Lessons Learned

Transform problems into systematic improvements through structured retrospective analysis.

Why This Matters

Mistakes repeat when we only fix symptoms. With structured retrospectives:

Root causes get addressed, not just symptoms
Fixes are encoded into the system (skills, guards, docs)
Each problem makes the system stronger
You never hear "we should have thought about that first"

Quick Start

Define the incident factually
Build a timeline
Find root cause with 5 Whys
Identify contributing factors
Implement fixes (don't just recommend them)
Define verification criteria

Process

Phase 1: Incident Definition

Capture facts first, analysis later.

## Incident Summary

**What happened:** [Factual description]
**When:** [Date/time]
**Impact:** [What was affected]
**Resolution:** [How it was fixed]
**Time to resolution:** [How long to fix]

Phase 2: Timeline Reconstruction

Time	Action	Actor	Outcome
HH:MM	[What was done]	[Who]	[Result]

Key questions:

What was the trigger?
Where did things diverge from expected?
What was the point of no return?

Phase 3: Root Cause Analysis (5 Whys)

Why did [incident] happen? → Because [immediate cause]
Why did [immediate cause] happen? → Because [deeper cause]
Why did [deeper cause] happen? → Because [systemic issue]
Why did [systemic issue] exist? → Because [process gap]
Why did [process gap] exist? → Because [root cause]

Root Cause: [The fundamental issue to address]

Phase 4: Contributing Factors

Category	Factor	Contribution
Process	Missing checkpoint	[How it contributed]
Communication	Unclear instructions	[How it contributed]
Technical	No validation	[How it contributed]
Context	Prior assumptions	[How it contributed]

Phase 5: Fix Classification

Fix Type	When to Use	How to Encode
Skill	Recurring workflow needs structure	Create new skill
Guard	Action requires checkpoint	Add approval gate
Documentation	Knowledge gap	Update CLAUDE.md
Automation	Manual step forgotten	Create script/hook
Checklist	Multiple steps need verification	Add to skill

Phase 6: Fix Implementation

Don't just recommend fixes—implement them.

Fix	Type	Location	Status
[Description]	Skill	[Path]	Created
[Description]	Doc	[Path]	Updated

Phase 7: Verification

**Test scenario:** [How to test the fix]
**Success criteria:** [What "fixed" looks like]
**Review date:** [When to check if working]

Output Template

# Lessons Learned: [Incident Title]

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Severity:** Low | Medium | High | Critical
**Status:** Resolved | Monitoring | Open

## Incident Summary
[Brief description]

## Timeline
| Time | Action | Outcome |

## Root Cause
[The fundamental issue]

## Contributing Factors
- Factor 1
- Factor 2

## Fixes Implemented
| Fix | Type | Location | Status |

## Prevention
[How this prevents recurrence]

## Lessons
1. Key takeaway 1
2. Key takeaway 2

Common Patterns

Premature Action

Symptom: Action taken before approval Fix: Add explicit approval gate

Sequence Error

Symptom: Steps in wrong order Fix: Encode sequence with numbered steps

Missing Validation

Symptom: Bad data passed through Fix: Add validation checkpoint

Context Carryover

Symptom: Assumptions from prior session caused issue Fix: Add explicit context verification

Scope Creep

Symptom: Did more than requested Fix: Ask clarifying questions before expanding

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Instead
Blame assignment	Misses systemic issues	Focus on process
Single-cause thinking	Oversimplifies	Use 5 Whys
Recommendation without action	Lessons forgotten	Implement during retrospective
Vague fixes	"Be more careful" doesn't work	Encode specific changes

Success Criteria

Incident clearly defined with timeline
Root cause identified (not just symptoms)
Contributing factors documented
At least one fix implemented (not just recommended)
Fix encoded in appropriate location
Verification criteria defined

lessons-learned