How to Write a Post-Mortem for a School Project ================================================= A post-mortem is a structured reflection you write after a project ends. The goal is not to assign blame but to honestly evaluate what happened so you can improve next time. Answer each section as specifically as you can. Vague answers are less useful. SECTION 1: PROJECT OVERVIEW ---------------------------- 1. What was the project? (class, assignment name, approximate due date) 2. What was the goal? What were you supposed to produce or demonstrate? 3. What were the major deliverables or requirements? 4. Who was involved? (solo, pair, group — how many people?) SECTION 2: THE PLAN -------------------- 5. What was your original plan for completing the project? 6. Did you break the work into tasks? If so, what were they? 7. Did you set internal deadlines or just rely on the final due date? 8. Did you have any check-in points planned? Did you use them? SECTION 3: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ----------------------------------- 9. Walk through the project timeline. What happened at each stage? 10. When did you start compared to when you planned to start? 11. Were there any points where you felt behind, stuck, or overwhelmed? - What caused that? 12. Did any tasks take longer than expected? Which ones and why? 13. Were there unexpected problems? What were they? 14. How did the final result compare to what you originally planned to submit? SECTION 4: COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION (for group projects) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 15. How did the group communicate? Did the method work well? 16. Was it clear who was responsible for what? 17. Did anyone miss a deadline or drop the ball on a task? How was it handled? 18. Were there any conflicts? How were they resolved — or not? 19. Did one person end up doing most of the work? What caused that? SECTION 5: WHAT WENT WRONG ---------------------------- 20. List 2-3 specific things that contributed most to the problems. Be honest. "I procrastinated" counts. "The assignment was unclear" counts. Try to identify the root cause, not just the symptom. 21. Were any of these problems predictable? Could you have seen them coming? 22. What would have needed to be different to avoid each problem? SECTION 6: WHAT WENT RIGHT ---------------------------- 23. Was there anything that worked well, even if the overall project struggled? 24. Did any strategy or tool help? Which one? 25. Is there anything you would keep doing next time? SECTION 7: LESSONS AND CHANGES -------------------------------- 26. What is the single most important thing you learned from this project? 27. List 2-3 specific, concrete changes you will make on your next project. "I'll try harder" is not specific. "I'll set an internal deadline 3 days before the due date and text a friend to check in on me" is specific. 28. Is there a resource, tool, or strategy you did not use this time that you want to try next time? What is it? TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD POST-MORTEM ------------------------------------- - Be honest. No one else needs to see this unless you choose to share it. - Be specific. Dates, task names, and concrete examples are more useful than general impressions. - Focus on systems and decisions, not personality. "We didn't have a shared document" is more actionable than "my partner was disorganized." - Keep it proportional. A one-week assignment doesn't need a 10-page reflection. A few focused paragraphs per section is fine. - Write it while the project is still fresh. Even a day or two after submission is better than waiting a week.