Mistakes were made. Let's debrief.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Worse yet, sometimes things go exactly as planned, but the plan itself is faulty. And sometimes, you are too busy to make a plan, so things "just go."?

This last case is especially problematic, as it leads to more mistakes happening in the future. That's why we recently implemented a method of debriefing after every project.

We start by presenting the project's goal and listing the events as they happened during the project timeline. Though it is natural to focus on what mistakes were made, it is crucial to document every step first since sometimes the culprit for the error is hiding a few steps before its emergence.?

We don't cast judgment but merely list the facts.?

Then we look at the timeline and list each negative effect that emerged (e.g., missed deadline, faulty survey link) and identify potential causes.

After listing the adverse effects and the errors that contributed to their manifestation, we examine potential systemic solutions we could implement to prevent them.?

Then we adapt the process and assign the responsibilities for their implementation in the future.?

Did you notice that there was no need to assign guilt to anyone? Even human errors require a systemic address since to err is human.?