Ultimate Guide to Postmortems for Indie Developers

Ultimate Guide to Postmortems for Indie Developers

Postmortems. The word itself can conjure feelings of dread, especially for indie developers. But a postmortem, or project retrospective, isn’t about assigning blame. It’s a crucial learning tool to help you improve your development process without judgment.

It’s about identifying what worked, what didn’t, and how to avoid repeating mistakes in your next project. The key is balancing thorough documentation with the pressing need to keep actively developing.

Many indie devs skip postmortems due to fear of finger-pointing, the perceived time investment, or simply not knowing where to start. This guide tackles those pain points head-on, providing a goal-setting framework for conducting effective and efficient postmortems.

The Goal-Setting Framework for Postmortems

A structured approach is vital to making postmortems a valuable use of your time. This framework focuses on actionable insights and avoids endless, unproductive discussions.

Phase 1: Preparation & Objective Setting

Before diving into the postmortem, define clear, measurable objectives. What specific improvements do you want to achieve? Avoid vague goals like “make a better game.”

Instead, aim for tangible targets: “Reduce bug count by 15% in the next project,” or “Improve team communication by using a project management software.”

These objectives provide focus and allow you to assess the postmortem’s success. Here’s a sample checklist for pre-postmortem tasks:

• Schedule a dedicated time slot for the postmortem.
• Distribute a pre-postmortem survey to gather individual feedback anonymously.
• Clearly define the scope of the postmortem (e.g., focus on the entire project or specific phases).
• Set 2-3 measurable objectives for improvement.

Phase 2: The Team Discussion - Honest and Open

Creating a blame-free environment is paramount. Frame the discussion around why things went wrong, not who is at fault. Focus on system failures, process breakdowns, and external factors.

Use these question prompts to encourage constructive criticism and creative problem-solving:

• What were the biggest roadblocks we faced?
• What tasks took longer than expected? Why?
• What tools or processes worked exceptionally well?
• What areas did we consistently underestimate?
• If we could start the project again, what would we do differently?

Practice active listening and empathetic communication. Hear everyone out, acknowledge their perspectives, and focus on collaborative problem-solving.

Phase 3: Identifying Key Areas for Improvement

Indie game development involves many disciplines. Break down the postmortem into these common areas to identify specific improvements:

• Design: Was the game’s scope realistic? Were the core mechanics engaging? How effective was the playtesting process?
• Art: Did the art style align with the game’s vision? Were there bottlenecks in asset creation? How could the art pipeline be streamlined?
• Programming: Was the codebase well-structured? Were there recurring bugs or performance issues? How could technical debt be reduced?
• Audio: Did the audio enhance the player experience? Was the sound design consistent? How could the audio implementation be improved?
• Marketing: Did the marketing strategy reach the target audience? What marketing channels were most effective? How could the marketing budget be optimized?
• Project Management: Was the project well-organized? Were deadlines realistic? How could communication and collaboration be improved?

For each area, ask specific questions and focus on actionable insights. For example, instead of saying “the art pipeline was slow,” identify why it was slow and propose concrete solutions like using a shared asset library or implementing a more efficient version control system.

Phase 4: Creating Actionable Tasks and Follow-Up

This is the most critical phase. Turn insights into concrete tasks with clear ownership and deadlines. “Improve communication” is not an actionable task. “Implement daily stand-up meetings” is.

Assign each task to a specific team member (or yourself if you’re a solo developer), set a realistic deadline, and track progress using a project management tool.

Regularly revisit the action items and integrate them into your development workflow. Make it a habit to review progress on these tasks during team meetings or individual work sessions.

Documenting your game development journey can be incredibly valuable for long-term growth. But detailed documentation can take time and effort that you might not always have. This is where journaling can help!

Lightweight Journaling for Continuous Improvement

Regular reflection doesn’t require exhaustive documentation. Lightweight journaling practices can provide ongoing insights without derailing your development momentum.

A simple devlog, even just a few sentences a day, can capture key decisions, challenges, and lessons learned. This creates a valuable record to draw upon during future postmortems and allows you to track your progress over time.

Consider a journaling tool like Our Game Dev Journal. It can streamline the process of capturing your thoughts, organizing your notes, and tracking your progress, all in one place. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy to use, so you can focus on developing your game.

By embracing postmortems and regular reflection, you can transform mistakes into learning opportunities and continuously improve your indie game development process.