The four after action review questions
Ask them in this order. Agree the facts in questions 1 and 2 before anyone suggests a cause.
| Question | What to record | Example from the pilot workshop |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What did we plan to happen? | Purpose, success measures, times and roles, and any difference in how people understood the plan | Rooms of three at 10:35; at least 12 evaluation replies |
| 2. What actually happened? | A timeline with times, each entry marked recorded or remembered | Rooms opened at 10:39; 7 of 16 people replied |
| 3. Why was there a difference? | At least two possible explanations for each large difference, and for one success | Rooms were assigned from the registration list, not from arrivals |
| 4. What will we keep or change next time? | No more than three actions, each with a trigger, an owner, a date and a sign it was done | Assign rooms at 10:30 from the people present |
Filled example: timeline
Times from the platform log, the chat log and the producer’s notes. The Excel version calculates the minutes early or late.
| Planned | What was planned | Actual | What happened | Source | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Admit people; 18 registered | 10:00 | 14 joined by 10:08, two more at 10:20 | Platform log | Two registered people did not join |
| 10:10 | Opening question in rooms of three | 10:11 | Rooms ran as planned | Chat log | +1 min |
| 10:20 | Demonstration: weak and revised note | 10:21 | Nine people named the missing owner in chat within two minutes | Chat log | Better than planned |
| 10:35 | Practice rooms open for 18 minutes | 10:39 | One room had one person; producer moved people by hand | Producer notes | +4 min |
| 10:55 | Five-minute break | 10:59 | Break cut to three minutes | Platform log | Two minutes lost from the break |
| 11:00 | Compare and revise | 11:02 | Three volunteers shared; the segment ran to 11:19 | Remembered | +4 min over |
| 11:20 | Evaluation link posted | 11:26 | 7 of 16 people replied | Form count | +6 min; replies below the target of 12 |
| 11:30 | Close and end the call | 11:31 | Recording stopped at 11:30 | Platform log | +1 min |
Filled example: action register
Two changes and one practice to keep. Each owner said yes in the review.
| # | Keep or change | Trigger: when it applies | Owner (said yes) | By when | How we will know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Change: assign practice rooms at 10:30 from the people present, not from the registration list. | Every online session with pre-assigned rooms | Producer | Before the second delivery | No single-person rooms in the next platform log |
| A2 | Change: post the evaluation link at the start of the action segment, whatever the clock says. Write the cue as a segment in the run of show. | Every session with an end-of-session evaluation | Facilitator | Before the second delivery | Link time in the chat log; reply count recorded |
| A3 | Keep: open the demonstration with a weak note from the participants’ own kind of work. | When the group shares one type of handover | Co-trainer | Before the second delivery | The example is in the facilitator guide |
Blank action register
Blank version. Copy it into a document or use the Excel register, which counts open actions.
| # | Keep or change | Trigger: when it applies | Owner (said yes) | By when | How we will know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | |||||
| A2 | |||||
| A3 |
The 30-minute version
For a review straight after a session, when one person has filled in the timeline beforehand. The minutes add up to 30.
| Minutes | Part | What changes from the 45-minute review |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Rules | Read the rules aloud; no round of expectations |
| 3–8 | What did we plan? | Show the plan on screen; discuss it only if someone understood it differently |
| 8–15 | What happened? | Start from the prepared timeline; people add corrections only |
| 15–22 | Why the difference? | Take the largest difference and one success |
| 22–27 | Keep or change | Choose one or two actions |
| 27–30 | Owners | Owner, date and sign of completion, read back once |
After action review, lessons learned or retrospective?
| Question | After action review | Lessons learned review | Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Within 48 hours of one event, session or exercise | At the end of a project or milestone | At a regular interval, such as every two weeks |
| Who takes part | The people who ran the event | People from across the project and the team that receives the lessons | The team that works together |
| What it produces | No more than three actions for the next delivery | A register of lessons for other teams | Changes to how the team works |
| Related kit | This template | Lessons learned template | Retrospective template |
What you'll leave with
Within 45 minutes the people who ran the event record the plan, a timeline of what happened, possible reasons for the largest differences and no more than three actions, each with an owner who has said yes, a date and a sign that it was done.
Before the session
- For trainers, co-facilitators, producers and project teams who have just delivered a session, a pilot, an exercise or an event. Hold the review within 48 hours, while people still remember times and details. Use the lessons learned template instead when a different team or a later project needs the learning.
- Invite the people who ran the event and the person who can approve changes. Keep the group to 12 or fewer. Say in the invitation that the review looks at the plan and the process, not at individual performance.
- Collect the facts before the meeting: the plan or run of show, times from the platform or room, attendance and evaluation counts, and messages from the backstage channel. Enter them in the timeline so the group starts from records, not memory.
- If you can, choose a facilitator who did not lead the event, and a note-taker. Send the four questions in advance, open the review sheet in a shared document, turn on captions and offer a way to add points in writing.
How to fill it in with your team
Set the rules for the review
Say: “We compare the plan with what happened and decide what we keep or change. We talk about decisions and conditions, not about who is to blame.” Say who will see the notes. Ask the most senior person to speak last in each round so that other views come first. Confirm the end time.
What did we plan to happen?
Read the plan aloud: the purpose, the success measures, the times and who did what. Ask: “Is this what each of us understood the plan to be?” Record any difference in understanding as a finding. Write the success measures as numbers where the plan had them, such as attendance, timing or evaluation replies.
What actually happened?
Give three minutes of silent writing: each person adds times and events to the timeline. Then walk through it in order for seven minutes. Mark each entry as recorded, such as a platform log, or remembered. Include what went better than planned as well as what went worse. Do not discuss causes yet.
Why was there a difference?
Choose the two or three largest differences between the plan and the timeline, including one that went well. For each, ask “What conditions made this happen?” and collect at least two possible explanations before you choose one. Keep an explanation marked as possible when nobody can check it.
What will we keep or change next time?
For each difference, write one thing to keep or one thing to change, with the trigger for when it applies. Choose no more than three for the action register. A useful action changes a checklist, a template, a time or a role; “be more careful” is not an action.
Name owners and close
For each action, the owner says yes aloud, gives a date and says how the team will know it was done. Read the register back. Agree where the review sheet is stored and who checks the actions before the next delivery. Thank people for the facts they brought.
Participant worksheet
Copy this table into a document, or print the worksheet from the bundle. Share only what you choose.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1. What did we plan to happen? | Purpose, success measures, times and roles |
| 2. What actually happened? | Timeline with times; mark each entry recorded or remembered |
| 3. Why was there a difference? | At least two possible explanations for each large difference, including one success |
| 4. What will we keep or change? | No more than three actions, each with a trigger |
| Action register | Action, owner who said yes, date, and how we will know |
Debrief questions
- Which difference came from people understanding the plan differently, rather than from doing it differently?
- Which success do we want to repeat on purpose, and what conditions made it work?
- Which action changes a checklist, a template, a time or a role, and which only asks people to try harder?
Adapt it for your group
- For a solo trainer, answer the four questions alone in 15 minutes straight after the session, using the platform log and the evaluation count. Ask the sponsor or one participant to read the timeline and add what they saw.
- For participants after a practice exercise or simulation, run the four questions in groups of three for 12 minutes and collect one action per group. Keep the focus on the exercise, not on grading people.
- For remote reviews, keep the timeline on a shared screen, collect silent writing in a document or chat, and read each entry aloud for people who use a screen reader. Make cameras optional.
- If a safety issue, a serious incident or a complaint about a person comes up, stop that topic and use the proper organisational process. An after action review is not an investigation.
After the session
Store the review sheet with the plan or run of show for the event. Before the next delivery, the owner of each action confirms that the change is in the checklist, template or plan. After that delivery, add one line to the register: was the action used, and did the difference happen again? Close an action when it was used, and drop it on purpose when it no longer applies.
Questions people ask
What are the four after action review questions?
What did we plan to happen? What actually happened? Why was there a difference? What will we keep or change next time? The four-part structure comes from the US Army, which describes after action reviews in training publications such as TC 25-20, A Leader’s Guide to After-Action Reviews (1993). The wording on this page is our own.
How long should an after action review take?
30 to 45 minutes for one event. This page has a 45-minute plan and a 30-minute version for use straight after a session, when one person has filled in the timeline beforehand.
Who should attend an after action review?
The people who ran the event and the person who can approve changes, 12 people at most. Bring the participants’ view in through attendance, evaluation counts and comments rather than inviting everyone.
What is the difference between an after action review and a lessons learned review?
An after action review happens within a day or two of one event and produces a few actions for the same team’s next delivery. A lessons learned review happens at the end of a project and records lessons for other teams. Use the lessons learned template for that.
Do I need the Excel file?
No. The PDF holds everything you need to run the review on paper. The Excel workbook calculates how many minutes each segment ran early or late and counts open actions in the register.
What is included in the free and editable files?
The open PDF has the review sheet, the timeline, the action register, filled examples of all three and the 45-minute review plan. Subscribers also receive the editable Word file, the Excel workbook and a CSV of the example action register.
How to use the files
Print the PDF, edit the Word file in Word or Google Docs, or open the CSV or XLSX in a spreadsheet. Open files need no email.
Can I use this with paying clients?
Yes. Use and adapt this original Superglue kit in your own training, including paid client sessions. Please share this page rather than redistributing the unmodified kit. Read the full usage terms.