Improve your organisation with the help of an After Action Review

What is it?

The After Action Review a structured approach to evaluate the work of a group. Devised by the military, this methodology looks primarily at identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. Because this method of reflection is quick and efficient, the After Action Review is used by organisations such as:

• The army;

• General Electric;

• British Petroleum;

• Microsoft (postmortems);

• The Dutch fire brigade;

• Motorola.

Why do we do it?

Reflecting is necessary when organisations want to improve themselves. To do this well, it is important that teams continuously evaluate their performance and learn from their successes and mistakes. The After Action Review is very suitable because it is a method that takes relatively little time. This is ideal for companies that do not like long meetings and eternal in-depth discussions.

Sharing the results of an After Action Review with other teams can also create an interesting learning process. Indeed, by sharing, other teams can learn from successful strategies and avoid pitfalls.

The After Action Review is not part of an HR cycle. This means it is not a method to be used to punish or to reward.

When do we do it?

The best time to use the After Action Review is shortly after the completion of a project. During a Review, the whole team comes together and looks at areas for improvement together.

However, the method is also good to use during a project, for instance to evaluate why a project is not running as desired. By using the methodology during a project, pitfalls can quickly be overcome, so that a deadline need not be jeopardised.

How do we do it?

Conducting the After Action Review is not difficult and takes little time. By following four steps, the reflection process is quick and easy to implement.

1. Guidance

An After Action Review is scheduled and supervised by a facilitator. It is better if this person is not (has not been) substantively involved in the project.

2. Duration

An After Action Review takes an average of 20 minutes per team member. During each After Action Review, someone is assigned as timekeeper.

3. Commitment

During each After Action Review, someone is appointed as a note-taker to record the findings on a whiteboard. After the After Action Review, the findings are recorded in an After Action Report. The After Action Report is written by the facilitator and shared with the rest of the organisation.

4. Question

During an After Action Review, you as a team will start answering the following four questions:

1. What did we want to achieve?

2. What did we actually achieve?

3. What went well and why?

4. What can be improved and how?

Summary

Practice has shown that reflection is very important to stay ahead of pitfalls or even avoid them. The After Action Review is a useful method for looking at what went well and what could be improved in a relatively quick way during or after projects.

The After Action Review is highly suitable not only as a structured approach to evaluate a group's work but also for identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. By following four steps, the reflection process is easy to deploy. Good luck!