting to discuss the negatives.
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Get your free plan. How to prepare for a post-mortem project
There are many ways to conduct a postmortem meeting. Here are a few. As you may already know, it is important to have a plan for how you will approach the meeting before you jump in. Informal gatherings are great for identifying issues. To get the most out your time, a project post-mortem needs to be more organized.
1. Post-mortem meeting agenda: Organize your project
Prior to launching into a post-mortem, make sure you have sorted out the most important points. To maximize your time and maximize your productivity, get your team’s feedback first before you organize your meeting agenda.
Discuss “what worked” and what didn’t in your post-mortem meeting agenda.
