1. Diagnosis first
After-Action Review
The cheapest learning ritual there is
Use when
Anything just ended: a project, a cycle, an incident, a launch
- 1
Intended
What was supposed to happen? State it before anyone explains anything.
- 2
Actual
What actually happened? Facts and sequence, no attribution.
- 3
Why the gap
Explain the difference only after intent and outcome are both on the table.
- 4
Keep
What do we repeat next time, named specifically enough to repeat?
- 5
Change
What changes next cycle? Every change item gets an owner or it is a wish.
“Thirty minutes, four questions, within days while memory is still honest.”
How to use it
Rules that make it work: run it within days, no attribution in the notes, juniors speak first so the senior view does not anchor the room. The discipline is separating intent from outcome before explaining the gap; most teams skip straight to explanation and litigate memory instead. Watch-out: an AAR that produces no changed behaviour by the next cycle was a ceremony.
Card details
- Model type
- Sequence
- Origin status
- Established
- Content last reviewed
- 28 July 2026
Origin
EstablishedUnited States Army after-action review practice; see Darling, Parry and Moore, Harvard Business Review, 2005.