An **After action review** is an army concept in which a deliberate look is taken at any major operation after the fact in effort to learn more and improve results for similar future operations. These were held with all necessary stakeholders to document, from a consensus perspective, what you were trying to do, how you tried to do it, what the circumstances and variables were, the outcome, and how it could be done better next time.
> [!quote] Even if things had gone well, we still analyzed them. Sometimes things go right by accident, and you are left with the dangerous ill using that it was your doing.
This feels like a great practice. Deliberate learning. Sort of like [[Deliberate Practice]] for infrequent events. Seems translatable to regular life, also.
> [!example]
> I had a contractor install Sheetrock in our basement. The result was successful, but not without unnecessary pain. I did not read the contract carefully enough, I failed to ask enough questions. I thought I would make note of terms I didn't understand and spend time with the contract later, looking up terminology. This later time never came to pass as I was over by other "must do now" work. I also did not elicit additional bids, instead opting for the first person who answered the phone.
>
> **Next time you work with contractors**
> - get multiple bids, non-negotiable
> - ask questions in the room, especially when time is short.
>
> **Next time you do Sheetrock, paint, etc**
> - put down plastic on the floors
## Generic Template
```markdown
# {event} After Action Report
## About
- Event Date
- Event Participants
- Review Date
- Review Participants
## What was supposed to happen?
- {fill this in}
- {add bullets as needed to all sections}
## What actually happened?
- {fill this in}
- {fill this in}
## Why were there differences?
- {fill this in}
- {fill this in}
## What can we learn?
- {fill this in}
- {fill this in}
## Knowledge Share Actions
{fill this in - how will the organization learn what needs to be learned}
```
If you are diligent about filling these out and storing them consistently such that they amass over time, it feels in some ways similar to [[Architecture Decision Records]]. Feels like both practices could yield good results in business and, perhaps, personally.
****
# More
## Source
- [[It's Your Ship]]
- Template lifted from: https://rems.ed.gov/docs/Tennessee%202021%20District%20EOP%20Template%20-%20After%20Action%20Review.docx