What should be the focus of your post-mortem analysis after a service outage due to a new release?

The focus of post-mortem analysis after a service outage due to a new release should be on analyzing the contributing causes of the incident rather than placing blame on individuals. This approach fosters a culture of continuous improvement and learning within the organization. By concentrating on the underlying factors that led to the incident, teams can identify systemic issues, such as gaps in processes, insufficient testing, or operational oversights, which can then be addressed to prevent similar incidents in the future.

This method of analysis encourages open and honest discussions, allowing team members to share insights and experiences without fear of retribution. This culture is essential for fostering collaboration and ensuring that all parties feel comfortable contributing to preventive measures. Focusing on the causes rather than blaming individuals helps build a stronger, more resilient organization that can learn from its mistakes.

Other options do not align well with this learning-focused approach. Identifying an individual responsible can create a blame culture, which is detrimental to team morale and discourages transparency. Documenting feature updates might be part of the solution but does not address the immediate need to understand why the outage occurred. Developing a new validation process is a proactive step but should stem from insights gained during a thorough analysis of the incident, not as a standalone focus. Therefore, emphasizing