What happened yesterday — Workbook
1. Vocabulary in context
Complete each sentence with ONE word or phrase from the box. Two items are extra.
- This wasn't one person's bad day — it's a drop issue with how we hand over between shifts.
- The tired analyst was a drop , but the real cause is that only one person can approve the file.
- Only Ricardo knows the deploy password. That's a textbook drop .
- With the benefit of drop , we should have double-checked the totals before sending.
- Yesterday's incident was a drop — the client didn't notice, but it easily could have gone public.
- drop Miguel, he was already juggling three deliverables when he approved the file.
- drop , I overreacted — I've since apologised to Ana in the team channel.
- The one drop we agreed: a second named approver on any client file with figures.
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2. Past simple vs. past perfect
Write the correct form(s) of the verb(s) in brackets.
- By the time IT ___ (call) back, Sofia ___ (already / run) the meeting from her phone.
- She ___ (send) the deck the night before, so when the laptop ___ (die) the client still ___ (have) the material.
- Until yesterday, we ___ (never / lose) a file this way — the incident ___ (expose) a real gap.
- The manager ___ (approve) the numbers at 18:40, but he ___ (not / open) the appendix.
- By 17:32 the internet ___ (be) back, and Sofia ___ (already / rewrite) her to-do list on paper.
- By the time the client ___ (phone) at 16:20, Ana ___ (already / flag) the error in the team channel.
- In fairness to Miguel, he ___ (not / see) the appendix — nobody ___ (ever / tell) him it existed.
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3. Post-mortem hygiene
Choose the option that belongs in a blame-free, effective after-action review.
Best chair opening for a 15-minute post-mortem:
Which framing is systemic (not personal)?
The strongest corrective action is:
'This will happen again in a different form' is a healthy thing to say because…
Which sentence should NOT appear in the post-mortem note?
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4. Find and fix the mistake
Each sentence has ONE grammar or register mistake typical of A2+/B1 professionals. Rewrite it correctly.
- By the time the client called we already spot the error.
- She had prepared the deck when the laptop died at 08:55.
- Until yesterday we never had lost a file this way.
- Ana approved it too quickly, that's the root cause.
- Going forward we'll aim to do better on these things.
- In fairness of Miguel, he was very busy.
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6. Listening — chair's 90-second wrap-up
The head of department wraps up a 15-minute post-mortem meeting. Listen (or read the transcript) and answer.
- What structure does the chair use — and why does it work?
- What had ALREADY been done before the client called at 16:20?
- How does the chair protect Ana specifically? Give TWO examples.
- Why is the chair's line 'this will happen again in a different form' more useful than 'this won't happen again'?
Show transcript
Ines (Chair):OK — 15 minutes, as promised. Let me play back what I've heard, and then we agree one change. Just one.
Ines (Chair):What happened. Yesterday at 16:12, a client-facing quarterly report went out with an incorrect discount line. By the time the client called at 16:20, we had already spotted the error ourselves — and I want to thank Ana for flagging it in the team channel within four minutes.
Ines (Chair):Why it happened. Ana had prepared the file carefully; she had cross-checked most of the numbers. What she hadn't done was verify the discount table against the master price list — because, until yesterday, no one owned that step. Miguel, you approved at 18:40 in a hurry, which is entirely on the process, not on you.
Ines (Chair):What we'll change. From next Monday, no client file with figures leaves this team with fewer than two named approvers, and one of them must have opened the appendix. Ana drafts the checklist by Friday; Miguel signs it off by Monday morning. That's it. No policies, no committees, no all-hands.
Ines (Chair):Last thing. This will happen again in a different form. The only real question is whether we'll notice it in four minutes, like yesterday, or in four weeks. So — thank you, everyone. Ana, I'll walk you out.
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7. Writing — Lessons-learned note (120–150 words)
Write a 'lessons learned' note to your team the morning after a real or realistic incident. Include: (1) a one-paragraph timeline using past simple + past perfect (show what had ALREADY been done before the failure), (2) one systemic 'why' (a process, not a person), (3) ONE corrective action with a named owner and a date, (4) one honest sentence to the team about what you'll say to the affected stakeholder. Do NOT use: 'mistakes were made', 'we'll do better', 'we all learned a lot'.
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8. Case study preview
Look at this unit's Case Study. Answer briefly.
- Reframe the case for Unit 8 as a systemic issue rather than a personal one. In one sentence: what is the real single point of failure?
- If you were chairing the 15-minute post-mortem for this case, what would be your ONE corrective action, with a named owner and a date?
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