We often don’t know what we don’t yet know.
That’s what makes after-action reviews essential. They help communicators uncover overlooked details, identify areas for improvement, and sharpen what worked. More than a box-ticking exercise, these reviews are an opportunity to extract insight from experience. They ensure campaigns don’t just end—they lead to something better.
Yet too often, they’re rushed, skipped, or conducted with the wrong mindset and communicators lose the opportunity to make learning and improvement a deliberate part of their programme/campaign design.
End-of-project isn’t your only review point
Many teams still treat after-action reviews as something to do at the very end of a campaign. But by then, it’s too late to apply what you’ve learned. A review done only at the end of a programme may help the next one—but it won’t help the current one. That’s a missed opportunity.
Reviews don’t need to be extensive or formal each time. But setting time aside to evaluate at key milestones helps teams detect misalignment early. It also increases the chance of adapting messaging, strategy, or tactics in real time—before the window to make changes closes.
The most effective teams build these review points into their timeline upfront. That way, the reflection isn’t postponed. It’s scheduled.
And if it is confusing to name it an after-action review, simply call it something else.
Stop treating reviews like compliance tasks
Reviews often get treated like a post-campaign report. A task that is done to meet requirements, not to generate insight.
When viewed this way, it’s understandable why teams minimise or delay them. They become a source of administrative effort rather than a source of discovery.
But this mindset stops communicators from identifying gaps and shortfalls in a safe, constructive way. It also prevents us from acknowledging what went well, which is just as important to capture.
A useful review is one that encourages the team to reflect on its real experience—not just performance against plan, but context, challenges, missed opportunities and useful responses. That takes a different kind of effort, but one that pays dividends.
Reframing after-action reviews as proactive learning
The shift begins when we stop seeing after-action reviews as backward-looking. They’re not about justifying decisions. They’re about generating useful signals.
Reviews can be leading indicators when done at the right time and in the right spirit. They help uncover useful patterns such as customer responses, team behaviours, internal coordination and more. When collected consistently, they create a knowledge base that makes future planning faster and smarter.
Positioning reviews as part of the campaign’s learning loop makes them far more valuable. They become something the team looks forward to, not avoids.
Why we move on too quickly
It’s tempting to shift focus to the next campaign. Momentum builds. New ideas take shape. But skipping the review means missing the lessons from what just happened.
This tendency is reinforced by time pressure and psychological discomfort. It’s easier to focus on what’s next than to confront what could have gone better. There’s also the assumption that if a campaign performed well enough, there’s little value in revisiting it.
But even well-executed campaigns carry lessons. Ignoring them is a missed opportunity for improvement. Teams that regularly conduct reviews, especially during a campaign, are more likely to spot replicable strengths and subtle risks before they grow.
Making after-action reviews work for you
Too often, teams approach after-action reviews with unclear expectations. They meet to reflect but leave with little more than general observations or scattered notes. For these reviews to drive genuine improvement, they need structure, intent, and consistency. When done right, they become one of the most practical tools a team has to build on what works and fix what doesn’t.
Here are three ways to make after-action reviews effective:
- Be specific and structured. Use a fixed set of guiding questions so the team evaluates not just what happened, but why it happened. Avoid vague observations and focus on root causes.
- Run them at both milestones and endpoints. Schedule short, focused reviews at key project phases. This ensures that learning happens while the activity is still fresh and relevant.
- Capture insights, not just actions. Go beyond immediate next steps. Document principles, decision-making patterns, and outcomes that could inform future campaigns.
After-action reviews are not a sign of failure; rather, they are a sign of discipline.
When used properly, they help communicators gain clarity, build confidence, and deliver stronger results. That only happens when we take the time to pause, reflect and learn.
Programmes and campaigns should always end with more knowledge than they started with.
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