Capturing lessons learned should be an on-going effort throughout the life of the
project. This mindset should be strongly encouraged by the project manager from day
one. Whether we are using lessons learned to prepare for current projects or for
identifying project management process improvements, we learn from project failures
as well as project successes. By not learning from project failures we are doomed
to repeat similar situations. By not maximizing on project successes, we miss
opportunities to implement good processes and practices to successfully complete
existing and future work.
Introduction
Most project managers know the importance of capturing lessons learned; it is good
for the team, organization, existing and future projects. Lessons learned are the
documented information that reflects both the positive and negative experiences of
a project. They represent the organization’s commitment to project management
excellence and the project manager’s opportunity to learn from the actual
experiences of others. However, we are all at different levels of lessons learned
utilization. Some of us do not routinely capture lessons learned because there is
no defined lessons learned process in place. Or we capture lessons learned at the
end of a project and never do anything with them. Or finally, we capture lessons
learned, review them prior to starting new projects but we do not generate metrics
addressing the frequency of key word occurrence in failed or successful projects.
This paper explores the different levels of lessons learned and provides solutions
to assist with the transition from your current level to the next level.
Lessons Learned Overview
Learning occurs on every project. Lessons learned is the learning gained from the
process of performing the project (PMI, 2004, p. 363). We learn from our own
project experiences as well as the experiences of others. Project managers, team
members and leadership can all participate in the lessons learned sessions, review
the lessons learned reports and make decisions on how to use the knowledge gained.
Sharing lessons learned among project team members prevents an organization from
repeating the same mistakes and also allows them to take advantage of
organizational best practices. Innovative approaches and good work practices can be
shared with others. Lessons learned can be used to improve future projects and
future stages of current projects.
It is not necessary to wait until the end of the project for the learning to occur.
Lessons can be identified at any point during the project. A lessons learned
session should be conducted at different time frames based on the criticality and
complexity of the project. Key times are at the end of the project, at the end of
each phase and real time – when you learn the lesson. If you wait until the end the
project for a large project you miss some of the key lessons. Because of the time
that has elapsed, project team members may forget some of the things they learned
or team members assigned to the project in the early phases may no longer be part
of the project during the later phases. The best time to begin discussing lessons
learned is during the project kick-off meeting.
