Business Bites: After Action Review

Oct 12, 2022

This week we are talking about After Action Review. We can use this as a tool to analyze situations when they have already occurred and conduct a structured review or a debrief of that situation. In facilitating this method, there are a series of 6 types of questions that should be asked during an After Action Review.

It is important to not only understand the components of what went right and what went wrong. This tool can be effective for organizations or when launching a new product or service. Rather than just being used either professionally or personally, this will help you discover ways that you can be more effective the next time you do a similar task. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode!

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Transcript

Welcome to Business Bites. My name is Sara. This is the podcast for busy professionals who want the quick hits of business terminology, historical context, and strategies for integration. Today we're going to be talking about an after action review, sometimes known as a structured review or a debriefing.

An after action review was first developed in the 1970s by the United States army as a tool to be able to look at situations after the fact and conduct a structured review or a debrief of that situation.

There are a series of six different types of questions that we ask during an after action review to be able to ensure optimum effectiveness. First, we think about what happened in that situation. We then talk about why it happened. We then focus on what will be the next action after this specific one, followed by which actions should be changed, which actions should be removed permanently, and which actions should remain the same. By working through each of these six questions, we're able to talk through that specific project, task, or activity and understand each of the different components of it. Not only what went well, but what needs to be changed for the future, as well as what we'd like to stay.

You can utilize an after action review in a number of different situations, whether you're launching a new product or service or rolling out a new process internally for your organization. Thinking about how you want to apply this tool either personally or professionally, will help you understand the ways that you can be more effective the next time you do a similar task.

This has been Sara with Business Bites. And you can reach me at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you on what other business terminology that you'd like to be bite-sized. As always give us a quick rating on your platform of choice and share this podcast with a friend.