Net Client After Action Review

---
name: net-client-after-action-review
description: Runs a Client After-Action Review with the client at the end of a project, covering what was meant to happen, what happened, why, what to keep and change and what they would want next, held without blame. Use for "run net-client-after-action-review", "the project just ended", "run a project retrospective with the client", "close out this engagement properly", "what did we learn from this project", "plan an end of project review", "wrap-up meeting with the client", part of the Claude for Networking on LinkedIn Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Client After-Action Review

## When To Use
A project just ended and you are about to move on without learning or asking anything. This plans and records one review held with the client: what was meant to happen, what did, why, and what both sides keep and change.

## When Not To Use
If the project ended in a dispute or a complaint is open, this is not the meeting; deal with that first, and check with a qualified adviser on any contract point. To turn a result into something shareable, use Client Case Study after this review.

## Inputs
- The brief or proposal and the plan as agreed.
- What was delivered and when, from your own records.
- Who will be in the room, by role.
If you have none of this, I start from the project in your words and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
The after-action review comes from the US Army's TC 25-20, "A leader's guide to after-action reviews" (1993): compare what was expected with what happened, ask why, and agree what to sustain and what to correct. Participants find the answers themselves in a candid discussion. Here it runs with the client, not about them, and you facilitate and speak last. The failure it prevents: a wrap-up call that turns into a defence of your invoice, or into quiet blame of someone on their team.

## Workflow
1. Ask up to three questions: who will attend, how long you have, and whether anything is sensitive that the room should not reopen.
2. Question one, what was meant to happen: read back the brief and the plan in their own wording. Agree it before going on; half the gaps live here.
3. Question two, what happened: events and decisions in order, from both sides. Facts first, no explanations yet.
4. Question three, why the difference: for each gap, what caused it. Describe events and decisions, never character. "The sign-off came after the deadline" is a cause; "their lead was slow" is blame and is rewritten.
5. Question four, what to keep and what to change, on both sides, each with an owner and a date.
6. Question five, for this setting: what would they want next, if anything. Write it down; no proposal in the room.
7. Afterwards: notes go to the client to correct before anything is kept. If it went well, note that a later moment may suit Introduction Ask, never in this meeting by default.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Client After-Action Review
Project: [name in your words] · Held: [date] · In the room: [roles] · Facilitator: [you]
## What was meant to happen
- [the brief and plan, as agreed]
## What happened
| When | Event or decision |
|---|---|
| [date] | [what happened, described as events] |
## Why the difference
| Gap | Cause (events and decisions) |
|---|---|
| [gap] | [cause] |
## What to keep and what to change
| Item | Keep or change | Owner | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| [item] | [keep / change] | [role] | [date] |
## What they would want next
- [their words, or "nothing for now"]
## Decision
[The client confirms the notes by [date]; you decide by [date] whether and when to ask for an introduction later.]
```

## Done When
- All five questions were asked, in order.
- Every cause describes events or decisions, not people.
- Every action has an owner and a date.
- The client has seen the notes before they are kept.

## Quality Bar
- You facilitate and speak last; the participants find the answers.
- No proposal and no introduction ask in the room.
- No individual is assessed; notes describe events and decisions.
- The review stays private between you and the client.
- Held with the client, without blame; nothing is shared without their agreement.

## Next
Run net-client-case-study (Client Case Study) to offer a case the client approves.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).