After action review
An after action review template that captures what was planned, what actually happened, and why, right after an event, launch, or incident.
About this template
An after action review works best done immediately, while details are still sharp — not three weeks later in a generic retro. This template is built for that: what was planned, what happened, who was actually there to say so, why the two diverged, and one action item with an owner and a due date, filled in right after the event.
Multiple perspectives matter more than they might seem to for something this quick. The same event often looks different to the person who planned it, the person who executed it, and the person who lived with the outcome — track who was actually involved so a one-sided account doesn't quietly become the official record.
Unlike a lessons learned entry, which can cover an entire project, an AAR is scoped to one specific event: a launch, an incident, a drill, a sprint. That narrower scope is what keeps the review sharp instead of generic.
Run one after every significant event, not just the ones that went wrong — after action reviews on successes are often just as useful for spotting what to repeat on purpose.
What’s inside
Columns included
Task types
Custom fields
Key features
- Planned-vs-actual comparison built into the card
- Participants field to capture more than one perspective on the same event
- Scoped to a single event for a sharper review
- Works for both successes and failures
- Action item always tied to an owner and a due date, not just a name
- Designed to be filled in immediately, not weeks later
Who is this template for?
- Engineering teams reviewing incidents and launches
- Military and emergency-response-style operational teams
- Event and marketing teams debriefing campaigns
- Support teams reviewing major outages
- Agile teams running sprint-level AARs alongside retros
How to use this template
Use this board to run a focused review right after a specific event, while the details — and the people who were there — are still fresh.
Step 1
Write down what was planned
Capture the intended outcome and approach before memory of the original plan fades.
Step 2
Note who was actually involved
List everyone close enough to the event to have a real perspective on it. The planner, the executor, and whoever lived with the outcome often remember it differently — that gap is useful, not noise.
Step 3
Document what actually happened
Record the real outcome and sequence of events, separate from any judgment about why it differed.
Step 4
Identify the gap and assign an owned action
Explain why plan and reality diverged, then assign one concrete action item with an owner and a due date — a recommendation with no deadline rarely survives past the meeting it was raised in.
Frequently asked questions
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