An after action report (or AAR) is any form of

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

analysis on a given sequence of goal-oriented actions previously undertaken, generally by the author themselves. The two principal forms of AARs are the

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...

AAR, intended for recreational use, and the analytical AAR, exercised as part of a process of

performance evaluation A performance appraisal, also referred to as a performance review, performance evaluation,Muchinsky, P. M. (2012). ''Psychology Applied to Work'' (10th ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press. (career) development discussion, or employee appr ...

and improvement. In most cases, AARs are a combination of both. Most analytical AARs are conducted over a contemporary problem or situation that has occurred in the past, is happening right now, or what could happen in the future.

History

The first AARs were developed by army generals. One of the first and best examples of an AAR is

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

’s “ Commentaries on the Gallic War”. Contemporary examples of AARs include project evaluations in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

, as well as summaries of large gaming sessions in

videogame Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

culture.

Literary AARs

Literary AARs can be formal or informal documents that seek syntax and linguistic improvement. Many

research papers Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally publ ...

published under an academic journal can be considered a literary AAR. There might not be much of a difference between literary AARs and analytical AARs in terms of research papers, but the key difference is analytical seeks to improve performance while literary seeks to improve style.

Analytical AARs

Analytical AARs are formal

documents A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...

intended to serve as aids to performance evaluation and improvement, by registering situation–response interactions, analyzing critical procedures, determining their effectiveness and efficiency, and proposing adjustments and recommendations.

Objectives

Analytical AARs have three central objectives: * Identifying problematic issues and needs for improvement * Proposing measures to counteract problematic elements * Obtaining “ lessons learned”

Structure

#Overview #Goals and objectives #Analysis of outcomes #Analysis of the performance shown on critical tasks #Summary #Recommendations

Examples

* The U.S. Army has adopted the After Action Review (AAR) as the primary method for delivering feedback after unit training exercises. Likewise, the U.S. Army Research Institute (ARI) has supported the development and implementation of AAR procedures for over 20 years. The After Action Review Process is critical to forming an After Action Report. Notes from the review often find themselves in the report. * Another example of an After Action Report is the global status reported on

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...

. Studies are conducted in order to determine how severe road safety concerns are in a particular area. After this, a report is created over the conditional event that is road safety, and a reflection is written with insight into how road safety can be improved. * Exercise reports are a form of analytical AARs and could be peer-reviewed by an expert who might make suggestions to one's workout routine. Exercise reports find themselves following the same structure as a general AAR. A draft report can be written before workouts, and a follow-up report could be written afterward detailing steps the user could act upon in order to improve their work ethic. The exerciser looking at their own report would know what they need to improve upon in the future, and could practice that skill in order to perfect it.Blue, C. L. (1995). The predictive capacity of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior in exercise research: An integrated literature review. Research in Nursing & Health, 18(2), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770180205

External links

*US Arm
A leader's guide to after action review(SEPTEMBER 1993)
(TC25-20). *US Arm
A leader's guide to after action review(December 2013)

Guide for analytical AARs implementation

References

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