Today's Blog, is a bit different but I believe it will be quit helpful. I am currently working on a Template for those I coach in ministry; which will be available on my website. For today, I will share one that the Military uses. I think it will give you an idea of how and what an AAR is and how to use it to help you improve your relationships. Change the topics to match your needs after watching the You Tube.
Click here or view in your Browser to see You Tube: https://youtu.be/-wXkhkgs-qk
Click here or view in your Browser to see You Tube: https://youtu.be/-wXkhkgs-qk
An after action review (AAR) is a structured review or de-brief (debriefing) process for analyzing what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better by the participants and those responsible for the project or event. This review exercise occurs after the “action” has already happened. It’s a formal process that was first used by the American Army to evaluate combat missions.
Now, it’s used by teams of all kinds including mega-corporations like GE, British Petroleum, and Motorola. The entire process centers around four questions asked in the following order:
Now, it’s used by teams of all kinds including mega-corporations like GE, British Petroleum, and Motorola. The entire process centers around four questions asked in the following order:
- First, “What did we expect to happen?”
- Then, “What actually occurred?”
- Next, “What went well and why?”
- And finally, “What can we improve upon and how?”
The Benefits After action reviews can impact your business in multiple ways. They allow for team and project strengths to be more easily identified. They also make it easier to discover areas of weakness and ways to improve upon them.
In short, an after action review provides knowledge, and as the old saying goes, knowledge is power. Without knowing what went wrong, how can you ever expect to improve?
On the other hand, if you don’t know why something went right, you’ll have a hard time duplicating your success in the future. The after action review gives you the knowledge you need to improve your organization in tangible ways.
5 Steps to SuccessNow that we know what an after action review is and why it’s beneficial, let’s cover the steps you need to take to conduct one successfully.
Step 1: Make it a PriorityThis is the first step. If the after action review process isn’t a priority, it will end up falling by the wayside, guaranteed.
There are too many other projects to start, fires to put out, and general activities to accomplish. So commit, right now. Decide that your company will use the after action review process and that a project won’t be considered “done” until the review is complete.
Make it the final step on every project your team undertakes. One final note: the sooner you can start your after action review process, the better. Ideally, you’d never wait longer than two weeks after a project finishes.
Why? Because the project will still be fresh in each team member’s mind. The longer you wait, the more fuzzy minor, yet important, details will become.
Step 2: Include Everyone Involved With the ProjectAn after action review isn’t something that you can effectively do on your own unless you were the only person to working on the project. If you had a team to help you, they should each be present during the review process.
This will ensure that everyone’s point of view is accounted for, that no struggles go unnoticed, and that every team strength is recognized. It will also provide you with insights you may not have had before.
As the team’s leader, you likely aren’t “down in the weeds” like those under you. Which means you don’t have all the nitty-gritty details you need to improve upon company processes. You need your team to provide you with these valuable insights.
Once you have each team member in the same room, it’s important that you set the right expectations and create the appropriate atmosphere.
What do we mean by that? Simple, everyone should be comfortable participating and sharing their thoughts on the project. This isn’t a personal performance session. Rather, it’s a time for open and honest discussions that will lead to collective improvement.
Step 3: Ask the Right QuestionsWe mentioned earlier that there are four main questions you need to ask during every after action review. Let’s discuss each of them in greater detail.
1. “What did we expect to happen?”This is the best question to start with. Ask yourself and your team, “What did we anticipate would be the end result of this project?” This question will naturally shine a light on important topics such as whether the project goal was accomplished if the target audience was reached, why a specific deadline was or wasn’t met, and more.
2. “What actually occurred?”Once your team has discussed initial expectations, dive into what actually occurred over the course of the project. Don’t hold back.
Explore both the good and bad of what really went down. It might be practical to ask this question, then give your team a few minutes to reflect upon their answers. When this is accomplished, go around the room and glean insight from each individual team member.
This will ensure that every opinion is accounted for and no “golden nugget” idea is forgotten. In regards to team members comments, ask them to be specific with their examples and to focus on facts more than feelings. You should recognize feelings, but always base company improvements on cold hard facts.
3. “What went well and why?”Now is the time to dive into every aspect of the project that went well. Dig deep here and identify the reasons why these areas proved so successful.
Was it because of a certain process or tool?
Did a specific person step up in a big way and carry the project on their shoulders for a time?
You need to know what went right and why. Remember, knowledge is power. The more you know about your team’s successes, the better chance you have of securing repeat wins in the future.
If you’re having a hard time getting the conversation flowing, go around the room again and ask each individual person their thoughts. Give them a straightforward question. Something like, “In your opinion, what factor had the greatest impact on project success?”
4. “What can we improve upon and how?”The final question deals with the ways your team can improve. We recommend tackling this query after discussing what went right. This will help boost team morale and ensure blame isn’t thrown at specific team members.
Ask your team what the group could have done better. After completing the project, what did they learn that will help them do things more accurately and efficiently next time?\
Again, ask your staff to dig deep and be honest. Nobody is going to get in trouble. The purpose is to learn from the mistakes made so that they aren’t made again in the future. Also, don’t just identify what when wrong, but why.
The “why” is so important!
You can list one hundred things that went awry during the project. But if you don’t know why things happened the way they did, you’ll have a very hard time improving.
Pro Tip: Have a Dedicated Note-TakerIf possible during your after action review meeting, have a dedicated note-taker. Preferably one who wasn’t involved with the project. That way they can focus on cataloging insights rather than giving them.
Having each of your team’s comments neatly documented will make it much easier to implement future changes and double down on successful tactics.
Step 4: Craft Your After Action Review ReportOnce you’ve asked each of the four questions, received your team’s answers, and concluded the after action report meeting, it’s time to craft your final report.\
This doesn’t need to be anything fancy. But it does need to summarize the points made during the meeting in an easily shareable format. We recommend including basic information like the name of the project, the date of the meeting, and the names of those who attended.
Then summarize the project — the good, the bad, and the ugly — and clearly list the wins that should be repeated and the mistakes that should be remedied for future projects. Then put all these details together in a document and send it to your superiors as well as each member of your team.
Step 5: Implement All Necessary ChangesAt this point, you’ve made your after action review a priority, you’ve called a meeting and each team member involved in the project attended, you’ve based your discussion around the four main questions outlined above, and you’ve crafted a clear and concise report outlining everything discussed in the meeting.
There’s only one thing left to do: implement any and all necessary changes as identified during the after action review process. What this looks like will completely depend on the industry you work in and the problems your team needs to address.
But in general, begin implementing changes immediately. The longer you wait, the more likely it becomes that things will stay the same.
In short, an after action review provides knowledge, and as the old saying goes, knowledge is power. Without knowing what went wrong, how can you ever expect to improve?
On the other hand, if you don’t know why something went right, you’ll have a hard time duplicating your success in the future. The after action review gives you the knowledge you need to improve your organization in tangible ways.
5 Steps to SuccessNow that we know what an after action review is and why it’s beneficial, let’s cover the steps you need to take to conduct one successfully.
Step 1: Make it a PriorityThis is the first step. If the after action review process isn’t a priority, it will end up falling by the wayside, guaranteed.
There are too many other projects to start, fires to put out, and general activities to accomplish. So commit, right now. Decide that your company will use the after action review process and that a project won’t be considered “done” until the review is complete.
Make it the final step on every project your team undertakes. One final note: the sooner you can start your after action review process, the better. Ideally, you’d never wait longer than two weeks after a project finishes.
Why? Because the project will still be fresh in each team member’s mind. The longer you wait, the more fuzzy minor, yet important, details will become.
Step 2: Include Everyone Involved With the ProjectAn after action review isn’t something that you can effectively do on your own unless you were the only person to working on the project. If you had a team to help you, they should each be present during the review process.
This will ensure that everyone’s point of view is accounted for, that no struggles go unnoticed, and that every team strength is recognized. It will also provide you with insights you may not have had before.
As the team’s leader, you likely aren’t “down in the weeds” like those under you. Which means you don’t have all the nitty-gritty details you need to improve upon company processes. You need your team to provide you with these valuable insights.
Once you have each team member in the same room, it’s important that you set the right expectations and create the appropriate atmosphere.
What do we mean by that? Simple, everyone should be comfortable participating and sharing their thoughts on the project. This isn’t a personal performance session. Rather, it’s a time for open and honest discussions that will lead to collective improvement.
Step 3: Ask the Right QuestionsWe mentioned earlier that there are four main questions you need to ask during every after action review. Let’s discuss each of them in greater detail.
1. “What did we expect to happen?”This is the best question to start with. Ask yourself and your team, “What did we anticipate would be the end result of this project?” This question will naturally shine a light on important topics such as whether the project goal was accomplished if the target audience was reached, why a specific deadline was or wasn’t met, and more.
2. “What actually occurred?”Once your team has discussed initial expectations, dive into what actually occurred over the course of the project. Don’t hold back.
Explore both the good and bad of what really went down. It might be practical to ask this question, then give your team a few minutes to reflect upon their answers. When this is accomplished, go around the room and glean insight from each individual team member.
This will ensure that every opinion is accounted for and no “golden nugget” idea is forgotten. In regards to team members comments, ask them to be specific with their examples and to focus on facts more than feelings. You should recognize feelings, but always base company improvements on cold hard facts.
3. “What went well and why?”Now is the time to dive into every aspect of the project that went well. Dig deep here and identify the reasons why these areas proved so successful.
Was it because of a certain process or tool?
Did a specific person step up in a big way and carry the project on their shoulders for a time?
You need to know what went right and why. Remember, knowledge is power. The more you know about your team’s successes, the better chance you have of securing repeat wins in the future.
If you’re having a hard time getting the conversation flowing, go around the room again and ask each individual person their thoughts. Give them a straightforward question. Something like, “In your opinion, what factor had the greatest impact on project success?”
4. “What can we improve upon and how?”The final question deals with the ways your team can improve. We recommend tackling this query after discussing what went right. This will help boost team morale and ensure blame isn’t thrown at specific team members.
Ask your team what the group could have done better. After completing the project, what did they learn that will help them do things more accurately and efficiently next time?\
Again, ask your staff to dig deep and be honest. Nobody is going to get in trouble. The purpose is to learn from the mistakes made so that they aren’t made again in the future. Also, don’t just identify what when wrong, but why.
The “why” is so important!
You can list one hundred things that went awry during the project. But if you don’t know why things happened the way they did, you’ll have a very hard time improving.
Pro Tip: Have a Dedicated Note-TakerIf possible during your after action review meeting, have a dedicated note-taker. Preferably one who wasn’t involved with the project. That way they can focus on cataloging insights rather than giving them.
Having each of your team’s comments neatly documented will make it much easier to implement future changes and double down on successful tactics.
Step 4: Craft Your After Action Review ReportOnce you’ve asked each of the four questions, received your team’s answers, and concluded the after action report meeting, it’s time to craft your final report.\
This doesn’t need to be anything fancy. But it does need to summarize the points made during the meeting in an easily shareable format. We recommend including basic information like the name of the project, the date of the meeting, and the names of those who attended.
Then summarize the project — the good, the bad, and the ugly — and clearly list the wins that should be repeated and the mistakes that should be remedied for future projects. Then put all these details together in a document and send it to your superiors as well as each member of your team.
Step 5: Implement All Necessary ChangesAt this point, you’ve made your after action review a priority, you’ve called a meeting and each team member involved in the project attended, you’ve based your discussion around the four main questions outlined above, and you’ve crafted a clear and concise report outlining everything discussed in the meeting.
There’s only one thing left to do: implement any and all necessary changes as identified during the after action review process. What this looks like will completely depend on the industry you work in and the problems your team needs to address.
But in general, begin implementing changes immediately. The longer you wait, the more likely it becomes that things will stay the same.
ACTION STEP: If relationships are important to you and you want to keep them in the long haul, make them enjoyable. It may be hard to get the ball rolling, as in teaching everyone how to work together for the better, but it will be worth it in the long haul.
I believe in you. Believe in yourself, and learn to trust and believe in others. God will help us in our weaknesses, for when we are weak He is strong.
I believe in you. Believe in yourself, and learn to trust and believe in others. God will help us in our weaknesses, for when we are weak He is strong.
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