After-Action Reviews in IT

by Vince Kellen

Anyone who spends time supporting complex IT environments will experience a major outage at some point in his or her career. In many cases, the experience is traumatic, leaving a lasting and painful impression. Companies can avoid this and other potentially major incidents if they implement an after-action review (AAR) process. AAR processes are found in the military, medical communities, the safety engineering discipline, and are normally embedded in total quality management (TQM) frameworks. Despite the rather widespread adoption elsewhere, most IT shops do not make rigorous use of AARs. This needs to change. This Executive Report by Vince Kellen explains AARs in detail by describing the steps within an AAR process and discussing the cultural and organizational tricks and traps that IT executives need to consider when implementing an AAR process.