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The Investigation: the Ultimate Incident Retrospective template

Your team faced an incident? It's time to crack that case, together.
Incident Retrospective: The Investigation
Incident Retrospective: The Investigation Comments

What is the Investigation retrospective template?

Welcome, intrepid detectives, to "The Investigation" - a stimulating retrospective template designed to unravel the mysteries of incidents!

This activity will help your teammates reflect on the events of the last incident you faced. As you progress through the investigation, your team will uncover the incident's root causes and conceive a plan to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Grab your best detective hats and crack that case as a team! 🔍

The 6 elements of the Investigation retrospective

Case Overview Column
Case Overview
Briefly describe the incident and its impact.
e.g., Website outage on July 25, 2023, due to server overload, leading to a 25% drop in daily sales.
Clues Column
Gathering Clues
Identify the root causes of the incident.
e.g., The incident resulted from a marketing campaign-triggered traffic surge and inadequate server capacity.
Leading Investigation Column
Leading the Investigation
Describe the steps taken to address the incident at the moment.
e.g., The DevOps team scaled up servers, implemented caching, and optimized the database to restore functionality within hours.
Detective Notebook Column
Detective Notebook
What lessons did the team learn from this incident?
e.g., We realized the importance of closely monitoring marketing campaigns and ensuring server scalability.
Preventive Measures Column
Preventive Measures
What can be done to prevent a similar incident in the future?
e.g., We could invest in auto-scaling infrastructure to handle traffic surges effectively.
Not all heroes wear capes Column
Not all heroes wear capes
Recognize the efforts of individuals or teams who responded effectively.
e.g., Special appreciation to the DevOps team for their quick response and resolution.

Why & when should you use the Investigation retrospective?

The "Investigation" retrospective is a valuable choice when your team faces critical incidents, recurrent issues, or complex projects demanding a comprehensive analysis. It's designed to delve deeply into the root causes of problems, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.

This retrospective helps teams learn from mistakes by dissecting what went wrong, how to prevent it from recurring, and what proactive measures can be taken.

It also encourages cross-functional collaboration, making it effective for addressing technical challenges, system failures, security breaches, and other complex scenarios.

Furthermore, it serves as a platform to recognize and appreciate the exceptional efforts of individuals or teams who respond effectively during crises.

Thus, this retrospective idea is especially beneficial after significant incidents, recurring troubles, or when there's a need for a thorough examination to drive substantial improvements and long-term stability.

Incident Retrospective: The Investigation Icon
Try the Investigation activity at your next retrospective!
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