Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned

Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned
Sandra F. Rowe, PMP, MBA, MSCIS 2012 National BDPA Technology Conference August 1, 2012 Workshop-3 hours (180 minutes) Course Introduction – 20 Lessons Learned Overview – 10 Capturing Lessons Learned – 70 Applying Lessons Learned – 70 Lessons Learned Best Practices – 5 Lessons Learned Research – 5

Course Introduction

Administration Place name on card tents Discuss break
Assign a timekeeper Send around sign-in sheet Remind participants to silence phones

Purpose Project Management
The purpose of this course is to provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to effectively capture and apply lessons learned Project Management

Course Objectives Suggest a methodology for the capture, classification, storage and dissemination of lessons learned Discuss lessons learned tools and techniques Discuss the use of lessons learned Share lessons learned best practices To assist you with moving from your current level to the next level, we have the following sessions objectives: The emphasis will be on the development and use of methodology, tools and techniques; and then finally how metrics can lead to sustained cultural change.

Course Delivery Strategy
This course is highly interactive to encourage participants to ask questions and share their experiences Instructional design methods includes lectures, group discussions and practical exercises to achieve course objectives Review and reinforcement activities at the end of each section Participants will be able to develop a learning journal

Introductions Participant Instructor Name Background
Previous lessons learned experience Instructor

Course Outline Course Introduction Section 1: Lessons Learned Overview
Section 2: Capturing Lessons Learned Section 3: Applying Lessons Learned Section 4: Lessons Learned Best Practices Section 5: Lessons Learned Research

Exercise: Your Expectations
Take one minute to list what you expect to learn in this course Share one expectation with the class Introduction Exercise

Section 1: Lessons Learned Overview

Section Overview This section includes the following:
A discussion on learning An introduction to a lessons learned process

Section Learning Objectives
At the end of this section you will be able to: Discuss the importance of learning Discuss the components of a lessons learned process

Lessons Learned Defined
The learning gained from the process of performing the project. Lessons learned may be identified at any point. Also considered a project record, to be included in the lessons learned knowledge base Let’s begin by referencing PMBOK for the definition of Lessons Learned. Every project is a cauldron of learning. Projects are key learning events. Lessons learned represent the history of an organization and the organization’s capability to remember what has transpired. Lessons learned are valuable for: organizational memory, quality customer service, and employee improvement. Lessons can be used to improve future stages of the current projects, and, through sharing, contribute to the organization's learning capacity. 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. Another good time to conduct a lessons learned is when there has been a major change in direction or project organization structure, for example a new project manager. Source: Adopted from the PMBOK® Guide -Third Edition

Common Beliefs Every project is different and learning from one project is not applicable to other projects There is not enough time for learning. We have to complete the project. Nothing ever happens after lessons learned are captured. Even when post-project reviews are performed, there are no standard, structured, routine ways of analyzing projects to ensure that the organization can draw lessons and learn for future projects. A vast amount of learning takes place on every project. With increased project manager and team member turnover, subject matter expertise is not always readily available. Historical information, in the form of lessons learned provides a learning opportunity for new project managers and team members. However, there are common beliefs held regarding lesson learned which include:

Discussion: Learning Are you learning from project to project?
Is your organization benefiting from this knowledge? Project management processes and tools Technology Business processes Leadership and teamwork The real value is in the actual use of lessons learned. Tremendous learning takes place on every project Lessons Learned allows for doing the thing right in the short term and doing the right things in the long term If our project performance is to improve, we must learn to learn how to do projects better. Learning to learn requires you answer three questions 1) Who learns: project managers, team members and leadership (management) each have different project responsibilities and must learn how to fulfill those responsibilities. Who Learns (project stakeholders: project managers, team members, and leadership can all learn from previous projects) Lessons Learned represent the organization’s ability to remember what has transpired and to lay the foundation for continued success. It is the responsibility of the individual to want to learn and then take the opportunity to learn. All project stakeholders have an opportunity to learn from project work. 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. Learning allows you to be recognized as a value to the organization and awards you with sustained career growth. How to Learn Reviewing lessons learned from previous projects prior to starting a new project Documenting lessons learned from current projects Learning is gained from the process of performing the project. We learn by documenting lessons learned from our current projects and also reviewing lessons learned from previous project prior to starting new projects. We learn from our own project experiences as well as the experiences of others. 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.

Lessons Learned Process
Capturing Applying Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Identify comments and recommendations that could be valuable for future projects Document and share findings Analyze and organize for application of results Store in a repository Retrieve for use on current projects

Summary In this section we: Discuss the importance of learning
Discuss the components of a lessons learned process

Questions?

Learning Journal Thoughts and Ideas Application Plan
Directions: Spend a few minutes reviewing the material covered in this section. Record your thoughts and ideas for future reference and application. Thoughts and Ideas Application Plan

Section 2: Capturing Lessons Learned

Tools to facilitate a lessons learned session A discussion on when to capture lessons learned Suggestions for reporting lessons learned

At the end of this section you will be able to: Facilitate a lessons learned session Document lessons learned Communicate lessons learned

Capturing Lessons Learned
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve The more discipline and effort you place in capturing lessons, the more prepared you are to apply the lessons Identify comments and recommendations that could be valuable for future projects Document Document and share findings

Identify Lessons Learned
Document Analyze Store Retrieve Identify comments and recommendations that could be valuable for future projects

Facilitation shifts responsibility from leader to team members
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Facilitator focuses on process How you do something How things are being discussed Team members focus on content What you do What is being discussed

Facilitator Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve One who contributes structure and process to interactions so teams are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions Source: Bens, Ingrid, Facilitating With Ease!, San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass, 2005 It is best for someone other than the project manager to facilitate the lessons learned session

Facilitator’s Responsibilities
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Identifies participants Defines and assigns roles and responsibilities Determines facilitation tools and techniques Develops session guidelines Provides high-level project overview Identifies categories Prepares agenda Prepare in advance A lessons learned session focuses on identifying project success and project failures, and includes recommendations to improve future performance on projects. If the session is not successful, the organization loses out on the lessons learned opportunity. Step 1 of the lessons learned process is to identify comments and recommendations that could be valuable for future projects. The two activities for identifying lessons learned are: 1) prepare for lessons learned session and 2) conduct lessons learned session. Prepare (details on next few pages) Participants (small teams, large teams, facilitator) Facilitation The facilitator should review key documents and project survey results, and then prepare a list of questions specific to the project. Brainstorming session could last from 1 to 4 hour depending on the complexity of the project. A scribe/recorder records the responses on a flipchart. Project Survey The project survey will help the participants to be better prepared to respond during the lessons learned session and will also give them the opportunity to provide input if they are unable to attend. The project survey should be organized by category (knowledge area). The use of categories will ensure key information is not missed and will later help to focus the discussion. Three components to the project survey: 1) project evaluation, 2) project questions and 3) key questions. Conduct Project survey responses will be used by the lessons learned facilitator to guide the discussion during the lessons learned session. To obtain optimum results, the lessons learned sessions should be facilitated by someone other than the project manager. If the project manager chooses to facilitate the session, the project survey results should summarized by someone other than the project manager and shared with the participants during the session. This will ensure the all the relevant items are included in the discussion The facilitator should use lessons learned categories during the session to help focus the participants thinking and discussion. LL should draw on both positive experiences—good ideas and negative experiences—undesirable outcome has already occurred. Honesty is required. LL is not a finger pointing session. It should be done in a professional and constructive manner. Lessons learned sessions are structured. You can vary the learning from a project or a phase by how you ask the questions or by the questions not asked.

Core Facilitator Practices
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Stay neutral Listen Ask questions Paraphrase Summarize Manage Participation Focus Discussions

Lessons Learned Session Agenda
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Welcome and introductions Session guidelines Project overview Explanation of categories Project Survey results Lessons learned discussion by category/project questions What went well, what went wrong, what needs to be improved Wrap-up and next steps

Categories Resources Project Management Technical External Areas
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Project Management Technical External Areas Communication Business Processes Resources Requirements Design Implementation Testing

Session Guidelines Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Selected members make every reasonable effort to be present throughout the lessons learned session. Criticism of the project and its processes is encouraged Criticism of people is not permitted Participation is encouraged from everyone; differing views are healthy. “Discussion tangents” are discouraged

Project Evaluation Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve
SA – Strongly Agree, A – Agree, N – Neutral, D – Disagree, SD – Strongly Disagree, NA – Not Applicable

Questionnaire Project Management
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Project Management Issues were documented and resolved in a timely manner The project schedule was distributed to the team Strongly Disagree Agree The project survey provides the team with a list of questions about project activities. These questions have scores that range from low to high which allows the lessons learned participant to quantitatively identify what went well and what didn’t. These responses will be used by the lessons learned facilitator to guide the discussion during the lessons learned session. Agree Strongly Disagree

Project Questions Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve How could we have improved our estimate of size and effort of our project? Describe any early warning signs of problems that occurred later in the project? Were our constraints, limitations, and requirements made clear to all vendors/contractors from the beginning?

Key Questions What went right? What went wrong?
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve What went right? What went wrong? What needs to be improved?

Key Questions Project Management - Issues What did we do right?
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Project Management - Issues What did we do right? What did we do wrong? What do we need to improve? Issues were identified and recorded in a database Issues were not resolved in a timely manner Should draw on both positive and negative experiences. We can learn just as much, or even more, from project failures compared to project successes. Three key questions should also be included on the survey: What did we do right What did we do wrong What do we need to improve The lessons learned template provides the participants with a tool for identifying the type of information required for the lessons learned repository. It ensures that there will be consistency in capturing the information so when the time comes to use the information it is available and understandable. The lessons learned template should include fields for the description of the lesson learned, discussion of activities that resulted in the lesson learned, analysis of what went well and what did not work, and recommendations. Key words should always be identified. Key words are ultimately one of the determinants of success in utilizing lessons learned (Prichard, 1997, p. 94), and are essential for easy retrieval. Issues escalation process

Exercise: Identifying Lessons Learned
Document Analyze Store Retrieve Discuss your team structure and add some project context specifics Use the facilitation tools to identify lessons learned Capture on flip chart Prepare to discuss Lessons Learned Identification Exercise

When to Capture Planning
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Planning Different time frames based on project criticality and complexity At the end of a project At the end of each phase Real time – when you learn the lesson Really Focus on This Slide Planning: can occur during kick-off meeting, explain process to team, discuss tools forms and checklists End of a project when the project is short in duration – less than six months. End of each phase: provides value on what can be captured during each phase. Capturing lessons learned after each phase would serve two purposes: only information relevant to that phase would be gathered and only the people who were involved in that phase would be contributors. This would ensure that all of the relevant information was collected., that group would not be to large and the results would be more focused Product life cycle method: have a deliverable at the end of each phase Real time: Can be part of weekly team meetings. After a major deliverable. During an ah-ha moment. Can be captured individually, make notes and then share with the team. Notes can also be used as facilitating questions. Document significant items to get the team engaged during the LL session. LL are collected on an ongoing basis by all of the participants in the process. LL cannot be collected anonymously, as supplemental information is often required. Honesty is required. LL is not a finger pointing session. It should be done in a professional and constructive manner. Do not address the person, LL should be directed at the process, issue or situation. Make notes on nuggets. At the end of the project do a wrap up. The only wrong time to do LL is when you don’t do them at all.

Real Time Lessons Document lessons in real time—when they occur
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Document lessons in real time—when they occur Tickler file Status meetings Special meeting

Document Lessons Learned
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Document Document and share findings Step two of the lessons learned process is to document and share findings. After lessons learned are captured, they should be reported to project stakeholders. Different types of reports can be produced based on the audience. The lessons learned participants should receive a detailed report of the data captured during the lessons learned session and should be given time to respond to the accuracy of the report. The project team should receive a copy of the final report even if they did not participate in the lessons learned session. The facilitator then presents to management (leadership): the project sponsor, resource managers, senior management, and, if appropriate, the client. (Depending on the sensitivity of the review data, the client meeting may be separate. The presentation should address the top three to five lessons learned from each of the two lists, always presenting the goods news first. Any lessons learned beyond the top three to five from each list should not be presented, as they might overshadow the key lessons. Lastly, the facilitator calls a meeting that is option to attend. The invited guests are other project managers, team leaders, and team members who were not members of the project being reviewed. This meeting is offered so that non-project personnel can learn from this project and possibly apply the lessons learned to their ongoing projects. The lessons learned beyond the top three to five items from each list may be presented because this group may benefit from the increased detail.

Post-Project Review Report
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Project background and objective Lessons learned process overview Summary of results Project strengths – what went well Project weaknesses – what went wrong Recommendations – what we need to improve Detailed results by knowledge area or category Next steps

Reporting Options Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Detailed Report – organized by key fields form the lessons learned template and includes responses gathered during the session Summary – a one-page brief summarizing the findings and providing recommendations One of the biggest challenges in having an effective Lessons Learned Program within any company is determining what tool to use to efficiently store and retrieve lessons learned data. In conversations with representatives from various companies doing business around the world, the challenge is the same. There are many companies that require project teams to document lessons learned and enter into their in-house repositories, but unfortunately, that is where most lessons learned efforts end. What is the best lessons learned software tool available? The answer is “it depends”. We wish we could tell you that there is one “be all to end all” lessons learned software package. There are many effective tools that can be used. The best place to start is to work with the software tools currently available within your company. Set up your initial lessons learned database in an “in-house” tool that can provide reasonable access across a company intranet or LAN. The key to a successful lessons learned software tool is: 1) use a clearly defined template for data consistency (example at end of this paper), 2) create easy to use software screens for data entry, 3) allow for easy to use search capability on key data fields, 4) create easy to read output reports and 5) ideally, provide for the ability to run reports that will either generate metric reports or data to produce metric reports.

Reporting Options Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Recommendations – Recommendations are actions to be taken to correct findings. The approved actions should be documented and tracked to completion. In some cases the approved action may become a project due to high level of resources required to address the finding.

Communicate Establish standard reports
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Establish standard reports Easy to generate Easy to read Share lessons learned with project team members Share lessons learned with other project teams

Discussion: Communicate Lessons Learned
What are some ways to communicate lessons learned Highlight the following: temporary, unique PMI says project are temporary in nature. Highlight beginning and end. Unique is not ongoing business as usually. That is a process. Projects in its very nature are change. They are used to make change. Highlight clear and definitive Clear and definitive goals Has interrelated activities and finite resources Deliverables that when added together, equal the final solution. Progressive Elaboration Progressive Elaboration means you do a project in phases. You create a preliminary plan - detailed plan for the requirements phase and a high level plan for the remaining phases. At the end of requirements you create a detail plan for the rest of the project based on the customer requirements. Product Scope – The functions and features that characterize a product, service, or result (training program, software application, system) Project Scope – The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions. (design, development, testing, implementation) Business, customer owns product scope, project manager, sponsor owns project scope Stresses the importance of gathering requirements, analyzing and documenting requirements, communicating requirements and obtaining buy-in to requirements.

Summary In this section we:
Discussed how to facilitate a lessons learned session Discussed how to document lessons learned Discussed how to communicate lessons learned

Questions?

Section 3: Applying Lessons Learned

How to determine the root cause of lessons How to use lessons learned for risk mitigation Introduction to the Lessons Learned Input Template Suggestions for using lessons learned

At the end of this section you will be able to: Determine the root cause of lessons Use lessons learned for risk mitigation Use the Lessons Learned Input Template Discuss opportunities to use the lessons learned

Applying Lessons Learned
Analyze Analyze and organize for application of results Store Store in a repository Retrieve Retrieve for use on current projects

Analyze Lessons Learned
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Analyze Analyze and organize for application of results

Root Cause Analysis Identify causes not symptoms or effects
Document Analyze Store Retrieve Identify causes not symptoms or effects Further analyze each cause until the root cause is determined Document root cause Consolidate, prioritize and assign root causes for follow up Implement solutions

Exercise: Root Cause Analysis
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve With your team select a lesson and conduct a root cause analysis Prepare to share Root Cause Analysis Exercise

Solutions Documentation Processes Procedures Training Identify
Analyze Store Retrieve Processes Documentation Procedures Training

Risk Mitigation Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Review project risks and determine if there is something that can be done at the organizational level Communicate business risks to the project sponsor

Final Analysis Determine process improvements
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Determine process improvements Determine training needs/update existing training programs Determine which lessons should be communicated to other teams and how this communication will occur Determine which lessons should be stored in the repository

Store Lessons Learned Store Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve
Store in a repository

Lessons Learned Input Template
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Category Lesson learned Action taken How did you arrive at the action Root cause Key words Lessons Learned Establish a standard template to capture lessons learned data

Key Words Data fields to aid search
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Data fields to aid search One of the determinants of success in utilizing lessons learned Key words: vendor, process improvement, software upgrade

Store Lessons Learned Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Store lessons leaned in a manner that allows user to easily identify applicable lessons learned through information searches Stored lessons learned should be periodically reviewed for usefulness

Exercise: Input Template
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Individually fill out the Lessons Learned Input Template Input Template Exercise

Store Lessons Learned Store lessons
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Store lessons Project library Lessons learned repository A resource should be responsible for maintaining the library/repository Project managers should make sure their lessons are stored

What Is the Best Tool? There is no one answer
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve There is no one answer Work with Company software currently available Must have reasonable access across the Company’s intranet or LAN

Successful Software Tool
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Establish standard template to capture lessons learned information Create easy to use software screens for data entry Create easy to use search capability on key data fields and key words Develop easy to read output reports Provide ability to generate metrics reports

Lessons Learned Tool Examples
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve IBM: LotusNotes Novel: Linux Systems, Linux Desktop, OpenOffice, iFolder Microsoft: SharePoint, Word, Excel, Access Oracle

Retrieve Lessons Learned
Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Retrieve Retrieve for use on current projects

Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Review lessons learned at the beginning of the project Review lessons learned throughout the project Share information with the team Risk mitigation

Identify Document Analyze Store Retrieve Review lessons learned before starting a new project Share previous lessons learned with project leadership and discuss the approach for the current project Discuss lessons learned with the project team during the project kick-off meeting

Summary In this section we: Determined the root cause of lessons
Discussed how to use lessons learned for risk mitigation Used the Lessons Learned Input Template Discussed opportunities to use the lessons learned

Questions?

Section 4: Lessons Learned Best Practices

Lessons Learned Best Practices

At the end of this section you will be able to: Communicate lessons learned best practices

Discussion: Best Practices
What are some Lessons Learned Best Practices Highlight the following: temporary, unique PMI says project are temporary in nature. Highlight beginning and end. Unique is not ongoing business as usually. That is a process. Projects in its very nature are change. They are used to make change. Highlight clear and definitive Clear and definitive goals Has interrelated activities and finite resources Deliverables that when added together, equal the final solution. Progressive Elaboration Progressive Elaboration means you do a project in phases. You create a preliminary plan - detailed plan for the requirements phase and a high level plan for the remaining phases. At the end of requirements you create a detail plan for the rest of the project based on the customer requirements. Product Scope – The functions and features that characterize a product, service, or result (training program, software application, system) Project Scope – The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions. (design, development, testing, implementation) Business, customer owns product scope, project manager, sponsor owns project scope Stresses the importance of gathering requirements, analyzing and documenting requirements, communicating requirements and obtaining buy-in to requirements.

Lessons Learned Best Practices
Review lessons learned from previous projects at the beginning of your project Conduct lessons learned sessions at various times throughout the life of your project Use facilitation tools and lessons learned templates Allow time for real time lessons Use templates to allow for consistency Perform a root cause analysis on project problems and engage the appropriate resources to implement solutions. Store lessons in a repository that has key word search capability Have leadership involvement Review lessons learned at the beginning of the project Review lessons learned throughout the project Effective tools for capturing lessons learned More analysis of stored lessons learned Have a documented lessons learned process with supporting tools Capturing lessons learned should be an expected deliverable Use lessons learned to generate best practices Have management commitment

Make it Happen The project manager should communicate the lessons learned process and expectations and strongly encourage the team to participate The project team should be on the look out for best practices and areas for improvement and communicate them at the appropriate times

PROJECT SUCCESS

Summary In this section we: Discussed Lessons Learned Best Practices

Section 6: Lessons Learned Research

Lessons Learned Culture
What does it take for a culture to support lessons learned? Lessons learned require a culture that truly understands the benefits and the savings associated with them. That is typically a culture moving towards maturity and excellence and that has devoted the proper individuals to drive that commitment to learning. This could be in the form of a Project Management Office or a Center of Excellence, or other similar integrating entities in the enterprise. These entities are not policing units, they are learning centers. Mandatory Directives Sometimes leadership means requiring mandatory actions before change can become institutionalized across an organization. Post-project reviews must be conducted within a week of projects ending At the start of new projects, project managers must convince a review board that they have review the findings from the most recent post-project reviews from across the organization and have satisfactorily applied those findings to the benefit of their new projects. The organization gets to decide the criteria a project must meet before these activities become mandatory. If your organization does not enforce mandatory post-project reviews (lessons learned) and ensures that the lessons are applied to new projects to benefit from these concepts, you, independently, can apply these concepts within your domain of responsibility. LL should be included in the PM process. The best time to begin discussing lessons learned is during the kick-off meeting. Project schedule should include tasks for LL LL should also be included in your performance goals.

Exploring Lessons Learned: A Qualitative Study on Knowledge Sharing for IT Program Management
Central Question: How does the use of lessons learned facilitate knowledge sharing for IT program management? What are program stakeholders’ perceptions of the role (capture and use) of lessons learned in knowledge sharing in IT program management? How are lessons learned captured for knowledge sharing in IT program management How are lessons learned used for knowledge sharing in IT program management? What do program stakeholders perceive to be the facilitators and barriers to capturing and using lessons learned for the benefit of knowledge sharing among current and future projects within IT programs?

Questions?

Sandra F. Rowe, PMP, MBA, MSCIS
Contact Information Sandra F. Rowe, PMP, MBA, MSCIS

Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Capturing and Applying Lessons Learned"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback