Sprint review
Every other week: what was delivered, the demos, the next sprint and the risks.
Check-in: DeliveredDemosNext sprintRisks
Incident review
Every week, review the incidents without looking for a culprit: what happened, the impact, the root causes and the actions that keep them from coming back.
- Every week, 45 min
- 5 min to speak, each
Free. Your first meeting starts from this template, and everything stays editable.
Who it’s for
Engineering, operations, security and support teams that run services in production.
Why this format
- Blameless by designThe format asks what happened and why, never who: people tell the full story, and the system gets fixed.
- Causes, not symptomsA section of its own for root causes pushes the discussion past the quick fix.
- Actions that get doneCorrective actions are a checklist with owners, followed from week to week until they are closed.
What everyone prepares
Before the meeting, each person fills in their check-in in a few minutes, from a computer or a phone. Here is one, as it looks in Ronde.
What happened
- Tuesday 14:02: checkout errors start
- 14:20: rollback of release 3.8, service back at 14:31
Impact
- 29 minutes of failed payments for 12% of customers
Root causes
- A schema change was deployed before the code that reads it
- No alert on the payment error rate
Corrective actions
- Add an alert on payment errors
- Deploy schema changes in two steps
- Write the runbook for payment incidents
How a session runs
- IntroEveryone joins, in the room or on the call: the screen shows who is here and what is on the agenda.
- Round table5 min eachEach person in turn shares their check-in, with a timer; the others raise a hand, react or say thanks.
- Open topicsThe subjects raised along the way, with the decisions taken and the follow-up actions.
- Wrap-upThe minutes are ready: decisions, actions and their owners, everyone’s check-in.
Ready with this template
Each meeting turns modules on or off as it likes; these come switched on.
- Raised hands and questionsRaise a hand or ask a question during a turn: a questions step follows that turn.
- TimeboxA topic of its own on the agenda, with its own duration and its notes in the minutes.
- Decision logEvery “Decision:” line of the notes, from every session, in one searchable list open to the whole team.
Tips to run it well
- Write the timeline as facts with times; opinions come in the causes.
- Review the actions of past incidents first: an incident that comes back is a sign one of them was not done.
Similar templates
Team and projects
A short turn each for personal news, then one turn per shared project where its people speak together.
Check-in: Done this weekPlanned for next weekBlockers to flag
Editorial meeting
For a newsroom, a content or comms team: what came out, what is in progress, ideas and where help is needed.
Check-in: PublishedIn progressIdeasHelp needed
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