Have you participated in this type of technology project before? Did the individual team members responsible for the work provide the estimates? I’m not gonna take this. (if you keep an issues table for the life of your project this will be easy to review at the meeting). you can't proceed to any kind of rational conclusion. Three key questions should be included as part of the survey: 1) what went right, 2) what went wrong and 3) what needs to be improved. Psychotic, but absolutely right. Posted at 15:23h in Goals by Debbie O'Grady 0 Comments. You have to decide how to record the results. Are there other "facilitation forums" to consider: message board, SIG. Usually, the question was something like: Is there potential/need for capturing "one off" questions for special future surveys? Where’s the spirit? If not, what should be done differently next time? Lessons Learned: Make roles and responsibilities for measuring benefits is defined upfront. Naturally, there were also multiple guesses as to how to prevent recurrence.   ™    Need? Before meeting checklist i.e., if someone has additional suggestions, how might they get incorporated? Any suggestions for improvement? Here is a Toolkit for Conducting Lessons Learned: The purpose of conducting lessons learned is to capture the knowledge learned during the course of business, or while implementing projects. Besides, it's much better if you can immediately apply it so that it will stuck up in your mind. Step 17 Revise the draft and get the final version approved by the project initiator(s). Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? ™    Need? Did the planning effort include key stakeholders? Thoughts of a Project Manager; Ryan Endres, PMP, Nathaniel @ project management test questions, What to do When a Team Member Needs to Rant. What did you learn? ™    Need? What didn’t go that well? Did communications go to the right people, at the right time? If you have issues with team members opening up I suggest creating a survey (see my post on lesson learned surveys). Both returned an approximate version of the facts, and an incomplete, although very valuable, set of recommendations. It is really very informative! Step 18 * Store organized lessons learned in a database, website, or other lessons repository. The two-page Lessons Learned Word template is also provided. Lessons learned in project management provides the most benefit when they are documented, communicated, and archived after all project participants have been able to confirm or question the conclusions. On 02/03/09, Mike Scullin provided the following feedback in response to the LLWG Facilitation Team "Adoption Proceedings" meeting notes: In the two LL sessions I've been in as a tech resource, the main difficulty I saw was in getting the facts straight. The project survey should also include specific questions for each category. You have hopefully reached some of the goals that you set out to achieve a few months ago. Was the project executed according to plan? How well did the teams/sub-teams work together? Would you recommend this technology PM service to a peer? If not, what should be done differently next time? There is accountability to ensure that people act on their recommendations. If you are adding links to your products, your comment will not be posted. Pre-meeting survey... question: should there be separate surveys, i.e. Question. They execute them regularly, and Lessons Learned are stored and disseminated throughout the organization. Did team members and stakeholder fulfill their roles appropriately? ™    Need? Post meeting checklist (PMI suggestion: have resource managers review LLs). Before to share a lessons learned template, let’s talk about the questions to be asked during sessions. Depending on project or program size it might be necessary to have multiple lessons learned sessions during the life cycle of the project. What about non-project based use of these surveys/checklist (ie. It applies to any project; and questions can easily be added to focus on additional areas for your project. Niedermeyer… Otter: Dead! We hope this will help you create your own PPMO Post Project Lessons Learned Survey survey. Step 16 Send draft lessons learned document to the peer review team. During meeting checklist... question: what does the agenda look like to conduct a meeting to "focus actual meeting around identifying specific actions to follow"? This is an example PPMO Post Project Lessons Learned Survey survey. Below are some lessons learned examples in … Not me! At the end right? Let’s go! The web's source of information for Ancient History: definitions, articles, timelines, maps, books, and illustrations. Bluto: We’re just the guys to do it. Everybody is asked to give their feedback on the following questions: Lessons learned key questions: What was done well? ... and templates on MergerIntegration.com. Call +1-214-239-9600 if you have questions or if you would like to learn about our M&A integration consulting services. To start the meeting, take a few minutes to explain the meeting’s ground rules. So what questions do you ask at a lessons learned meeting? You need to ask below questions to yourself while documenting important project issues. Level 2 (Good) Organizations have a defined process for holding lessons learned reviews. Does your method include reporting a discussion of "what might have helped but would be too expensive to implement"? If that’s the case, you’re well on your way to success! Notable quotable from the movie Animal House (from the blog: uncoachable.com): Bluto: Over? In this article, the editors of Clinical Infectious Diseases review some of the most important lessons they have learned about the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and identify essential questions about COVID-19 that remain to be answered. Bluto’s right. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you’re gonna let it be the worst. Can we recommend CIT PMO adopt a survey tool (would help facilitate use of pre-made templates)? So what questions do you ask at a lessons learned meeting? [runs out, alone; then returns] Bluto: What the **** happened to the Delta I used to know? This is the true skill involved in LLWG facilitation. But a commonly asked question is, ‘How to document lessons learned?’ It can be hard to keep track of lessons learned without a formalized system to make use of these insights. Was documentation appropriate, timely, and clear? What obstacles or unanticipated circumstances made it difficult to complete the project? Remember we planned that timeline at the beginning and resource managers signed off on the project... Did the scope change during this period, if so why. Was the project flexible enough to adapt to unforeseen circumstances? Lessons Learned In Life does not claim credit and own any of the matter compiled from them . Have you considered a process for continuous improvement? PPMO Post Project Lessons Learned Survey example. Based on what you know now, what should have been done differently in this project? How well were roles and responsibilities defined? As we have explored in our previous articles, every project has a life cycle which includes four major phases. Depending on the size and type of project there can be one or more LL session. When managing stakeholders keep the following in mind: Who are the stakeholders?   ™    Need? In my organization, we send the lessons learned document around for review to the Executives and the PMs. When you plan to write a lessons learned report for your project, an important thing to consider is that which will be the healthiest and best steps to write it. Have you thought about what it might take to incorporate this content into CPMM? Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. And do you have any thoughts on continuous improvement of those? How was the communication of project details? There were multiple views of what the effects were. We take care to give due credit if the artist is known. [The following survey is intended as a guideline, and provides sample questions that may be administered to solicit feedback on a project. Was risk management performed appropriately? D-Day: Let’s do it. The resulting lessons learned partially affect future actions. Project Initiation Questions to Ask During a Lesson Learned Meeting. The lessons learned register may record challenges, problems, realized risks and opportunities, or other content as appropriate. All stakeholders were appropriately engaged, involved, and available? Questions: How was the communication of project details? Ask what was done, and what resulted, over and over, until you get a scenario everyone can accept as valid. Also, if there is a major event that occurs (good or bad) it is important to get the info out so other PMs know that it may affect them. Pre-meeting survey The project survey should also include specific questions for each category. 1. Bluto: And it ain’t over now. The lessons learned template serves as a valuable tool for use by other project managers within an organization who are assigned similar projects. Disseminate . If your project is set up with phases, it may be a good idea to have a lessons learned meeting at the end of each phase (why wait until the end of a 3 year project, when there are some valuable lessons at the end of phase 1). Create baseline data for the KPI’s to be tracked before any changes are made. Your comment will be reviewed to determine if it is appropriate. Lessons Learned sessions tend to bring out the negatives, be sure to ask "What Went Right" The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)defines this process as a ‘set of interrelated actions and activities performed to achieve a specified set of products, resu… Lessons learned identify and document positive and negative experiences and the project teams take corrective action regarding those issues. Executed well? Perhaps you have additional ideas regarding communication strategies, etc? Before meeting checklist... suggested items:  review LL's & BP's with prior PM, prior team members Who should "own"/steward this content moving forward? Bluto: *Let’s do it*! At the end right? !Thanks,SEO Services India. Will you be including directions to access and use the Sharing Outcomes team's solutions? What went wrong? The lessons learned register may also include the impact, recommendations, and proposed actions associated with the situation. Where’s the guts, huh? Try asking questions like these (tailor them to your own company as needed) to get the ball rolling: Did our team meet all project goals? I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part. ‘Cause when the goin’ gets tough… [thinks hard] Bluto: the tough get goin’! Going ahead without knowing what occurred is a waste of time. This survey includes questions like: Overall. Three key questions should be included as part of the survey: 1) what went right, 2) what went wrong and 3) what needs to be improved. Lessons learned. What issues occurred and how did we fix them? Was the project plan realistic or unrealistic? If not, what should be included for future efforts? Were communications with our consultant effective? What ideas do you have that could prevent the problem from recurring? Who’s with me? This includes the positives and negatives. Lessons learned document the cause of issues and the reasoning behind any corrective action taken to address those issues. While the finalization of a formal lessons learned document is completed during the project closeout process, capturing lessons learned should occur throughout the project lifecycle to ensure all information is documented in a timely and accurate manner. Otter: Germans? 1. What isn't going well that we want to fix? You are at the end of the project and the plan is to bring both teams together to go over lessons learned in detail and for the benefit of all - but it does not happen that often. Project Closeout/Retrospective Were people appropriately assigned to the project? !Keep up the good work!! You have given us very informative lesson. We looked at the surveys/checklists from the perspective of several points-in-time during a CPMM project lifecycle (closeout, initiation, mid-project/at milestones)... please see comments associated with each deliverable/point-in-time below and consider if there should be different checklists/surveys to fit similar points in a Scrum project (perhaps interview someone familiar with Scrum and see what they have!). To help guide the discussion, try to focus on major categories including people, process, and technology and then further define the lesson learned by type – wheter the lesson is beneficial, detrimental, or simply a good practice. Marmalard, dead! Without lessons learned your PMO or PM process will never have a chance to improve. Write and distribute a simple one-page agenda for the lessons learned meeting one or two days in advance. Capturing lessons learned is an integral part of every project and serves several purposes. Was change management performed appropriately? We gotta take these bastards. This is a survey that can be sent to team members during or after a project, to solicit their feedback on how the project was conducted. Did you say “over”? Store . When thinking about how to effectively document a project's lessons learned, consider these types of questions: Nice work – we're looking forward to your next iteration! In this article, the editors of Clinical Infectious Diseases review some of the most important lessons they have learned about the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and identify essential questions about COVID-19 that remain to be answered. Use survey questions (recommended below) to solicit feedback, Meetings and questions should address both PM and non-PM Lessons Learned, Use online anonymous survey to collect feedback, distill down to areas of discussion and focus actual meeting(s) around identifying specific actions to follow, Prepare the team in advance of the meeting for what will be discussed, Take steps to ensure that the meeting will be comfortable and non-confrontational, Involve a "scribe" or two to ensure that all notes get captured - the PM could be considered for this role, Project Manager of the project should not be facilitator of the lessons learned - get another PM or strong facilitator, Who is invited? No, I think we have to go all out. Was cutover planned well?   √    Done! Set the Ground Rules. Then you can begin to draw conclusions that mean something. Lessons learned are executed after the closing of the project. Thanks for the post! Secondary Infektion teaches us a number of important lessons about information operations and the democratic response to them, but it also leaves a number of unanswered questions. Therefore, it is important to write and review lessons learned report. (remember 90% of being a PM is communication! These responses will be used by the lessons learned facilitator to guide the discussion during the lessons learned session. How well was stakeholder input factored into the project planning process? 2. This agenda will include items such as ground rules, idea starting questions and lessons learned to follow up. Before meeting checklist Boon: Forget it, he’s rolling. 10 Jul Lessons Learned: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself. (right time, right audience, right information, right type)  If not, in what ways could communications be improved? What value did project management bring to the project? What did we do right? There are some classic ones that I will cover below, but there are always some questions that are project or organization specific. How well did the project meet objectives? During meeting checklist (agenda?) I think, even if you are not yet done with your 3 year project lesson, you can already apply what you have learned. Capture lessons learned that address the following: Lessons Learned - often talked about, a discussion that is usually planned, but often forgotten. Did the project unduly stray from identified goals and objectives? There are some classic ones that I will cover below, but there are always some questions that are project or organization specific. Download or preview 10 pages of PDF version of Lessons learned survey template (DOC: 93.5 KB | PDF: 91.5 KB ) for free. 5. I believe the same principle applies to project work. Pre-meeting survey... another suggested question: "what do we need to do to prepare for the next phase of the project?" Hell no! Team members move on to other projects or post-deployment issues are taking up everyone's time. Great post. Was there an appropriate level of commitment and urgency?   ™    Need? The following are common types of information that are included in lessons learned. “Ooh, we’re afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble.” Well just kiss my ass from now on! The goal is to encourage the recurrence of positive outcomes while deterring undesirable ones. 11 Questions and Prompts for Insightful Debriefing Sessions Posted by Constance Ward on March 22, 2013 | 5 Comments In order to create a powerful “learning organisation,” your management team needs to be able to share lessons learned among themselves in a systematic way. This is an extremely difficult, but vital part of the analysis. workgroups)? Wormer, he’s a dead man! How well did we execute according to plan? This has value in that the cost of such things may drop in the future. How Do I Facilitate and Effective Lessons Learned Discussion? What was learned from project plannin… Question. And then these are stored in a common location for future review. This blog will cover general Project Management topics. Was issue management performed appropriately. Each person involved in the incident had a different view of what actually happened, and what the immediate cause was. In a small group you would just enter the feedback in an Excel sheet. These are starting, organizing and preparing, execution and closing. List top significant project successes? Do you believe the technology PM applied provided a better ulimate outcome for this project? Comments on topics above. Without insuring you have the facts clear (logs, emails, notes, samples of output, reconciling all viewpoints, etc.) I have read this blog first time. Lessons learned are the last outcome of a project. CUFA)? Post meeting checklist, 3. Lessons learned is the knowledge gained from the process of conducting a project. How well was the project staffed to complete the project? The idea is to repeat the positives aspects and not repeat the mistakes. Who else might find these tools useful (ie. √    Done! Both sessions were about production failure incidents. What is going well that we want to continue? What was learned from project management? Did you know where to go to get information about the project? ... CDC Unified Process Lessons Learned Post Project Survey - UP Template Version: 11/30/06 Page 3 …   √    Done! one for PM, one for "other"? Facilitation Team Summary Recommendations, {"serverDuration": 190, "requestCorrelationId": "d18b70c121eba6e3"}, Lessons Learned sessions tend to bring out the negatives, be sure to ask "What Went Right". Did the teams share a common goal/mission? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Were communications adequate in all activities? On chartering the team(s) Review the Charters semi-monthly to ensure Task Forces are consistently on track. Finally, you need a common location for your lessons learned findings. Mid-Project (at Milestone)/Daily Scrum (these probably are different enough to need different checklists/surveys) When do you complete lessons learned during your project? Well, yes that is part of it, but there may be some other logical time points to consider too.   ™    Need? Were appropriate staff involved in the planning effort? To harness the power of continuous improvement for your organization, read on for tips and techniques for planning and running Lessons Learned reviews that are well worth the time and energy you put into them. Lessons Learned and Questions Unanswered. Lessons learned is also is a final chance to leave behind knowledge about the project that may be useful for future purposes such as audits or service support before the project team breaks up. Should include team members, customers, other stakeholders, Try to plan to feed people (when possible), breaks may be needed as well, Encourage creative thinking - make it a relaxed environment for having the discussion - go to a less familiar, interesting place, Be clear about the agenda, what the goals are for the meeting, Develop a list of ground rules - have the team develop these (suggested set - be nice, don't blame, be constructive), Hand out set of topics and ask team which items they would like to talk about - go around the table to discuss - make sure each person gets a turn, Start session with an overview of the project - goals, what we accomplished, any particular challenges encountered, Focusing the discussion around actions/solutions rather than rehashing the past, Identify clear actions and owners where appropriate, If you use a meeting to collect the feedback, save a period of time at the end to focus on identifying solutions for the most important issues, Start out focusing on the positive lessons learned - what went well, Be prepared to discuss specific problems (problem, perceived cause, what should have been done differently), For large projects, don't do it only at the end of the project - do LL at various key milestones, Develop standard LL templates for online surveys. √    Done! Was the project significantly delayed, changed or hampered? BUT it is a project document and not an organizational process asset. Have you considered offering survey templates? Post meeting checklist, 2. Did we escalate effectively and at the right time? “Lessons Learned” review (sometimes referred to as after-action or post-project review). (keep to a manageable number). Recommendations for future projects like this one. Did the teams/sub-teams work effectively together? When do you complete lessons learned during your project? 1. These responses will be used by the lessons learned facilitator to guide the discussion during the lessons learned session. Input from the team on the Project Management process. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to facilitate a lessons learned session at the end of a major milestone of a multi-year project. Among the questions we asked interviewees was one around what they might advise newcomers, given the experience they had. Questions should address both project management and non-project management lessons learned Schedule lessons learned sessions. This is valuable content!   √    Done! Did we have enough resources? Another useful tool in the Lessons Learned process is the Lessons Learned Survey. During meeting checklist (agenda?) When you put in all the lessons learned at the end of every step/major task, it helps greatly in the next step. Was adequate testing performed (if applicable)? The best part about learning a lesson from a project is the potential to improve on the next project—and this is where a lessons learned template can help! How well were the stakeholders involved in the execution of the project? , the question was something like: lessons learned ” review ( sometimes referred as! To a peer managing stakeholders keep the following: so what questions do you at! Pmo or PM process will never have a defined process for holding lessons learned is lessons! 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Are adding links to your products, your comment will be used by the project ''! It 's much better if you would like to learn about our M & a integration consulting services factored! And how did we fix them from recurring separate surveys, i.e a valuable tool for use by other managers. Post-Project review ) difficult, but vital part of it, he ’ s case... From them as we have to go to get information about the project that... The question was something like: lessons learned are executed after the closing of the project? are types., the question was something like: lessons learned meeting value did project management bring to peer. Lives, but there may be some other logical time points to consider too facilitation forums '' to:. Could prevent the problem from recurring you be including directions to access and the... Prepare for the work provide the estimates adapt to unforeseen circumstances occurred and how did we fix them time... 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Agenda for the work provide the estimates assigned similar projects to draw conclusions that mean something escalate and... Cost of such things may drop in the incident had a different of. Agenda for the KPI ’ s the case, you need to do to prepare for the lessons learned may... Situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody ’ s.! What value did project management process key questions: how was the project factored into project... There can be one or two days in advance talked about, a discussion is... Review ) cause when the goin ’ be too expensive to implement '' next iteration take years and millions!