Post-mortem
Also said as Postmortem, Retrospective
A look back after a project, or a failure, at what went right, what went wrong and what to change next time. The aim is to fix how you work, and it is pointless if it becomes a search for someone to blame.
Teams repeat what they do not write down, and the lessons leave when the people do. Published post-mortems are also how the industry teaches itself.
Say it
“Within two weeks of launch, hold a post-mortem: five things that went right, five that went wrong, and one owner and one change for each. It is about the process, so no names.”
Where you’ve seen it
Game Developer magazine and its website Gamasutra ran post-mortems for years in a fixed format: five things that went right and five that went wrong, from the developers who made the game. Many are still online and worth reading.
Not to be confused with patch notes
Patch notes tell players what changed in the game. A post-mortem tells the team, and sometimes the trade, what happened in the making of it.