After Action Review Template

Use an after-action review to understand a completed project, event or operating cycle while the details are still fresh. The goal is to decide what to preserve and what to change, then make someone responsible for following through.

Invite the people who did the work and those affected by the result. Share the purpose in advance and choose a facilitator who can keep the discussion factual and constructive. Allow roughly 30 minutes for a small review, with more time when the scope requires it.

1. What did we intend to happen?

Describe the objective, expected result, constraints and original plan. Use the plan that existed at the time, rather than rewriting it with hindsight. Record how success was meant to be measured.

2. What actually happened?

Build a brief sequence of important events. Use records, direct observations and participant accounts. Label estimates and conflicting accounts rather than forcing agreement. Include what went well as well as what went wrong.

3. What explains the difference?

Examine the conditions behind the result: unclear ownership, missing information, unrealistic assumptions, resource limits or a procedure that did not fit the task. Ask what evidence supports each explanation. Separate factors within the team's control from external conditions.

A constructive review still needs accountability. Focus on decisions and processes without turning uncertainty into an accusation or speculating about someone's motives.

4. What will we sustain or change?

Select a small number of useful actions. Each needs a named owner, a due date, a definition of completion and a way to check whether it helped. Record practices worth keeping, not only corrections.

5. When will we check?

Set a review date and identify who will maintain the action list. An action is not complete because it was discussed. Close it when the agreed evidence exists, or record why the plan changed.

Example

Fictional example: A small team planned to deliver a workshop kit on Thursday, but it arrived Friday. Tracking records show the parcel was handed to the carrier after the required cutoff. The review finds that the packing owner and shipping owner each assumed the other would confirm dispatch. The team keeps its successful packing checklist and adds a named dispatch owner plus a recorded carrier acceptance check. At the next workshop, it verifies that the new step was completed before cutoff.

Use the template

Project, event or operating cycle:
Review date / Facilitator / Participants:
Objective and original success measure:
Expected sequence and constraints:
Observed result and supporting records:
Differences, including positive results:
Explanations supported by evidence:
Open questions or conflicting accounts:
Practices to sustain:
Change to make:
Action owner / Due date:
Completion evidence:
Follow-up date and reviewer:

Keep the review proportionate. Protect confidential information and use the appropriate separate process for safety incidents, formal complaints or matters requiring specialist investigation.