ACME Software Company built software for construction firms. They epitomized the start-up mentality of moving fast, breaking things, and iterating until they succeeded. However, all was not well at ACME. The team doggedly attacked each new project without taking time to reflect on their successes or failures. In the absence of structured reflections, their code became a labyrinth of bugs, their deadlines perpetually elusive, their customers vanished, and their team increasingly disheartened.

Does ACME Software sound like your company? Success in any business doesn't just happen by chance. It's a result of careful planning, execution, and continuous improvement. One powerful tool for helping your group create a culture of continuous improvement is the After-Action Review (AAR). In this blog post, we'll explore what an AAR is, why it's crucial, and how you can use it to maximize success in various aspects of your business.

What Is an After-Action Review?

An After-Action Review, commonly referred to as an AAR, is a structured process for evaluating the outcomes of a project, task, or event after it has concluded. It's a way to reflect on what went well, what didn't, and what can be done better in the future. AARs are widely used in the military, emergency services, business, and other fields to learn from past experiences and enhance future performance.

Why Are AARs Crucial?

AARs can help your business improve its performance:

• Learning from Experience — AARs enable teams and companies to learn from both successes and failures. By identifying what worked and what didn't, you can make informed decisions in the future.

• Continuous Improvement — The feedback and insights gathered during an AAR help your team refine its strategies, tactics, and processes. This continuous improvement is essential for staying competitive and achieving long-term success.

• Increased Accountability — AARs foster a sense of accountability among team members. When individuals actively participate in the review process, they become more committed to achieving better results in the future.

• Enhanced Communication — AARs encourage open and honest communication. Team members can share their perspectives and insights, leading to better teamwork and collaboration.

• Better Decision-Making — Reflecting on past experiences through an AAR helps leaders make better decisions. You can base your future actions on lessons learned, reducing the likelihood of repeating mistakes.

How to do an AAR:

So when should you do an AAR as an organization? After every big event — a new product roll-out, an acquisition or a merger, or a response to a crisis. Your organization needs six things before trying to do an AAR:

• An hour to two hours of time when the group can gather

• A facilitator (not the leader, but typically a senior person in the organization or a consultant)

• Data and facts about how the organization performed during the event

• Surveys or interviews prior to the AAR session to help the team and facilitator to better understand what happened, why it happened, what worked, and what didn’t work.

• Motivated participants

• A note taker

The facilitator will gather the group and use five questions to guide the AAR:

• What was the plan? (Typically this question is posed to the leader who takes the team through the plan. This usually takes 5-10 minutes to talk through.)

• What happened? (The facilitator tries to get as many participants to talk about what happened at their level. What did they see or do? What didn’t they do? Breaking the events down by day or week is helpful to energize the discussion.)

• What were are the biggest successes and areas we need to improve on when we do something like this in the future? (The facilitator asks this to the group.)

• What is one thing I should sustain, in my role or at my level, the next time this event occurs? (Asked to every participant. The last two questions are the real secret to the power of the AAR.)

• What is one thing I should improve, in my role or at my level, the next time this event occurs? (Asked to every participant.)

After the AAR is complete, the note taker and facilitator should publish the notes. Future plans should be updated based on the results of the AAR.

Conclusion

Just completed a big project? Just finished a merger or an acquisition? Just survived a crisis? Does your team or company have a standard operating procedure for an After Action Review? Are you planning on conducting an After Action Review of the project, merger, or crisis response?

Sometimes it helps to have an outside facilitator help your team with inculcating the After Action Review into your business. Reach out to TFCG for a free consultation and see if our team of experts can help your company build a SOP and facilitate an After Action Review after your big event.

In the meantime, don’t be like ACME Software Company. Use the concept of the After Action Review to help your team learn from each project, acquisition, or crisis and be better in the future.