The task/project is done. Great! Oh, hold on for a second!
Did you get together with the team to discuss what actually happened – what went well, what went wrong, and most importantly why?

Please, welcome the After Action Review to the stage!

This is basically a discussion where everyone on the team shares their raw thoughts and observations on how the project or a singular test from the project was completed and analyzes what to do next.

The idea?
Next time it will be better! 🙂

As the AAR’s are learning-focused discussions that are designed to help the team discover what to do differently and they are based on the desire to find the best practices and innovative approaches, you’ll most probably come to a better outcome as a team next time.

For the AAR to work, the team needs to uncover some issues and learn from the lessons provided by the experience. And so, the discussion should be as open and as honest as they get.

Key points for conducting an After Action Review:

👉 Focus on why things happened.
👉 Compare the intended results with what was actually accomplished.
👉 Encourage active participation by all team members.
👉 Emphasise the value of feedback.