Architecture And Design
A record of how well an architecture and design supported project requirements.Assumptions
Missing or incorrect assumptions that caused project issues such as a gap in expectations.Change Control
How well the change control process achieved its purpose such as preventing scope creep.Change Management
Change management factors such as resistance to change.Corrective Action
The effectiveness of issue handling.Decision Making
Comments around decision making processes and their impact on the project.Decomposition
Was the project too complex? Could it have been decomposed into smaller, more manageable projects?Estimates
The accuracy of estimates and estimation techniques.Integration Management
A look at integration management factors such as coordination of project elements and tradeoffs that were made.Knowledge Management
How well knowledge management processes and tools supported the project.Performance Management
Any performance issues and how they were managed.Program Management
The impact of related projects and program management processes.Project Constraints
Tradeoffs that were incurred due to constraints such as budget or hard deadlines.Project Engagement
The engagement of stakeholders and general enthusiasm of the project team.Project Expectations
Did stakeholders develop expectations that were out of line with project realities? How was this managed?Project Governance
How well project governance processes worked to identify and clear road blocks.Project Leadership
Comments on the role of project leaders.Project Management Tools
The impact of tools or a lack of tools.Project Methodology
Ideas to improve the organization's project methodology or practices.Project Planning
The planning techniques that were used and how well they worked out.Project Schedule
Comments around the baseline schedule and the scheduling of change requests.Project Sponsor
In many cases, lessons learned conversations are focused on the role of the sponsor.Quality
The quality assurance process and related factors such as requirements and the quality of deliverables.Requirements
It is common for project issues or failure to begin with requirements that are incomplete or open to interpretation leading to expectation gaps.Risk Management
The risk management process and the impact of risk treatments.Roles & Responsibilities
The clarity and efficiency of project roles and responsibilities.Schedule Compression
Attempts at schedule compression such as fast tracking and how it worked out.Skills
Skill gaps and how they were addressed.Vendor Performance
The performance of vendors and how any issues were managed.Vendor Relationship Management
The general relationship with vendors and its impact.Workarounds
Tactical responses to project issues and their effect.Summary
Lessons learned is a common practice that is built into things such as project management processes. This involves reflecting on an initiative and identifying problems that occurred, areas for improvement and best practices. Here best practices is a common term for a process, approach or technique that worked well such that there is an opportunity to scale it.
| Definition: Lessons Learned | ||
Type | ||
Definition | The practice of capturing project knowledge before a project closes. | |
Value | Learning from successes and failures. Recording anything the future may need to know about your project such as the rationale for decisions or how problems were solved. | |
Related Concepts | ||
