LESSON LEARNED –
·
One
critical type of documentation in project management is the development of a
lessons learned knowledge base, to take full advantage of the learning
opportunities provided by mistakes and poor judgement calls, it is necessary to
identify and acknowledge them.
·
This
means you and your team members need to be comfortable admitting to errors
rather than trying to ignore them or “sweep them under the rug”.
·
Placing
an emphasis on solving the issue rather than placing blame is a good way to
encourage transparency in this area.
·
It
is also important to remember that lessons are also learned from perceptive
choices and beneficial actions. These are patterns you will want to repeat in
the future, so it is important to make note of them as well.
·
Any
aspect of the project management process can yield valuable lessons. For
example, an unexpected problem may arise that demonstrates a serious oversight
in the risk analysis phase. This will add an important data point for
consideration in future projects.
Some lessons you might learn include:
- That a project’s scope, time, and
costs were woefully underestimated
- Which vendors to use and which to
avoid in the future – and why
- Which members of your project
team need extra supervision to get things done
- Which members of your project
team can be given additional responsibilities and opportunities for
leadership development
- That certain instructions and
communication are unclear leading to confusion
- That your current
tools/equipment/technology aren’t up to the task at hand
- That some corporate policies are outdated and decrease the efficiency of project processes
Image courtesy :-http://www.nickmilton.com/2009/05/what-is-lesson-learned.html
