[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-241325-105":53,"doc-detail-241325-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","ditch-the-template-incident-reports-they-want-to-read","Ditch the Template - Incident Reports They Want to Read","","This presentation, titled \"Ditch the Template: How to Write Incident Reports They Want To Read\" by Laura Nolan, emphasizes the value of engaging and informative incident reports. Nolan, a former Google and Slack SRE and current Principal SWE at Stanza Systems, advocates for a narrative-driven approach to incident reporting, moving beyond mere metadata. The core message is that the true value of incident reviews lies in the learning derived from them, not just the process. Nolan suggests focusing on storytelling, providing support for readers, incorporating visual elements, not shying away from analysis, and paying close attention to writing style. The presentation highlights how well-crafted incident reports can effectively share knowledge and context across teams, aid organizational adaptation, encourage reflection, serve as a long-term knowledge base, and assist in onboarding. Furthermore, it discusses the broader industry impact, particularly for open-source software (OSS) and SaaS products, and how transparency benefits customers and can inform research and product improvements. The presentation contrasts traditional, metadata-heavy incident report templates with a more engaging, learning-focused methodology, referencing Richard I. Cook MD's \"How Complex Systems Fail.\"",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/ditch-the-template-incident-reports-they-want-to-read/241325/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ditch-the-template-incident-reports-they-want-to-read/241325.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Levi","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-11","2026-09-12",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":73},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What is the primary goal of engaging incident reports according to Laura Nolan?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"The primary goal is to facilitate learning derived from incident reviews, rather than focusing solely on the procedural aspects of reporting.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What are the key recommendations for writing effective incident reports?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Nolan recommends focusing on narrative over metadata, supporting readers, using visuals, conducting analysis, and paying attention to writing style.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do engaging incident reports benefit an organization and the industry?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"They help share knowledge and context across teams, aid in organizational adaptation, serve as a long-term knowledge store, and can lift the entire industry, especially for OSS and SaaS products.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},241325,1791747303,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":79,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":141},7971461740909,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Ditch the Template  \nHow to Write Incident Reports They Want To Read  \nLaura Nolan @lauralifts  \nLaura Nolan  \n● Former Google and Slack SRE  \n● Currently Principal SWE at Stanza Systems  \n● Contributor to O’Reilly Site Reliability Engineering book and various other books on software operations and reliability, plus a lot of articles and talks  \n● Member of USENIX Association Board of Directors  \n● SREcon Steering Committee  \n● Avid reader (and writer) of incident reviews  \nTL;DR  \n● Engaging incident reports are valuable  \n● Focus on narrative, not metadata  \n● Support your readers  \n● Be visual  \n● Don’t be afraid of analysis  \n● Pay attention to style  \nThe value of written incident reports  \n● Share knowledge and context, including between teams  \n● Helps your organization understand and adapt if needs be  \n● Encourages thoughtful reflection  \n● Long-term store of knowledge  \n● Onboarding  \nThe value of written incident reports  \n● Share knowledge, help to lift the entire industry  \n● Particularly valuable for OSS and SaaS sharp edges  \n● Can feed into research, product improvements  \n● Your customers will appreciate transparency  \n– Richard I. Cook MD, ‘How Complex Systems Fail’  \n[https://how.complexsystems.fail/](https://how.complexsystems.fail/)  \nThe value of incident reviews is in the LEARNING, not in the process  \nTitle (incident \\#) Date  \nAuthors  \nStatus  \nSummary  \n[https://github.com/dastergon/postmortem-templates/blob/master/templates/postmortem-template-srebook.md](https://github.com/dastergon/postmortem-templates/blob/master/templates/postmortem-template-srebook.md)  \nImpact Root Causes Trigger Resolution Detection  \nAction Items  \nLessons Learned  \nWhat went well  \nWhat went wrong Where we got lucky Timeline  \nSupporting information","cbCaisjNf8DSDvc0","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisjNf8DSDvc0","pdf",4910023,36,"English","# Ditch the Template\n## How to Write Incident Reports They Want To Read\n# The value of written incident reports\n## The value of incident reviews is in the LEARNING, not in the process","[{\"question\":\"What is the primary goal of engaging incident reports according to Laura Nolan?\",\"answer\":\"The primary goal is to facilitate learning derived from incident reviews, rather than focusing solely on the procedural aspects of reporting.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the key recommendations for writing effective incident reports?\",\"answer\":\"Nolan recommends focusing on narrative over metadata, supporting readers, using visuals, conducting analysis, and paying attention to writing style.\"},{\"question\":\"How do engaging incident reports benefit an organization and the industry?\",\"answer\":\"They help share knowledge and context across teams, aid in organizational adaptation, serve as a long-term knowledge store, and can lift the entire industry, especially for OSS and SaaS products.\"}]","Ditch the Template - Incident Reports They Want to Read | PDF",1789173702,13]