Post Mortem

# /cs:post-mortem — Honest Retrospective **Command:** `/cs:post-mortem <decision-path>` Closes the strategic sprint loop. Scores a decision against the success and kill criteria written **before** the decision (not retro-fitted) and revisits the preserved dissent. This is the rigor that compounds over time. ## Pipeline Position ``` /cs:office-hours → /cs:brief → /cs:boardroom → /cs:decide → /cs:execute → /cs:post-mortem ↑ you are here ``` ## When to Run - At the 90-day checkpoint (auto-scheduled by `/cs:decide`) - When a kill criterion triggers - After a major decision is reversed - Quarterly on all decisions of the past quarter ## Inputs - The decision record (output of `/cs:decide`) - The execution plan (output of `/cs:execute`) - Actual outcomes (metrics, events, customer signals) ## Output: Post-Mortem Record Saved to `~/.claude/postmortems/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md`: ```markdown # Post-Mortem: <decision title> **Decision date:** YYYY-MM-DD **Post-mortem date:** YYYY-MM-DD **Status:** WIN / PARTIAL / LOSS / MIXED ## Outcome Scoring (against pre-committed criteria) | Success Criterion | Threshold | Actual | Met? | |---|---|---|---| | <metric 1> | <threshold> | <actual> | ✅ / ❌ | | <metric 2> | <threshold> | <actual> | ✅ / ❌ | | Kill Criterion | Threshold | Actual | Triggered? | |---|---|---|---| | <metric> | <threshold> | <actual> | ✅ / ❌ | **Overall:** WIN / PARTIAL / LOSS / MIXED ## What We Got Right - <factor 1> - <factor 2> ## What We Got Wrong - <factor 1> - <factor 2> ## Preserved Dissent — Revisited [Original dissent from the boardroom memo, scored:] - **<dissenter>:** <original concern> - **Did it materialize?** YES / NO / PARTIAL - **Cost if YES:** <quantified impact> - **Lesson:** <one sentence> ## Assumption Audit [Original brief's assumptions, scored:] - **Assumption 1:** <text> - **Held?** YES / NO / PARTIAL - **Why:** <explanation> ## Process Lessons - **Phase 2 isolation worked?** YES / NO - **Devil's advocate concerns played out?** YES / NO / PARTIAL - **Cadence was right?** YES / TOO LOOSE / TOO TIGHT ## Forward Actions - [ ] <change to operating system or routing logic> - [ ] <new decision to make based on this learning> - [ ] <update company-context.md> ## Status - WIN → archive, log lesson - LOSS → schedule follow-up boardroom: `/cs:brief` for the next call ``` ## Why Pre-Committed Criteria Matter The biggest temptation in post-mortems is retroactive justification: "we always knew X, that's why we did Y." Pre-committed criteria, signed at `/cs:decide` time, eliminate that move. The numbers either matched or they didn't. ## Why Revisit Dissent The dissent column from `/cs:boardroom` is the single most useful piece of organizational memory. Most of the time, the dissenter was directionally right. Revisiting and scoring it builds calibration over years. ## Routing - `/cs:brief` — if the post-mortem surfaces a new decision - `/cs:freeze` — if the post-mortem reveals a process gap that needs cooldown enforcement - Updates to company-context.md via `cs-onboard` ## Related - Skill: [`decision-logger`](../../../skills/decision-logger/SKILL.md) - Agent: [`cs-chief-of-staff`](../../agents/cs-chief-of-staff.md) - Sibling: [`/em:postmortem`](../../../executive-mentor/skills/postmortem/SKILL.md) — adversarial single-decision post-mortem --- **Version:** 1.0.0