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Project postmortem prompt for PowerPoint

A prompt for a blameless 7-slide project postmortem for a steering committee and delivery team. It compares planned and actual scope, schedule, cost, quality and benefits, separates root causes from symptoms, and ends with lessons and dated actions before the next phase.

Output
Full deck
Works with
Tosea, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
Updated
Project postmortem example slide: planned vs actual Gantt, fishbone root causes, four lessons and a dated action plan
Postmortem summary · Planned vs actual Gantt, fishbone root causes, four lessons and a dated action planExample slide

Project postmortem prompt

Fill in any highlighted fields, then copy or run it.

Create a 7-slide postmortem for [project] using the plan, status reports, issue log, and feedback.
Audience: steering committee and delivery team.
Decision: agree on changes before the next phase.
Compare planned and actual scope, schedule, cost, quality, and benefits.
Separate root causes from symptoms and controllable factors from external events.
Include a timeline, cause tree, lessons, and actions with owners and dates.
Use neutral language and do not assign blame.
70 words

Why this prompt works

  • Five plan-vs-actual lenses

    Scope, schedule, cost, quality and benefits are all compared, so a project that shipped on time but missed its benefits does not pass as a success.

  • Causes split from symptoms

    The prompt separates root causes from symptoms and controllable factors from external events. Late testing is a cause; a missed go-live date is a symptom.

  • Actions carry owners and dates

    Lessons end in actions with owners and dates, which is what makes a postmortem change the next phase instead of sitting in a shared folder.

  • Blameless by instruction

    "Use neutral language and do not assign blame" keeps the slides on process and decisions, so people stay willing to say what went wrong.

Adapt it to your own deck

  • List your real inputs

    Name what you have: "Use the attached project plan, the last six status reports, the issue log and the team survey." Missing sources limit what the deck can claim.

  • Run it mid-project

    For a phase-gate review rather than a closeout, change the decision to "agree on scope and staffing changes for phase 2" and keep the cause tree.

  • Adjust for a client audience

    For a client-facing review, add "Show outcomes and actions agreed with the client; move internal staffing issues to a separate appendix."

Project postmortem FAQ

What is a project postmortem?

A structured review held after a project or phase ends. The team compares what was planned with what happened, finds the underlying causes of the gaps and agrees on changes for the next project. It is also called a retrospective or lessons-learned review.

What makes a postmortem blameless?

It examines how process, tools and decisions led to an outcome rather than who made a mistake. The point is honest reporting: people describe problems more fully when they are not being judged for them.

Can I use this in ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini?

Yes. A chat assistant will draft the timeline comparison, cause tree and lessons as text for you to lay out. In Tosea you attach the status reports or issue log with the prompt, pick a template, and get slides you can edit and export to PowerPoint (.pptx).

Figures on the example slides are illustrative.

Prefer not to write a prompt?

Upload the document. Tosea drafts the deck, you edit and export.

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