after action report
Post-event analysis document
An after action report is a structured review conducted after a military operation, emergency response, or project to assess what happened, what worked, and what didn't.
The goal is institutional learning—documenting successes and failures while memory is fresh so future efforts can improve.
Often abbreviated AAR.
The practice has spread from military contexts to business and emergency management: The team conducted an after action report following the product launch.
- debriefPost-mission questioning session
- reviewCritical written assessment
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- lessons learnedKnowledge from experience
- militaryArmed forces collectively
mission · critique · analysis · postmortem · root cause · evaluation · hotwash · operations · combat · feedback · incident · documentation · timeline · findings · recommendations · accountability · chain of command · patrol
after action reportbattle plan
Scheme for combat
strategic plan · advance planning · contingency plan · action plan · project proposal
after action reportsituation report
Briefing on current circumstances
after, action, report, aft, actions, act, acts, acted, acting