# A guideline for postmortem communication #

Prerequisites

- <b>Admit failure</b> - <i>Hiding downtime is no longer an option</i>
- <b>Sound like a human</b> - <i>Do not use a standard template, do not apologize for "inconveniencing" us</i>
- <b>Have a communication channel</b> - <i>Set up a process to handle incidents prior the event (e.g. <a href="http://www.transparentuptime.com/2008/11/rules-for-successful-public-health.html">public health dashboard</a>, status blog, twitter account, etc.)</i>
- <b>Above all else, be authentic</b> <i>- You must be believed to be heard</i>

Requirements

- <b>Start time and end time of the incident</b>
- <b>Who/what was impacted</b> - <i>Should I be worried about this incident?</i>
- <b>What went wrong</b> -<i> What broke and how you fixed it (with insight into the root cause analysis process)</i>
- <b>Lessons learned</b> - <i>What's being done to improve the situation for the future, in technology, process, and communication</i>

Bonus

- Details on the technologies involved
- Answers to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys">Five Why's</a>
- Human elements - heroic efforts, unfortunate coincidences, effective teamwork, etc
- What others can learn from this experience