It’s fairly standard practice to hold some form of debrief at the end of an exercise or test, which is a very sensible thing to do. It helps to ensure that any issues and actions arising are captured and it’s a good way to obtain feedback from the participants on how they thought things went. But some debriefs are a bit on the, well, brief side.

Because it comes at the end of what can sometimes be a lengthy or challenging, sometimes stressful, session, it can be all too easy to make the debrief too brief. There can be a temptation to let people "get away" so that they can return to their day jobs. But the danger is that, once they do so, all the good stuff that the exercise teased out will be forgotten within a couple of weeks or, at best, vaguely remembered but not given the attention it deserves.

That’s not to suggest that the debrief should be overly lengthy, just that sufficient time should be allowed  to ensure that everything that needs to be captured is, so that a follow-up action plan can be agreed.

And, whilst it may seem like a bit of a luxury, it can be very beneficial to hold two debriefs – a "hot" debrief immediately after the exercise or test and a second, "cold" debrief a couple of weeks later, after the proverbial dust has settled.

Go on, be honest, how brief are your debriefs? And how many do you do? If you don’t already do so, why not give the double-debrief a try after your next exercise or test and see what the results are like?