The After Action Review (AAR) has become a standard process in healthcare and business creating a formal process after an event, project, or disaster to document and learn for the future. But in many cases lessons are not being learned and the time spent completing the AAR process does not lead to useful changes within an organization.
The Harvard Business Review published an excellent article in 2005 “Learning in the Thick of It” about the history and process of the After Action Report. The article stresses that the AAR should not simply be a report but a process to help an organization or group learn for the future.
After Action Review Resources
After Action Review Process Template by Business Survival Partners, LLC.
“Learning in the Thick of It” – Harvard Business Review,
Authors: Marilyn Darling, Charles Parry, Joseph Moore
URL Link – https://hbr.org/2005/07/learning-in-the-thick-of-it
“Guide to the After Action Review”
Authors:
Susanne Salem-Schatz, ScD, VA Center for Implementation Practice and Research Support
Diana Ordin, MD, MPH, VA Office of Quality and Performance
Brian Mittman, Ph.D., VA Center for Implementation Practice and Research Support
URL Link – https://www.cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/Guide-to-the-after_action_review.pdf
“Blameless PostMortems and a Just Culture”
Author: John Allspaw
URL Link – https://codeascraft.com/2012/05/22/blameless-postmortems/
“Ask ‘why’ five times about every matter“
Author: Taiichi Ohno
URL Link – https://www.toyota-global.com/company/toyota_traditions/quality/mar_apr_2006.html
“5 Whys – Getting to the Root of a Problem Quickly”
Author: Mindtools Content Team
URL Link – https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_5W.htm
“When IT Disaster Strikes, Part 3: Conducting a Blameless Post-Mortem”
Author: Eric Sigler
URL Link – https://devops.com/when-it-disaster-strikes-part-3-conducting-a-blameless-post-mortem/