After-Action Review—structured debrief asking what was expected, what happened, why the difference, and what next. Use after projects, launches, presentations, or any significant event.
Conduct a structured debrief to extract learning from any significant event or experience.
Work through the four core questions honestly and specifically. Focus on events and systems, not blaming individuals.
Event: What are we reviewing? Date: When did it happen? Participants: Who was involved?
Before the event, what did we think would happen?
Goals/Objectives
Plan
Success Criteria
Assumptions
Facts only—what occurred, not why
Timeline | Time | Event | |------|-------| | [When] | [What happened] |
Outcomes
Compared to Expected | Expected | Actual | Gap | |----------|--------|-----| | [expectation] | [reality] | [+/-] |
Analysis of the gap between expected and actual
What Went Well (sustain these) | Success | Contributing Factors | |---------|---------------------| | [what worked] | [why it worked] |
What Didn't Go Well (improve these) | Problem | Root Cause | |---------|-----------| | [what failed] | [why it failed] |
Surprises
Specific actions to sustain or improve
Sustain (keep doing these) | Action | Owner | How to Protect It | |--------|-------|-------------------| | [what to continue] | [who] | [mechanism] |
Improve (change these) | Action | Owner | By When | |--------|-------|---------| | [what to change] | [who] | [deadline] |
Key Takeaways Top 3 lessons from this review:
Follow-up When will we check if improvements are working?
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Category:business