After Action Reviews

An After Action Review is a short but brilliant feedback tool that can be utilised by any person or group, anytime, anywhere. It is a tool that can be used after the shortest of customer interactions, the longest of product installations or even during the rollout of a massive project. The review process can be as formal or informal as the project requires.

Origin

During the Korean War (early 1950s)  General Ridgeway was dismayed at the casualty rates coming in from the war front. He identified the main issue as being a lack of feedback and communication. The army’s way of doing things was to fight the enemy; the senior officer on the ground then wrote a report on the ‘action’, this was passed on to division HQ, who fed it up the chain of command.

The problem was, by the time any meaningful feedback came back down the chain of command, most fighting units had engaged in further contact with the enemy, and had recorded troop deaths or injuries of up to 50%.

General Ridgeway knew something had to change. Immediate and meaningful feedback was required for the troops before their next encounter with the enemy. And so, the After Action Review was born.

So What Exactly Is an After Action Review (AAR)?

An After Action Review is quite simply 4 important questions:

• 1.What was supposed to happen?
• 2.What actually happened?
• 3.Why were there discrepancies between points 1 and 2?
• 4.What can we/I do better next time?

And there you have it, by answering these four pertinent questions (honestly) you have completed an After Action Review!