How To Debrief a Project & Why It Matters

Our businesses are constantly communicating with us.

Knowing how to gather and distill that information helps us integrate our lived experience, sharpen our discernment muscles, and hone our instincts.

It gives us a well of wisdom to draw on. Rather than look outside of ourselves for answers, we can find direction within the patterns of our own experience.

What a Project Debrief Is

First, let’s define a project.

A project is anything with a clear start and end point that’s done intentionally on behalf of a broader business goal.

A project could be a trade show, a product launch, a season of a podcast, a marketing campaign, hiring an employee, rebranding your website, running a workshop, or hosting an event. It’s anything with defined edges.

You can also turn things into projects. If you’re starting a blog, newsletter, or podcast, instead of assuming it’s something you’re going to do for the rest of forever, turn it into an experiment. Commit to 10 episodes of a podcast or a year of quarterly newsletters or six months of weekly blog posts. This is a helpful way to practice commitment while giving yourself permission to evolve and change. It allows you to test what works for you and your audience. This is especially helpful for new businesses or creatives who are practicing visibility.

A project debrief is a repeatable reflection practice.

It’s a guided conversation that gives you an opportunity to learn from, integrate, and celebrate your experiences.

Why It’s Important

An effective project debrief moves us beyond “good/bad” or “success/failure” and into the rich, nuanced landscape of our experiences.

It lets us practice being a curious, compassionate witness.

It invites us into play by turning things into experiments and giving them timelines. “Let’s try this and see what happens.”

It reminds us that we are in collaboration with our business. We do not have to continue doing what we’ve always done, we can iterate and evolve in favour of what’s next.

It shapes and informs our expectations. Instead of assuming something takes ‘x’ amount of time, we have the experience to know we need to allow for ‘3x’.

It gives us a well of wisdom to draw on. Rather than habitually turning outside of ourselves for answers, we can find direction within the patterns of our own lived experience.

And finally, it gives us an opportunity to reflect and celebrate.

How It Works

Project debriefs shouldn’t be complicated.

The goal is to turn this into a practice.

The best way to do that is by making it as simple and inviting as possible.

Start small, but do start.

Note: I’ve broken this down into three overarching sections and given sample questions to explore within each. No need to follow this exactly or answer every question. Treat this as a starting point. Get curious and creative while figuring out what works for you. Come up with your own questions and use your own language.

Reflect: What Happened?

What were we aiming for and what actually happened?

Tell the truth about what happened. Not what you hoped for, not what’s comfortable, but what’s actually here. Be as objective as possible. You are practicing being a witness. This isn’t about blame (or even praise!), it’s about being clear and kind with yourself, your team, and your business.

Questions to explore:

• What were our goals or intentions? Did we meet or experience them?

• What went well? What didn’t? Include the entire process from creation to execution. If you’re debriefing a trade show, reflect on the preparation and the event itself.

Review: What Can We Learn?

Based on what’s here, what can we learn?

Start drawing lines. Get curious about what could have contributed to any successes, failures, or surprises you experienced. Look for relationship. Be clear about what factors are in or out of your control. This is an opportunity to learn about your product, your market, your strategy, and yourselves.

Questions to explore:

• What was challenging? What was easy?

• What took more time or effort than we thought it would? Less?

• What went better than expected? Worse?

• What felt good? What didn’t?

• What was energizing? What was draining?

• What was surprising? Where did we surprise ourselves, and where did others surprise us? Perhaps a product did far better at a craft show than expected. Or you had more fun making a spreadsheet than you thought you would.

• Why or why not do we think we met our goals?

• What’s worth celebrating? (Don’t skip this one! Noticing and naming what’s worth celebrating—and actually celebrating it—is incredibly valuable.)

Don’t worry if you can’t make sense of everything. Note things that feel notable. Patterns might reveal themselves down the line.

Reorient: What’s Next?

How will our learnings shape and inform what’s next?

Integrate your experiences. This is your opportunity to bring forward what worked and compost what didn’t. Check-in and ask yourself how and if you want to do anything differently. What do you want to stop, start, or continue? Focus on what’s in your control. For example, do not put different expectations on the market, put different expectations on yourself.

Questions to explore:

• Would we do this again? If so, what changes would we make?

• What did it cost us to make this money (financial costs, time, mental/emotional bandwidth)? Was it worth it?

• If we do this again, how can we better support ourselves?

Final Thoughts

Having a well-grooved reflection practice is a huge strength in business and in life.

By taking an intentional pause, you’re setting yourself up to learn from your experiences and integrate those learnings into whatever comes next.

Use project debriefs as a tool to come into conversation with your business, your team, and yourself.