After+Action+Review

AFTER ACTION REVIEW

**What it is** An After Action Review (AAR) is a simple process to review a project, an activity, an event or a task. In AAR, the individuals involved in the activity or task reflect and discuss what happened, why it happened, what went well, what needs improvement, and what lessons can be learned from the experience with a view to doing equally well or better next time.

**When to use it** ▪ Adaptable to virtually all types of activities. ▪ Important to use in the context of key, recurrent and strategic activities to ensure a constant flow of learning and improvement

▪ In the course of an activity to learn while doing, track progress and correct some aspects rights away (__learning while doing__) or ▪ At the end of an activity but before people forget what happened and move on to something new (__learning after doing__).

**How it is applied**

__1. Call the meeting soon__ ▪ AARs should be conducted when the people involved in the experience are still available and their memories fresh __2. Create a climate conducive to frank sharing__ ▪ Trust, openness and commitment to learning are key ▪ AARs are learning events, not critiques. ▪ Everyone is regarded as an equal participant with no junior/senior dynamics ▪ Setting ground rules and holding the AAR in a different location from the work environment can help create the right climate. __3. Appoint a facilitator__ ▪ A key factor to contribute (or not) to the right climate for the AAR ▪ Ideally someone who was not closely involved in the project or activity (to be objective) but with a good understanding of the issue (to keep focus) and AAR methodology. __4. Ask the 4 key questions:__ a. What was supposed to happen? b. What actually happened? c. Why were there differences? d. What did we learn?

▪ After revisiting the objectives of the activity, it is always a good idea to start with the positive points, i.e. “What went well out of what happened?”. For each point, keep asking “why”. ▪ For problematic areas, ask “what could have gone better?” instead of “what went wrong?”. Understanding “why” is equally fundamental. ▪ Allow enough time for reflection ▪ Encourage the contributions of all, including by using flipcharts and colored cards ▪ Probe answers before recording them as lessons learned or good practices

__5. R____ ecord the ____ AAR __ It is important to have a clear and well-documented account of the AAR: ▪ The name of the activity and main data related to it, including the name of people involved in it and those participating in the AAR ▪ Lessons learned ▪ Good practices ▪ Guidance and recommendations for the future ▪ Key documents related to the activity

__6. Share the learning__ Make the results of the AAR known to: ▪ Those involved in the activity ▪ Others who can benefit from the learning (e.g. because they will embark in a similar activity) ▪ Management and other parts of the organization that can take measures to redress or improve in areas that would benefit future activities of a similar nature

**How to adapt it** ▪ It can be an end-of-day or end-of-activity evaluation in a training. ▪ It can be conducted in person, on the telephone or online with tools such as instant messaging, teleconferencing, wikis and forums. Remember to provide adequate incentives for participation in the forum. ▪ It is normally a collective activity but can be adapted to the individual level as an exercise for personal reflection

**What to consider** ▪ If participants in the AAR are initially hesitant to discuss what did and did not work, try asking everyone to express individually both a positive and a negative thought, or provide sticky-notes and instruct participants to post their insights for everyone to discuss later in the session. ▪ Identify key, recurrent and strategic activities in your area of work and build the AAR into them to ensure a constant flow of productive feedback.

The timeframe for an AAR depends on the event being reviewed. While AARs should ideally be as short, concise and effective as possible, bear in mind that more complex events will require more time. For example, while an AAR at the end of a training course can last as little as half an hour, you may need as much as a full day for a thorough After Mission Review for a fact-finding mission.
 * Timing**

- copies of the AAR framework with the 4 key questions - pens/pencils - one flipchart with the large AAR framework used by the facilitator
 * What you will need**

**Examples in OHCHR** ▪ After Mission Reviews (link to note and template) ▪ End-of-day and end-of-activity evaluations of training courses ▪ After Session Reviews of the Human Rights Council or a Treaty Body ▪ After Mission Reviews of visits of special procedures mandate holders ▪ After conference reviews (e.g. Durban review, social forum, minority forum) ▪ Opening and closing of a field presence ▪ After or during key activities of the Section, Branch, Division and Field Presence ▪ …

Downloadable template and case study from KM4Dev: [] Step-by-step guide and flashcards produced by Dare to Share: [], practical examples and additional resources in the KS Toolkit: []
 * Where to learn more**

**Quotes** ▪ [|After Mission Review] "After action reviews provide an opportunity to recognize the good work done, acknowledge the mistakes that have been made and improve the way in which we work in the future". (Ahmed Motala) "They are not just an instrument for the Sections and Field Presences directly involved in the mission. They often point to gaps and areas of improvement that concern the entire Office. Implementing recommendations to redress these office-wide gaps is then key. This is where AARs can make the biggest impact in improving the way we work as an office". (Giuseppe Calandruccio)

▪ __End-of-day evaluations in trainings__ “When we deliver a training course, at the end of each day, we ask participants to discuss in 3-4 groups how the day went: what went well, what can be improved. One representative of each group will then report the group feedback to the training team. It is a useful method to take the temperature and quickly identify things to improve in the following days. By repeating the end-of-day evaluation throughout the course, we can also get feedback on the usefulness of the adjustments made”. (Cristina Michels)