Why Implement a Lessons Learned Process?
Posted on Thu, Jun 17, 2010
First of all, on June 30, 2010 the IT Project Blog hosted its first webinar on project lessons learned, which discussed how to create and benefit from a lessons learned process. The webinar was a big success, so thanks to everyone who participated! We had a very active audience and a great Q&A session.
But why are we making such a big deal about this lessons learned process? Admittedly, lessons learned (often dubbed the project’s “post- mortem analysis”) is a task that comes after project launch and certainly isn’t given as much attention. Most of us fail to do it at all and get along just fine doing so. So why the focus on it now?
Documenting lessons learned is an integral part of the lifecycle management of a project and is especially helpful to project managers who want to get better at their job over time.
Just think of the repetitive nature of our role -- as PMs, we end up performing the same sort of tasks in each project, whether it be building a team, communicating with and managing stakeholders, or hiring third-party vendors. With all of these tasks, understanding how we succeeded and where we failed will maximize our performance over time and ultimately improve the efficiency with which we manage our assignments.
In my current role as a technical project manager, I’ve led 30+ engagements, some big and some small, and have worked with many of the same stakeholder groups in each one. It is very useful for me to receive feedback from clients and stakeholders after each project has ended, specifically on topics like the following:
- What was the single most frustrating part of our project?
- Was communication on project progress informative and timely?
- Did we have the right people assigned to the right roles?
- Do you think we could have completed this project well without one or more of our vendors?
Building this repository of feedback helps me focus on areas for improvement and contributes to a winning relationship with my clients. And trust me -- having that relationship and staying in tune to the needs of my stakeholders makes what could be very difficult project tasks that much easier! But why else should a lessons learned process be instituted? There is already a vast body of knowledge available to managers online and in books authored by seasoned PMPs that you can rely on to navigate through the pitfalls and tests of a project.
Using the lessons learned process to build your own personal resource with a history of what worked and what didn’t in your projects builds on the already helpful resources.
Don’t hesitate to share this information with PMs in your own organizations to improve their skills. This process also proves even more useful because you actually experienced the victories and challenges yourself. Experience is the best teacher; take advantage of yours and the experiences of others.
In this IT Project Blog webinar I shared steps and tips on just how to go about gathering and documenting useful lessons from your projects and the best way to get the most out of the results. We also talked about how to compile the data, present it to executives, and act on the results found.