How to Build a Sustainable Post‑Mortem Culture for Tech Projects

Establishing a Post‑Mortem Culture

Although every project is unique, repeated activities should get better each time, as former BP CEO John Browne noted. After any meaningful phase—such as a major promotion, an agile sprint, an incident, or a campaign—teams should pause, recall what happened, and capture lessons for future reference.

The JD Retail Platform Business Center PMO has been refining a full‑lifecycle retrospective process and promoting regular retrospectives as a cultural norm.

Pre‑Retrospective Preparation

1. Clarify Retrospective Type

Based on past experience, four major retrospective categories are identified (see image). Regardless of type, the guiding principle is timeliness: conduct the review as soon as possible while memories are fresh.

2. Meeting Preparation

After defining the type, invite the appropriate participants and gather materials:

Core projects (e.g., 6.18, 11.11 promotions) – invite senior leadership (at least VP level) and circulate minutes to all.

Incident retrospectives – invite QA and incident owners, copy minutes to their managers.

Iteration retrospectives – invite the relevant product‑research‑development team and copy to their supervisors.

Assign at least one facilitator, preferably the project manager.

Prepare data and explanatory documents to ensure accurate, objective discussion (see image).

3. Overall Preparation Steps

Determine meeting theme and scope, confirm participants, draft an agenda, collect all required materials, set a time, and convene the session.

Retrospective Process (During the Meeting)

Six key success factors guide the session:

All relevant parties (business, product, development, testing, project members) should attend.

Create an open, trusting, equal, and candid atmosphere.

Base discussion on facts, avoid blame, and encourage rapid information sharing.

Focus on goals, keep discussions efficient and concise.

Delve deep to uncover root causes rather than superficial explanations.

Translate outcomes into actionable To‑Do items and regularly follow up.

The facilitator (often a leader or project manager) should:

Remain neutral and let the whole group discuss.

Keep the conversation focused and prevent digressions.

Ensure every participant contributes, using open‑ended questions.

Turn conflicts into creative ideas through timely clarification and synthesis.

Retrospective Flow by Type

Project Retrospective

Iteration Retrospective

Special/Incident Retrospective

Post‑Retrospective Tracking

The ultimate goal is to create organizational process assets for future projects. A tracking and evaluation mechanism is essential.

1. Follow‑Up and Evaluation Mechanism

Set a To‑Do list, monitor the implementation of action items, and keep stakeholders informed. Use the template below:

Evaluate the effectiveness of improvement measures; if goals are not met, initiate another retrospective or incorporate findings into the next session.

2. Unified Archiving Mechanism

Archive all retrospective materials to form a knowledge base that can be shared internally, preventing repeated mistakes. Each leaf node stores the PPT and To‑Do list (as an online sheet for real‑time updates).

Practical Value of Retrospectives

Retrospectives are highly practical rather than theoretical. Success requires not only “inner skills” but also personal commitment, cultural support, and leadership by example.

We advocate a “retrospect to learn” mindset: conduct the review, then retrospect the review itself, identify strengths and gaps, adjust, and repeat. This iterative learning embeds the retrospective method into the team’s DNA, delivering substantial benefits in today’s fast‑paced internet environment.