after-action-reportlisted
Install: claude install-skill rampstackco/claude-skills-pm
# After-Action Report
Run a structured retrospective on a launch, incident, or completed project. Produce actionable lessons, not just a document.
This skill is for after-the-fact analysis. For active incident response, use `incident-response`. For planning launches, use `launch-runbook`.
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## When to use
- After any incident (any severity)
- After every major launch
- At the end of a project (sprint retro, quarterly retro, project closeout)
- When a recurring issue has happened enough times to demand investigation
- When a decision didn't work out and the team wants to learn
## When NOT to use
- During an active incident (use `incident-response`)
- For pre-launch planning (use `launch-runbook`)
- For one-off bug fixes that don't merit broad analysis
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## Required inputs
- The event being analyzed (incident, launch, project)
- A timeline reconstructed from logs, chat, tickets
- Participant accounts of what they observed and did
- Outcomes and impact (what actually happened to users, the business)
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## The framework: blameless analysis
The most important principle: blameless. Without it, retrospectives produce hidden information and theatrical lessons rather than real ones.
### What blameless means
- Focus on systems, not individuals
- Assume everyone made reasonable decisions given what they knew at the time
- The question is "why was this decision reasonable to make?" not "who screwed up?"
- Fixing the system means the next person in that situation succe