Project Lessons Learned: the Post-Project Evaluation

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Project Lessons Learned: the Post-Project Evaluation
One of the greatest contributions of a PM to an organization is the set of lessons learned.
After every project concludes, a formal meeting with all of the team members should be conducted and both good and bad experiences should be duly written down in a document that should be a part of the project.
But it does not end there. There should be a kind of library of lessons learned from each project implemented in the organization, to save time and effort and implement best practices born from within the organization.

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		Jim Combs, USA
	2 Are Project Lessons Observed? Does anyone have a proven successful way of incorporating lessons learned? It seems projects continue to make the same mistakes again and again...

		Sam Abiem, Nigeria
	2 The Importance of Documenting Project Lessons Learned Lessons learned is indeed a very important component of PM that is often overlooked by many organizations. Though it's outside the project design cycle, it needs to be incorporated in the evaluation phase. It is also critical at the closure of project. This prepares managers to better manage subsequent projects building on such lessons, whether positive or negative. Every project has lessons that an organization can build on in subsequent projects.

		Sankar, India
	2 Recording, Storing and Retreiving Project Lessons Recording lessons learned is one aspect, and equally important is the storage and retrieval mechanism! I personally think an organization should give the right emphasis to knowledge management and project lessons should be part of managing this knowledge, with the right categorization.

		Eduardo Rodriguez Ringach Director, Spain
	3 Best Practices for Storing and Reusing Lessons Learned: Storytelling and Checklist I've seen two totally different successful strategies for caputuring and sharing lessons learned from projects: 1. Storytelling: capturing the nuances of the lessons in a narrative way, or even better by using multimedia tools, best in the own words of the protagonists. 2. Checklist: integrate lessons learned in a mandatory checklist to be filled in for every new project.

		David Dicanot Analyst, France
	1 Best Practices for Storing and Reusing Lessons Learned: Coaching Hello I share the idea that same mistakes in project management occur again and again. The main reason to my mind is the non application of fundamentals in project management, that is the subject of another stream. Formalised best practices are good, but not efficient enough, and could be replaced or complemented by coaching by a senior project manager. This role could be fulfilled by a programme director (if available) to avoid the cost hiring an external coach.

		James07, India
	2 How to Prepare for the Post-Project Evaluation Successful project managers lay the groundwork for repeating on future projects what worked on past ones (and avoiding what didn’t) by conducting a post-project evaluation. A post-project evaluation (also called a post-project review or lessons learned) is an assessment of project results, activities, and processes that allows you to: Recognize project achievements and acknowledge people’s work. Identify techniques and approaches that worked, and devise steps to ensure they’re used in the future. Identify techniques and approaches that didn’t work, and devise steps to ensure they aren’t used again in the future. A project postmortem is another term for post-project evaluation.

		Ivy Teacher, Netherlands
	1 How to Perform a Post-Project Review A Post-Project Evaluation or Review is an assessment conducted at the end of a project to measure its overall success and identify ways to improve future projects. This evaluation aims to analyze whether the project met its goals, stayed within budget, adhered to timelines, and achieved the desired outcomes. Here’s a comprehensive default step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective Post-Project Evaluation: DEFINE EVALUATION OBJECTIVES Start by outlining what you want to achieve with the evaluation. Common objectives include assessing the project’s effectiveness, identifying challenges faced, and determining stakeholder satisfaction. Defining these objectives helps focus the evaluation process on key metrics. GATHER KEY PROJECT DOCUMENTS Collect all relevant project documentation, such as the project charter, budget reports, timelines, scope documents, risk logs, and communication records. Having these resources will help in analyzing the project's performance objectively. CONDUCT TEAM AND STAKEHOLDER SURVEYS OR INTERVIEWS Engage team members, stakeholders, and clients (if applicable) to gather their perspectives on the project. Use surveys or structured interviews to ask questions about successes, challenges, and areas of improvement. Be sure to cover aspects such as collaboration, communication, timelines, and resource allocation. ASSESS PROJECT PERFORMANCE AGAINST INITIAL OBJECTIVES Review whether the project met its original goals and objectives. Analyze the project’s results against its scope, quality, cost, and schedule requirements. This step involves looking at the metrics you established at the beginning of the project to determine if those standards were met. EVALUATE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs) Examine specific KPIs set for the project, such as productivity levels, budget variance, time adherence, and quality standards. For example, if a KPI was to complete a phase by a certain date within budget, measure how well the project met that criterion. IDENTIFY SUCCESSES AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Document what went well and what could be improved. Consider technical challenges, budget constraints, resource allocation, and team dynamics. Highlight specific solutions or practices that worked effectively, and identify areas that need attention for future projects. ANALYZE LESSONS LEARNED Summarize the key lessons learned throughout the project’s life cycle. This includes both positive practices to be replicated in future projects and negative experiences to avoid. Documenting these insights can be instrumental in improving project management practices across the organization. CREATE A FINAL EVALUATION REPORT Compile all findings into a structured report that includes: An executive summary of the project. A detailed analysis of project performance. A breakdown of successes and challenges. Lessons learned and actionable recommendations. Make sure the report is clear and organized, and share it with all relevant parties for future reference. CONDUCT A POST-PROJECT MEETING Organize a post-project meeting to discuss the evaluation findings with the team and stakeholders. This meeting should encourage an open dialogue on what was learned, what can be improved, and how everyone can contribute to future projects. This helps reinforce lessons learned and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. FOLLOW-UP ON RECOMMENDATIONS A post-project evaluation is only effective if recommendations are put into action. Ensure there’s a process in place for tracking follow-up actions and integrating relevant improvements into future projects. Assign ownership for each recommendation to ensure accountability.