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AfterActionReviewsJeffBossInthemilitary,AfterActionReviews(AARs)wereingrainedintotheDNAofourcultureastheywereconductedaftereverymajortrainingblockandcertainlyeverymission.Theyareperhaps the best team-learning and improvement tool your team can use to shareinformation and learn as a team—and help future teams do the same. This is the fullversionwhichoffersthreefillableworddocformsthatyoucanuseastemplates foryournextAARorpostmortem.Readmore…

AARFull

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AfterActionReviewTemplateAfterActionReviews(otherwiseknownaspostmortems)areimperativetofurtheringprogressandimprovement. Ithasbeensaidthatwhatgetsmeasuredgetsimproved,andAARsprovidethemeansbywhichlearningbecomesingrainedintoanorganization’sDNA.

This AAR template is designed to do just that: to helpfacilitate your team towards its goals and objectives andingrainacultureoflearningintotheDNAofyourteam,smallbusiness, or company. I’ve compiled three very simplefillable forms to use as a guide for your next AAR or postmortemmeeting, but theyarebynomeans set in stone.Attheendoftheday,youneedtousewhatworksforyou,anddiscoveringthatonlycomesthroughconstantpractice.

Purpose

Learningisthekeyfactorthatsustainssuccess.Withoutlearningandimprovement,youfalldeadinthewaterasyourproductorservicebecomeobsoleteandthecompetitionleaveyouinatrailofdust.

ManycompaniestakeadvantageofthetreasuretroveofknowledgethatAARswield.Alternatively,themajoritydoesnotbecausetheybelieve:

Ø “There’snotime”Ø “Ihaveameeting”Ø “Idon’thaveanythingtosay”Ø “It’lljustbeleadershiptalkinganyway”

Doesthissoundlikesomethingyouhearinthehallwaysofyourorganization?HastheinfamousGoodIdeaFairymadeherappearancethroughoutthehallsandofficesofyourcompanyonlytocometotheconclusionthatshe’sabadfairy?

Yourteamneedstoknowtheproblemitwantstosolvewiththetoolsithasavailable.Theteamneedstounderstandtheprocessusedtoachievethegoalandmanythingsmore.

Donecorrectly,AARsprovidecontextandinsightbyaskingfoursimplequestions:

Ø Whatwasexpectedtooccur?Ø Whatactuallyoccurred?Ø Whatworkedwell,whatdidn’t,andwhy?Ø Whatneedstobeimproved?

ThepurposeofanAARistwofold.First,itistoperpetuatelearningthroughreflectionandcollaboration.Second,itistofillthevoidofknowledgeforthosewholackawarenessastowhyaneventhappenedoraparticulardecisionwasmade.Makingthisinsighttransparentdoesthefollowing:

Ø Buildstrust.Bybeingtransparentandsharinginformation,employeesbecomemoreawareofnotonlythe“how”behindaneventbutalsothe“why”thatdroveseniorleaderstodecide.

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Knowingthisservesnotonlythembutalsotheorganizationastheyarearmedwithgreatercontextforwhensimilarsituationsoccurinthefuture.

Ø Enablesdecision-making.Armedwithmoreinformationandgreatercontext,employeesnowseethewholeforestinsteadofthesilooftreesthey’reusedto.Theirdecision-spaceincreasesbecausetheyunderstandthedirectioninwhichleaderswanttogo.

By deeply assessing the above four questions on a consistent basis, you and your team reveal atreasuretroveoflearningopportunitiesthatservethebestinterestofnotjusteveryindividual,buttheteamororganization.

ShouldweconductanAARoradebrief?AnAARanddebriefarenotthesame.Keydifferencesinclude:

AAR DebriefFormalizedprocess Informal.Structuredprocess;plannedflow Shorter duration (oftentimes immediately after

thefact)Mediumtolargersizedaudience SmalleraudienceLessons learned that oftentimes turn into SOPsorotherwise become ingrained into organization’sculture

Insights and observations that are closer toindividualandteamfeedback

Design

WhatAARsaredesignedtodo:

J UnearthassumptionsJ ShareinsightsJ Serveasdialoguethatbroadensoverall(team)awarenessJ BuildcontextforfuturedecisionsJ Engageallparticipantsinopendialogue

WhatAARsareNOTdesignedtodo:

L ActasgradingcriteriaL FingerpointL LimitdiscussiontoseniorleadersL Eschewblame

Let’swalkthroughasampleAARprocesstoseewhatthehellthislookslike.

WhenshouldanAARbeconducted?

AARsshouldbescheduledassoonaspossibleafter theeventwhileeverything is fresh inpeoples’minds.Nomoregreaterthan72hoursaftertheeventshouldtheAARtakeplace.

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HowshouldanAARbeconducted?

TherearethreewaystoconductanAAR.Thefirstisamorelinear-approachwhichistobeginfromsteporphaseoneof the event andmove sequentially through the event iteratively.The second iswhat I call outside-in, where the facilitator selects key events and then directs attention inwardtowardsminutedetailsorfollow-onevents.Finally,theproject-basedapproachiswherekeythemesarehighlightedandpeoplearedividedintosmallteams.Thereareadvantagesanddisadvantagestoall:

Advantages&DisadvantagesToThe3TypesOfAARs

Advantages Disadvantages

Linear Helps participants structuretheir thoughts (they mentallyfollow the natural sequence ofevents)

Predictable; may createboredomovertime

Outside-In Addresses most pertinentissuesfirst

Difficult to remembersnapshots in time withoutmentallyretracingone’ssteps

Project Best suited for a hesitantaudience; builds trust slowlyovertime

Less collaboration; less ideaflow

Aface-to-facemeetingforallparticipants(ratherthanoverthephone)isideal.

Whoshouldparticipate?

RolesandresponsibilitiesnecessaryforAARsuccess:

Note takers. Just as with anything else, what gets measured gets improved, and lessonslearnedarenodifferent.Thefirstnotetakeristocaptureeverythingthatgetsdiscussedsothere’sarecordtoreferbacktoif/whenthesituationrepeats.Assigningnamestoquotesordiscussionpointsisn’ttheidea,butrathertodocumentthelessonslearnedasawhole.

The second note taker is to write on the white board or flip chart the highpoints of thediscussionforalltosee.Thisway,participantscanreviewthediscussionpointswhichmayconjureupnewinsights.Additionally,anydiagramsornoteswrittenonawhiteboardorflipchartshouldbephotocapturedandarchivedbythesecondnotetaker,too.

Facilitator.Theroleofafacilitatoristomanagetime,guidetheconversationandensureitstaysontrack,andaimsidebarconversationsimpertinenttothepurposeathandforoffline.In the military, the facilitator was often the highest ranking individual or the person inchargeoftheevolution(twoseparatethingsinspecialoperations),butheorshecanalsobe

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athirdpartytoavoidanybiases(facilitatorjustneedstobeawareofthesituationpriortoparticipating).

TipsforconductinganAAR

• Use“and”ratherthan“but”• Speaktotheaction,nottheperson• Ensure the right maturity level is in the room. If participants are not open to receiving

feedback,stresstothemthatorganizational learningisatthecoreof improvementandfortheorganizationtoimprovetheneveryemployeemustbewillingtoimprovealso

WhenshouldpastAARsbereviewed?

ThisisthemostdifficultpartoftheAAR—makingit“stick.”TheprocessofconductinganAARisnotenough itself for participants to remember. Rather, key points must be driven home by beingingrainedintothedailyrhythmoftheorganization—it’sculture.

Theansweris:asoftenasnecessaryuntilthekeytakeawaysbecomeinstitutionalized.

Belowisaquickreferenceguideonsuccessfullyplanning,executing,andreviewinganAAR,not tomentionthreeAARtemplatesyoucaneasilyfillout.

Scrolldown…

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AFTERACTIONREVIEWPROCESS

FollowUp9.ShareAARwithorganization toenforcetransparencyandorganizational learning.10.ImplementfindingsfromAAR.11.AARtheAAR.ReflectuponwhatworkedwellduringtheAARprocessandwhatdidn't.

Execute6.Ensureandenforceattendance.Ifoperatingremotely,ensuredial-innumbersandscreen-sharingwebconferencesareemplaced.Ifmaterialtobepresentedfallswithinacertainclassification,ensureallattendeesareauthorized.7.RevisittheintentoftheAARandperformanceguidelines.Reconveythatthereisnocriticism,onlyinformationtobesharedthatbetterstheoverallperformanceoftheteam.8.ConductAAR.Captureallnotes,participants,visuals,sidebarconversations,andrecommendations forimprovement.

Plan4.Decideuponanunbiasedrepresentativetofacilitatethediscussion.5.Preparenecessarymaterialsforvisuals,notetaking,ice-breakers(ifapplicable)

EstablishIntent1.Determinetheevent/topicofdiscussion tobereviewed.Sharethiswiththeteam.2.Settheconditions.Chooseanagreedupondate,time,location;selectattendeesandmakeattendancemandatory.3.EnvisionhowtheresultsfromtheAARdiscussionwillbeintegratedintothebusiness.

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AFTERACTIONREVIEWTEMPLATEDate: Event: Facilitator: Note

Taker: Team/Project:

AARType Selecthere

Event: Whatwasplannedtooccur?

Whatactuallyoccurred?

Whatcausedthechange?

Whatworkedwell?Whatdidn’t?

Whatcanbeimproved?

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Whatworkedwell? Howcansuccessberepeated?

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Whatdidn’twork? Howcanthisbeavoided?

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OriginalIntentWhatwasplanned?

RealityWhatactuallyhappened?

NextStepsHowwillsuccessbemeasured?

LessonsLearned

Whatdoweneedtoimprove?Remove?