A fail fair is a way to ease people into conversations about failures, allowing others working on similar projects to identify and respond to challenges in the hopes of making other projects more successful.
Unlike either a formal or informal after-action review, information shared during a fail fair is presented in a very relaxed, fun environment. Since humor is infused throughout the event, very important lessons are communicated without the additional caveats often found in written documents. Most importantly, however, is the lack of judgment from the audience. Everyone knows you did not intentionally ignore protocols or purposefully set out to underperform.
Learn more about how to conduct a Fail Fair in the KM Tools and Techniques insert in the Building Better Programs Guide.