Automated summary

Runs a structured debrief in four passes — what was expected, what actually happened, why the gap, and what to do next — to extract lessons from a past event.

Strengths

Fill-in-the-blank scaffold with tables (timeline, expected-vs-actual gaps, root causes, actions) that removes the blank-page problem
Explicitly separates raw facts from analysis, which curbs jumping to explanations and finger-pointing
Forces an owner and a deadline on every improvement, plus a follow-up date to check whether changes stuck
Asks for what worked and how to protect it, not just a list of failures

Limitations

Provides only the structure — output quality depends entirely on participants' honesty and recall
The 'no blame' guideline is stated but the skill offers no method for handling tension or disagreement during the session
Assumes a finished, reasonably documented event; without concrete facts the tables stay vague

When to use it

Use it right after a launch, project, presentation, or any significant event where the team needs concrete lessons and assigned follow-up actions.

When not to use it

Avoid it for resolving interpersonal conflict, reviewing an individual's performance, or running a technical incident post-mortem that needs deeper causal analysis.

Security analysis

Safe

Quality score82/100

This skill is a pure Markdown prompt/template with no declared allowed-tools, no shell commands, no network or file access, and no instructions to exfiltrate data, disable safeguards, or run obfuscated payloads. It only asks the model to guide a structured after-action review conversation, so listing it carries no meaningful execution risk.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Post-launch review

Run an after-action review of our homepage redesign launch on March 12. Here's what we planned: ship by 9am, 5% conversion lift, no more than 1 hour downtime. Here's what happened: we shipped at 2pm, conversion dropped 2% for three days, and we didn't post in Slack until hour 3.

Presentation debrief

Do a structured AAR on yesterday's presentation to the executive committee — three of us presented, we had 20 minutes, and the Q&A ran long. Ask me for the details you need.

Database migration

AAR on last weekend's database server migration: planned 2-hour window, actual 6 hours, one rollback attempt. Walk me through the four questions.

name: aar description: After-Action Review—structured debrief asking what was expected, what happened, why the difference, and what next. Use after projects, launches, presentations, or any significant event. user-invocable: true

After-Action Review

Name: After-Action Review
Author: Skills Guide Bot

Conduct a structured debrief to extract learning from any significant event or experience.

Instructions

Work through the four core questions honestly and specifically. Focus on events and systems, not blaming individuals.

Output Format

Event: What are we reviewing? Date: When did it happen? Participants: Who was involved?

1. What Was Expected?

Before the event, what did we think would happen?

Goals/Objectives

[What were we trying to achieve?]

Plan

[What was the plan to achieve it?]

Success Criteria

[How would we know if we succeeded?]

Assumptions

[What did we assume would be true?]

2. What Actually Happened?

Facts only—what occurred, not why

Timeline | Time | Event | |------|-------| | [When] | [What happened] |

Outcomes

[What results did we get?]

Compared to Expected | Expected | Actual | Gap | |----------|--------|-----| | [expectation] | [reality] | [+/-] |

3. Why the Difference?

Analysis of the gap between expected and actual

What Went Well (sustain these) | Success | Contributing Factors | |---------|---------------------| | [what worked] | [why it worked] |

What Didn't Go Well (improve these) | Problem | Root Cause | |---------|-----------| | [what failed] | [why it failed] |

Surprises

[Things we didn't anticipate]

4. What Do We Do Next?

Specific actions to sustain or improve

Sustain (keep doing these) | Action | Owner | How to Protect It | |--------|-------|-------------------| | [what to continue] | [who] | [mechanism] |

Improve (change these) | Action | Owner | By When | |--------|-------|---------| | [what to change] | [who] | [deadline] |

Key Takeaways Top 3 lessons from this review:

[Lesson]
[Lesson]
[Lesson]

Follow-up When will we check if improvements are working?

Guidelines

Do this soon—memory fades fast
Be specific: "Communication failed" → "We didn't update Slack until hour 3"
Balance: Include what went well, not just problems
Assign owners: Insights without ownership become forgotten
Make it safe: Blame shuts down honesty

$ARGUMENTS

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/download' --output '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code

test -f '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/aar' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1' '.claude/skills/aar'

Cursor

test -f '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/aar' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1' '.cursor/skills/aar'

Codex

test -f '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.agents/skills' && test ! -e '.agents/skills/aar' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1' '.agents/skills/aar'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation

openskills install './.skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1'

openskills read 'after-action-review-mrwakbs1'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/after-action-review-mrwakbs1/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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Skills Guide Bot