postmortem

Draft structured postmortems for production bugs with root causes and preventive measures.

4.3k|870|Updated Jan 10, 2015
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp --skill postmortem-dotnet
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: postmortem
Source: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/tree/main/.github/skills/postmortem
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp --skill postmortem-dotnet

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Enables teams to write a structured postmortem for production bugs that reached users, capturing the root cause and actionable lessons to prevent recurrence.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Structured template: Follows a consistent outline (Summary, Error Manifestation, Root Cause, Why It Escaped, Fix, Timeline, Prevention) to document incidents.
  • Rationale and learning: Ensures the design flaw or invariants violated are clearly explained for future implementors.
  • Governance and linking: Checks for existing postmortems and links to related docs or PRs to avoid duplication and to aid traceability.

Quick Start

Draft the postmortem following the prescribed sections and link it to the related PR and project docs.

Frequently Asked Questions about postmortem

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I write a postmortem for a production incident?

To write a production incident postmortem, follow a structured outline capturing Summary, Error Manifestation, Root Cause, Why It Escaped, Fix, Timeline, and Prevention to document actionable lessons learned.

What should be included in a root-cause analysis document for a production bug?

A root-cause analysis document should include the error manifestation, the specific design flaw or violated invariants, why the bug escaped detection, the applied fix, and preventive measures for future implementors.

When should I write an incident postmortem for an engineering team?

You should write an incident postmortem when a production bug regression affects users and warrants capturing design-level lessons across engineering teams to prevent recurrence.

How do I avoid duplicate postmortems for the same production bug?

To avoid duplicate postmortems, check for existing incident reports and link your new document to related project docs and PRs to ensure traceability and prevent duplication.

Can I link related PRs and docs within an incident management postmortem?

Yes, incident management postmortems should link to related PRs and project docs. This governance step ensures traceability and connects the root-cause analysis directly to the applied fix.

Does this postmortem template work for minor bugs that didn't reach users?

No, this postmortem template applies to production bugs where a regression affected users. It is designed to capture design-level lessons learned, not minor issues that never reached production.