Turn your notes on a finished project or event into a blame-free review, with what happened, what went well, what got in the way and why, one change to try for each problem, and the questions the notes cannot answer.
Sample results: runs and scores on this page are illustrations while testing is set up. How we test
Who it is for: Anyone who leads a team, a project or an event and wants to learn from it, such as a coordinator, a manager or a volunteer lead.
Select a part to see its prompt, input, output and check.
The same job, with and without the template
Sample
One plain prompt
Run a lessons-learned review on these notes: what went well, what did not, and what to change next time. (The same goal and notes are pasted below.)
Lessons learned: plant sale
What went well
The sale went ahead and raised 1,180 dollars.
The cash was counted by two people and matched the receipts.
Visitors liked the free seed packets.
What went wrong
Priya should have got the hall booking in writing. She booked by phone, so the kitchen closure came as a surprise.
Marcus did not chase the printer, so the flyers arrived late.
The volunteers were unreliable: only 7 of the 12 who signed up came.
The plants arrived early and some were damaged.
Recommendations
Communicate better and plan earlier.
Confirm all bookings in writing at least 3 weeks ahead.
Order flyers 4 weeks before the sale.
Everyone should be more careful about deadlines.
Problem:It blames Priya, Marcus and the volunteers, gives vague advice with no owner, and adds numbers the notes never gave (3 weeks, 4 weeks).
With this template
The same input, run through the steps.
Summary: The plant sale ran on Saturday, April 25 and raised 1,180 dollars against a goal of 1,500. Late flyers, a hall booking with nothing in writing, a sign-up sheet with no arrival time and an early plant delivery with no room to store it all made the day harder.
What went well
Two people counted the cash and it matched the receipts.
Several visitors liked the free seed packets.
What got in the way
Swipe sideways to see all columns
What got in the way
Why it happened
Change to try
Owner (a role)
How we will know
The flyers came back 5 days later than promised and were handed out only 2 days before the sale.
The printer returned them after the date given.
Ask the printer for a firm return date in writing and agree a back-up plan if it slips.
Publicity lead
The printer's written date is on file before the flyers are sent.
The hall's kitchen was closed on the day, so the tea stand had no hot water.
The booking was made by phone with nothing in writing, so the closure was not known until April 22.
Get the hall booking, including what it covers such as the kitchen, confirmed in writing.
Volunteer coordinator
A written confirmation that lists the kitchen is on file.
About half the plants stayed outside overnight and some were damaged by the cold.
The plants arrived a day before the sale, not on the morning, and the shed was already full.
Agree the delivery day and time with the nursery in writing and clear space in the shed first.
Not decided
The shed has room on the day the plants arrive.
Only 7 of the 12 volunteers came.
The sign-up sheet did not say what time to arrive.
Put the arrival time on the sign-up sheet.
Volunteer coordinator
Every volunteer who signs up can see an arrival time on the sheet.
Questions the notes do not answer
What time was the plant delivery arranged for, and how was the day agreed with the nursery?
What did the phone booking with the hall cover?
Why did some volunteers who signed up not come, beyond the missing arrival time?
Check this draft with the people who were there before you share it.
Check:Every quote is word for word from the notes: Eleven events quoted word for word from the notes.
Check:Each effect is went well or got in the way: Six rows, each Effect one of the two allowed words: 4 got in the way and 2 went well.
Check:Every change has an owner and a way to know: Four rows, each with a change, an owner role and a way to know filled in.
Check:The review ends with the reminder to check it with the people involved: The closing line is there: Check this draft with the people who were there before you share it.
Check:Every number in the review is in the notes: Every number in the review (25, 1,180, 1,500, 5, 2, 22, 7 and 12) is in the notes.
Check:No line puts the fault on a person: No line names a person as a cause or says anyone failed; the rows name roles and what the situation lacked.
Check:Each change fits its cause and names an action: Each of the four changes answers the cause in its own row and says what a person would do.
For your read:The people involved read it before it is shared: Will you ask the publicity lead and the volunteer coordinator whether the rows match what they remember?
Runs and scores
Sample
Claude, Sonnet model
October 4, 2026, easy sample
Check:Every quote is word for word from the notes
Five events quoted word for word from the notes.
Check:Each effect is went well or got in the way
Three rows, each Effect one of the two allowed words: 3 went well and none got in the way.
Check:Every change has an owner and a way to know
One row with None found in every cell, because nothing got in the way.
Check:The review ends with the reminder to check it with the people involved
The closing line is there: Check this draft with the people who were there before you share it.
Check:Every number in the review is in the notes
Every number in the review (10, 600, 640 and 9) is in the notes.
Check:No line puts the fault on a person
No line names a person or says anyone failed; the review names nobody.
Check:Each change fits its cause and names an action
No problem was listed, so the one None found row has no change to compare with a cause.
For your read:The people involved read it before it is shared
Will you ask the volunteers whether the review matches what they remember?
Fixed: Nothing needed fixing: every check passed on the first pass.
Met 8 of 8
1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.
ChatGPT, GPT model
October 5, 2026, tricky sample
Check:Every quote is word for word from the notes
Ten events quoted word for word from the notes; the van start time and the socket message each have two accounts, and each second account begins "Another account:".
First pass failed:Each effect is went well or got in the way
The first version wrote "mixed" in the Effect column for the late reopening, and the Effect column must say exactly went well or got in the way.
Check:Every change has an owner and a way to know
Four rows, each with a change, an owner role and a way to know filled in.
Check:The review ends with the reminder to check it with the people involved
The closing line is there: Check this draft with the people who were there before you share it.
Check:Every number in the review is in the notes
Every number in the review (9, 10, 63, 70, 90, 8, 7, 3 and 1) is in the notes.
Check:No line puts the fault on a person
No line names a person as the cause; both accounts of the start time and of the message are given without choosing one.
Failed:Each change fits its cause and names an action
The change for the late reopening read "Plan the morning better", which names no action.
For your read:The people involved read it before it is shared
Two accounts disagree, so will you ask the van driver and the move team lead what each was told before you share the review?
Fixed: The sort step ran again once with the two allowed words restated, and every row then used one of them. The changes step ran again once and the late-reopening row still read "Plan the morning better", so the check failed again and the run stopped there and flagged it for you.
Met 7 of 8
Not met:Each change fits its cause and names an action: The late-reopening change still reads "Plan the morning better", which names no action.
1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.
n8n, import format 2.20
October 6, 2026, typical sample
Check:Every quote is word for word from the notes
Eleven events quoted word for word from the notes.
Check:Each effect is went well or got in the way
Six rows, each Effect one of the two allowed words: 4 got in the way and 2 went well.
Check:Every change has an owner and a way to know
Four rows, each with a change, an owner role and a way to know filled in.
Check:The review ends with the reminder to check it with the people involved
The closing line is there: Check this draft with the people who were there before you share it.
First pass failed:Every number in the review is in the notes
The first version of the flyers change said "Order the flyers 3 weeks before the sale", and 3 is not in the notes.
Check:No line puts the fault on a person
No line names a person as a cause or says anyone failed; the rows name roles and what the situation lacked.
Check:Each change fits its cause and names an action
Each of the four changes answers the cause in its own row and says what a person would do.
For your read:The people involved read it before it is shared
Will you ask the publicity lead and the volunteer coordinator whether the rows match what they remember?
Fixed: The report step ran again once with the rule to add no number the notes do not give, and the flyers change then read "Ask the printer for a firm return date in writing and agree a back-up plan if it slips."
Met 8 of 8
1 of these is for your read: the tool hands it to you.
The steps, and the check on each
1
Step 1: Lay out what happened
List the events in the order they happened, each quoted from the notes, with no judgment yet.
Hands back: A table of the events in order, each quoted from the notes.
Check:Every quote is word for word from the notes
A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
2
Step 2: Sort what went well from what got in the way
Pick out the events that mattered, mark each one, and say what in the situation made it happen.
Hands back: A table that marks each event that mattered as went well or got in the way, with the cause from the notes.
Check:Each effect is went well or got in the way
A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
3
Step 3: Turn each problem into a change
For every event that got in the way, write one change to try, a role to own it and a way to tell it worked.
Hands back: A table with one change, one owner role and one way to know for each problem.
Check:Every change has an owner and a way to know
A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
4
Step 4: Write the review
Put the summary, what went well, the changes and the open questions in one short review a team can read together.
Hands back: A short review with a summary, what went well, a table of problems and changes, and the open questions.
Check:The review ends with the reminder to check it with the people involved
A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
After the last step
Check:Every number in the review is in the notes
A plain rule. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
Check:No line puts the fault on a person
A second look by the AI. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
Check:Each change fits its cause and names an action
A second look by the AI. If it fails, run the step again (the n8n file does this for you).
Check:The people involved read it before it is shared
You check this one. If it fails, it is flagged for you.
What you need first
What the project set out to do(needed)
One line on what you were trying to achieve, with any target.
What happened(needed)
Paste your notes, a timeline or the messages, in any order. Include what went well and what did not.
Ways to adapt it
The template looks for causes in the situation, such as a missing step or a date that slipped, and never in a person. It cannot know what the notes leave out, so it ends with questions and a reminder to read the review with the people who were there.
Paste only what you are allowed to share with an AI tool. If the notes name people you would rather not share, change the names to roles first.
To change how many open questions it writes, edit the number in the last step's rules.
For a long project, run it one phase at a time and join the tables.
A figure that is only in the goal line is not in the notes, so the number check will not accept it in the review. Repeat the figure in your notes if you want it used.
A change is a suggestion to try, not a decision. The people involved decide which ones to adopt and who owns them.
Change any step or check in the Editor, then download it again.
Seven dated notes on a plant sale that raised less than its goal; four things got in the way, two went well, and two named people appear in the notes in ways that invite blame.
What the project set out to do
Run a plant sale on Saturday, April 25 that raises 1,500 dollars for the community garden
What happened
Plant sale review notes, written the week after. The goal was to raise 1,500 dollars.
March 2: plan agreed. Sale on Saturday, April 25, 9 am to 1 pm, at the church hall.
April 6: flyers sent to the printer. Marcus, the publicity lead, was told they would be ready by April 15.
April 15: Priya, the volunteer coordinator, opened a sign-up sheet and 12 people signed up.
April 20: flyers came back, 5 days later than promised. They were handed out only 2 days before the sale.
April 22: the hall told Priya the kitchen would be closed on the day. She had booked the hall by phone and had nothing in writing.
April 24: the plants arrived from the nursery a day before the sale, not on the morning. The shed was full, so about half the plants stayed outside overnight and some were damaged by the cold.
April 25: the tea stand had no hot water. 7 of the 12 volunteers came, and the sign-up sheet did not say what time to arrive. The sale raised 1,180 dollars. Two people counted the cash and it matched the receipts. Several visitors liked the free seed packets.
The scoring guide
Sample
One criterion for each check, marked met or not met. (The guides in Quality rate a whole piece of work on three levels.) Under each one is how the three sample runs scored.