postmortem

To conduct a blameless postmortem, analyze the incident impact, reconstruct the timeline, and perform root cause analysis using the 5 Whys to identify systemic contributing factors and define SMART action items.

The 5 Whys root cause analysis method is an iterative interrogative technique used during incident response to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a problem to identify its systemic root cause.

You classify incident severity levels for SRE postmortems using SEV-1 through SEV-4 classification guidelines, which categorize impact severity to ensure the response and documentation match the incident's urgency.

Yes, you can use this structured template for SEV-1 through SEV-4 incident documentation because it includes a comprehensive review checklist and severity classification guidelines covering impact, timeline, RCA, and action items.

The best way to define SMART action items during root cause analysis is to ensure they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, directly addressing the systemic contributing factors identified.

You should not use a blameless postmortem approach if your goal is assigning individual blame rather than uncovering systemic issues, as the process specifically emphasizes systemic failures and structural contributing factors over individual mistakes.