Cognitive biases
After-Action Review
After-Action Review
This directive is for clients processing a recent, specific event that did not meet their expectations. It is best applied when a client is caught in unproductive rumination or self-blame, struggling to articulate what went wrong or why. The worksheet provides a deliberate structure to move the client beyond the immediate emotional response and toward a more objective examination of the circumstances, their actions, and the results.
The process guides the client to deconstruct the event, distinguishing between internal and external contributing factors. This method helps differentiate poor strategy from poor execution or simple misfortune. By formalizing this debriefing, it encourages the extraction of actionable intelligence from the experience. The aim is to prevent a single negative outcome from leading to broad, unhelpful conclusions about personal competence, supporting more adaptive future planning.
After-Action Review
| Date: | Hour: | Place: |
|---|---|---|
| Event / Context: | ||
| My Original Objective: | ||
| Contributing Factors | Mark All That Apply | |
| It was not the right time. | ▢ | |
| There was a mismatch with the people involved. | ▢ | |
| My initial assessment of the situation was incorrect. | ▢ | |
| I made a significant error in judgment. | ▢ | |
| I lacked the necessary experience. | ▢ | |
| I lacked the necessary skills or knowledge. | ▢ | |
| The probability of success was low from the start. | ▢ | |
| I performed to my full ability under the circumstances. | ▢ | |
| The outcome was primarily determined by external factors. | ▢ | |
| Other (specify below): | ▢ | |
| Observed Outcomes | Mark All That Apply | |
| The outcome was significantly negative. | ▢ | |
| The negative outcome was limited in scope. | ▢ | |
| I identified a personal limitation. | ▢ | |
| I acquired new information or a new perspective. | ▢ | |
| The primary negative impact was on my self-perception. | ▢ | |
| The outcome resulted in a public loss of status. | ▢ | |
| Other (specify below): | ▢ | |
| Strategic Conclusions | Mark All That Apply | |
| The attempt was a strategic mistake from the outset. | ▢ | |
| The attempt was necessary to gain critical information. | ▢ | |
| I can now be certain that X (specify below). | ▢ | |
| This specific action/approach will be avoided in the future. | ▢ | |
| Regarding “I can now be certain that X,” specify X: | ||
| Procedural Notes for the Future: | ||
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