// description
A structured debriefing process conducted after a project or event to capture learning: What was supposed to happen? What actually happened? Why were there differences? What should we do differently next time? Designed to transfer learning from experience into institutional knowledge.
// history
The U.S. Army developed the After Action Review in the 1970s at Fort Irwin, California, as part of its National Training Center programme. It became a standard practice across the military for debriefing exercises and combat operations. Peter Senge described AARs in "The Fifth Discipline" as an example of organisational learning in practice. The format has since been adopted in sports coaching, healthcare, aviation, and increasingly in business and startups.
// example
After a course launch: What was planned — hit 50 enrolments at £97 in the first week. What happened — hit 23 enrolments. Differences — the launch email sequence had a broken link for 48 hours; the sales page didn't load well on mobile. Why — no pre-launch testing checklist. Next time — create a launch checklist including link testing and mobile preview, run it 48 hours before opening cart.
// katharyne's take
The After Action Review is the single most useful thing you can do after every launch, every course cohort, every significant project. I do mine in a dedicated Notion page and keep a running document of "launch lessons" that I review before every new launch. The army figured out decades ago what most businesses still don't do: systematically extract the learning from experience so you don't keep making the same mistakes. This is how you actually get better over time.
// creative uses
- Run an AAR after every KDP book launch: what was your sales target, what did you actually hit, what keywords performed, which didn't, and what would you change about the cover or listing? After 5-10 books, your AAR log becomes a proprietary research database on what works in your specific niche.
- Use a micro-AAR format for Midjourney prompt development: before closing a session, spend 5 minutes noting which prompts produced the best results and why (lighting descriptors, style references, aspect ratios). This is low-effort in the moment and compounds into a personal prompt library that's actually rooted in your own results, not generic tutorials.
- Apply an AAR to any content piece that significantly over- or underperformed: a pin that went viral, an email with 60% open rate, or a listing that's never sold. The AAR forces you to understand the why rather than just noting the result — and the why is what's transferable to your next piece.
// quick actions
- Create a Notion template right now with four headings: "What Was Planned," "What Happened," "Why the Difference," "Next Time." Use it within 24 hours of your next launch, content drop, or significant project completion. The detail you retain 24 hours after is vastly greater than a week later.
- Go back to your most recent launch or project that didn't hit its goal. Run the four AAR questions on it right now — even from memory. Write down at least one concrete change to make next time. Then make sure that change is built into your next project plan before you start.
- Start a "launch lessons" running document (Notion, Google Doc, plain text — doesn't matter). Every AAR you complete, extract the single most important lesson and add it to the top of this doc. Review the full doc before every new launch. Three months from now this document will be worth more than most business courses you could buy.
// prompt ideas
Run an After Action Review with me on my most recent [launch / product release / content campaign]. I'll give you the details: [describe what you planned, what happened, and the key numbers]. Ask me the four AAR questions in order, push back if my answers are vague, and help me extract one concrete change to make before the next time.
I want to build a standing AAR habit for every KDP or Etsy product I publish. Help me design a lightweight AAR template — four questions, no more than 10 minutes to complete — that I can fill out within 30 days of publishing any new listing. Include space to track what I'd do differently next time.
Here are the notes from three past launches I never properly debriefed: [paste your notes or key stats]. Run an AAR across all three and identify any patterns — recurring mistakes, consistent gaps in my planning, or things that worked every time. Turn the patterns into three standing rules for my next launch.