Today, I would like to follow up on one of my last articles:
Lessons learned is the knowledge gained from the process of conducting a project. This includes the positives and negatives. The idea is to repeat the positive aspects and not repeat the mistakes.
But what is the right way to manage the lessons learned process?
I prefer the 5-step approach by PMI:
- IDENTIFY the comments and recommendations that can be derived from them.
- DOCUMENT the detailed findings from the discussions in a report and distribute it to the entire project team and store it for future reference.
- ANALYZE and organize the lessons learned so they can be applied and shared with others.
- STORE lessons learned reports in a database and ensure all teams have access to them.
- RETRIEVE lessons learned reports via keyword search from the database.
My advice is to collect, analyze and document lessons learned in a regular and formalized way from the beginning of the project until its completion. And remember to regularly access and actively apply existing lessons learned from previous projects. In the long run, your organization can use lessons learned to develop a culture of ongoing improvement.
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PM&C: Competence for your project