Debriefing
Layer: Tactical | PDCA: Check & Act | Duration: 1 hour | Frequency: Weekly or bi-weekly
Participants: Team Leader, Team Members
The Debriefing closes the tactical loop. The team reviews what was done, what was not, and why. Improvement opportunities are detected and action plans are adjusted.
Inputs
- Board status (tasks completed, in progress, blocked)
- Observations from execution (anomalies, problems, ideas)
Outputs
- Improvement opportunities identified and documented
- Adjusted action plans for the next cycle
- Inputs for the Circle (operational improvement needs)
Key Principles
- Focus on learning, not blame
- Problems are raw material, not failures
- Every incomplete task gets a root cause, not just a new deadline
PDCA Steps
| Step | PDCA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| T2.3 | Check | Team detects and presents improvement opportunities from execution results |
| T2.4 | Act | Team implements improvements and adjusts action plans accordingly |
Anti-pattern: The Report-Out
The Debriefing degenerates into status reporting. Participants describe what happened but never ask why it happened. Root causes are skipped. Improvement opportunities are listed but not analyzed.
How to detect: The agenda has a "status update" section that consumes most of the time. Improvement opportunities on the Board have descriptions but no root cause analysis. The team leaves without a single new question about their process.
How to recover: Ban status updates from the Debriefing — the Board already shows status. Redirect the time to analysis: for every gap, ask "why?" at least three times before moving to action.