After Action Reviews

 

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I've conducted a number of AARs, and the participants have always raved about what they really learn from their experience.  The process is basically very simple--you ask the following four questions for each experience:

What was supposed to happen?

What DID happen?

What was the difference?

What did we learn?

Only those who participated in the action are permitted to participate in the review, and full trust and candor are critical.  Discussion and disagreement can be expected, and a moderator is needed to facilitate the resolution and keep things moving.  Surprisingly, there is often some disagreement over what was supposed to happen!  This is usually a shock to those who thought expectations were clear at the start.

 

Here are some links with more detail on AARs:

An Easy-to-Read Introduction   -

The Army Spec for AARs        -TC25-20 HQ U.S. Dept. of the Army

 

Here are some simple forms to print out and use in your own AAR.  They let you organize the expectations ("what was supposed to happen") into phases.

For any given phase- List Expectations

For each Expectation - List What Happened, The Difference, The Learning


© 2002 Michael E. Doherty