What have you learned from the projects

Documenting Lessons Learned: What Have You Learned?

Lessons Learned | By Kenneth Darter | Read time minutes

The Good and the Bad

Lessons learned should not just focus on the mistakes that were made; they should also document the good things that happened in the project. Otherwise, all of the processes and decisions that helped the project succeed might be lost and that would be just as bad as forgetting about the mistakes that were made. Oftentimes, everyone focuses on the mistakes that were made, and, while that is important, the project team needs to recognise what worked and make sure that those processes and techniques can be repeated in future projects.

In the Moment

The best place and time to capture lessons learned is in the moment that the project is happening. Even though people may be busy and overwhelmed just working on the project, someone should be working to capture those items that might turn into lessons learned at the end of the project. The best time to get these items documented is right after they have happened. Otherwise, people tend to forget about what they did or even gloss over the problems and issues that occurred. They might even start telling tall tales about what happened; lessons learned need to be a truthful reflection, not a fish story.

Solicit Data

This is primarily the project manager’s responsibility, but everybody on the project should be aware that they can provide ideas and insight into the lessons learned. This truly needs to be a collaborative effort in order to succeed. Recording lessons learned should be a regular part of project management and needs to be included in the weekly and monthly processes. Once people on the team get used to providing this input, the project manager may get overwhelmed with the response. While the paperwork might get tedious, the rewards are well worth the effort.

Publish or Preserve

Once all of the information is collected and reviewed and revised, then it is important to make sure that it is published so that everyone involved in the project is aware of the lessons learned, both positive and negative. It is also vital that this information be preserved so that the organisation and the project teams can have it the next time a similar project is being executed. Without the lessons learned from previous projects, future projects will fall into the same routines and pitfalls that occurred in previous projects.

Lessons Learned in Projects: Everything You Need to Know

Lessons learned workshops aren’t fun because you always make mistakes in projects. And during a review you often think “We could have done this better”.

But taking a critical review of your project is actually a good thing. Because if you take the feedback to heart you become a better project leader.

(Talking about mistakes: I recently created a checklist for setting up new projects. It helps you avoid making the same mistake in your next project. Go check it out)

In this article you’ll find everything you need to know about lessons learned. What they are good for and how to conduct an actual workshop.

Table of contents

What are Lessons Learned in Project Management

Lessons learned are an informal conversation where you look at a project in retrospect. It is done after project completion, usually conducted as a meeting involving the project manager and key representatives from customer and contractor side.

I have also done lessons learned with the entire project team. This is even more insightful but it requires more organization (How organized are you?).

During the lessons learned meeting everyone shares their perspective on what they thought about the project, what they would have changed, what they learned and what could have been done better.

That leads us to the next question:

Why you should have lessons learned workshops

Lessons learned workshops are performed for three reasons: The first is to learn from mistakes and to avoid these mistakes in future projects. The second is to gather best practices — that is smart ways of doing something — and to pass on this knowledge to other project leaders.

The third reason is for trust building with your stakeholders and team members. Involving people in the process and giving them the opportunity to share their perspective will make them more supportive towards project management as well as future projects.

That being said, it should be clear that lessons learned workshops are not (just) a forum for people to vent their anger.

Sometimes you might get this impression when people are being very negative. But a project review should always be about sharing helpful and constructive feedback and ideas to become better.

How to conduct a lessons learned meeting

Let’s look at the typical process for a lessons learned workshop. The process differs depending on the number of attendees:

The challenge in such workshops is that people will be relatively reserved to give candid feedback. They are afraid of coming across too harsh or to hurt anybody’s feelings, or even to be disadvantaged in the future. What usually breaks the ice is when one person steps up. Then others will follow and share their criticism openly. That’s the kind of atmosphere you should encourage (even if it’s painful).

If you believe it will be hard to get the attendees to open up, consider planning some discussion points in advance. Like, putting in a few self jabs to show humility and humor. And to show others that being self-critical of both themselves and their team is accepted. Also, if you have the relationships in place to do it, consider having a few “plants” in the audience who will chime in with pre-rehearsed lessons learned or comments. This will help to get the ball rolling for the shy people.

STEP 1: WELCOME THE TEAM

Start off by welcoming the team. Then move on to explaining the purpose of a lessons learned workshop. You should have gotten enough ideas from this article.

STEP 2: EXPLAIN THE RULES

Next, explain the meeting rules. You’ll find them further below. Attendees should understand they are supposed to be constructive, whether they liked the project or not. Everybody is asked to give their feedback on the following questions:

Lessons learned key questions:

You have to decide how to record the results. In a small group you would just enter the feedback in an Excel sheet. With a larger audience, you would normally use flip charts or white boards where team members record their thoughts. Irrespective of the tool you always use a 3 column structure: column 1 = what went well, column 2 = what didn’t go well and column 3 = learnings.

Something like this:

Step 3: Gather feedback

Now that everybody knows the process, they can get to work and write down whatever is on their mind. Of course, you as the project manager are not excluded from the process. You should also take the opportunity to reflect on what went well and what didn’t and document your thoughts.

Team members participating in a lessons learned workshop

STEP 4: PRESENT FINDINGS (LARGE GROUPS ONLY)

If you are doing the lessons learned with the entire project team, have one or two team representatives present the results in a summarized form. They will briefly go through all notes and talk about the most frequently mentioned points: Many team members said they were unhappy with the way the product training was done. The 1-day training apparently was not enough, so people mentioned they didn’t feel well prepared for the project. OK, hopefully you will also get positive feedback.

STEP 5: CLOSE the MEETING

After everyone was able to share their feedback and you’re done recording it in an Excel sheet, it’s time to close the meeting. Say a few kind words and thank the attendees for their participation. You should also point at how the feedback is going to be used: ‘We will take your feedback into consideration for improving our future projects, especially when it comes to ‘.

Rules for a lessons learned meeting

Going into the meeting with the right attitude

I want to help you with your mindset for a project review. Suppose you are the project leader and you are going to have your first lessons learned workshop. Then there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.

Don’t dwell on past mistakes: You may be thinking a lot about problems that have happened in your project. A conflict with a stakeholder or a critical step you forgot to take care of. Although this is understandable, it is also not very helpful. I suggest you accept whatever bad things have happened and focus instead on things you have learned (and the things that went well).

There will always be people criticizing: Even the best and most respected project managers face criticism. That’s because projects always trigger controversy and resistance from people in the organization. Therefore, it is natural for people to tell you what you should have done differently. Dogs will always be barking 🙂

Be open to learn: Accept you may not now the best approach for everything. There may be better ways to plan or to conduct certain project tasks. If you’re will to learn, you will become better. And that’s the key. Lack of willingness to introspect is a clear signal project failure is ahead. Read about Seven signs why your project might fail because of you.

Lessons Learned Examples (and what to do with the results)

The whole point of a lessons learned workshop is to learn. To become better. As a project manager and as a team but also as an organization. This learning effect only materializes when action is taken in response to the lessons learned. The type of action depends on whether it concerns only you, your team or the entire company.

Lessons learned for you (project manager):

Lessons learned on team level:

Lessons learned on company level:

Some of the lessons learned may even require action on company level:

My advice to you: Always ask for feedback

One important piece of advice I want to give you is to solicit feedback throughout the project, and not just to wait til the end. In project management, you have to respond quickly to issues, and you always want to improve your process so you get optimum results.

The way I collect feedback is to continuously talk to my team: How is this thing going? Are there any issues? Anything we should be doing differently next time? This way I instantly know what areas we have to improve upon and I can take immediate action and course-correct.

Lessons Learned: A Simple Framework for Project Managers

I could hear Dan, one of the other project managers, from across the hall. Excusing myself to my co-worker, I hurried over.

He gestured to his computer screen, which looked like it had a new Easter egg screensaver. “Paul sent this UI to the client without running it by me first.”

“Didn’t Mary do the same thing last time?” I asked.

“Yeah, and I spoke to her about it. It’s okay to ask the client for input, but no sending mockups unless I see them first.”

“Did you update the communications SOP (standard operating procedure)?”

As a project manager, I felt his pain and let him know as much. But it was hard to feel sorry for him.

Henry Ford once said that “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” I’m going to expand on that quote by adding, “Provided that you documented the lessons learned.”

Each project is a learning opportunity, even if it’s so successful that the CEO names his new yacht after you. (Hasn’t happened to me yet!) You gain insights into how teams work and processes develop, and can use those insights to create better teams, implement changes that work, and deliver more successful projects- IF you document all lessons learned and analyze what went right (or wrong).

What is Lessons Learned?

The Project Management Institute describes lessons learned as knowledge and understanding acquired via experience. These lessons may be positive ones, such as a project delivered on time and without exhausting the budget, or they may be negative, such as a blown budget and inferior deliverables. What matters is that they-

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.

Below are some lessons learned examples in different categories.

Why Lessons Learned Is Important

If your project experienced a catastrophic failure due to scope creep, budget overruns, a product that fell below expectations, or any other problem, the only way to prevent the same outcome in the future is to:

The same principle applies to successful projects: when you know what went well and why, you can duplicate the appropriate steps across all your teams and yield positive results with other projects.

How to Document Lessons Learned

In my opinion, lessons learned should not be confined to the project wrap-up. As the saying goes, there’s no time like the present. The best time to document something is immediately after it happened, otherwise key information can be accidentally forgotten or, in the case of negative outcomes, intentionally glossed over.

These are the steps I take. You may do it differently, but there’s no right or wrong way as long as a valid and effective lessons learned document results.

Documentation of lessons learnt should include:

All reports should consist of the information received during the lessons learned session and be distributed to all participants, who should be given enough time to review them and either confirm their accuracy or offer corrections. Once the report is finalized, send a copy to the entire project team and store it with the other project documentation.

When you prepare a project summary for the senior project stakeholders, such as your boss, include an overview of what went well and what needs to be improved. You can include the report as an email attachment or offer to make a copy available if they need more information.

When to Conduct Lessons Learned

If someone asked me when to conduct lessons learned, I’d say, “Early and often.”

I know project managers who make lessons learned part of the wrap-up meeting, but I think it’s valuable at all stages of a project. My teams have interim lessons learned reviews at the end of each milestone, with the goal of recognizing what is working and what isn’t, so that we can adjust right away and improve our work and the overall project.

Challenges With Project Lessons Learned

All teams should be recording lessons learned, both positive and negative, as the project unfolds, but too many of them either don’t do it because there is no defined process for doing so or they don’t act on what they learn. Unless you document them and have a system in place to make use of them, it can be hard (if not impossible) to keep track of lessons learned.

There Is No Defined “Lessons Learned” Process in Place

Without a defined process in place, don’t be surprised if the people on your team don’t capture lessons learned. They will solve the problem or feel good about the success, but it ends there and no one benefits from their new understanding.

I’ve already presented my lessons learned documentation process. You can adopt it for your own teams or come up with your approach as long as it includes the collection, publication, storage, and future use of all data. There are also some excellent (and free) lessons learned templates that you can use for inspiration or modify for your own use.

They Capture Lessons Learned But Don’t Use Them

This is another common problem. As soon as a team member encounters success or failure, they capture the details that are turned into lessons learned at the end of the project. The project manager creates a document that is filed neatly away with the other project data and never sees the light of day. No one learns from these good or bad experiences and nothing changes.

At my company, it is a requirement that project managers start each new project by consulting a lessons learned folder on the company intranet. It contains subfolders categorized by project type, and each one lists reports with titles that identify their contents.

How to Apply Lessons Learned

According to the Project Management Institute, applying lessons learned is a methodology consisting of three stages:

Conclusion

With a lessons learned process in place, you can treat each project as a learning experience and share all knowledge and insights with other managers in your company. As you apply the lessons, they become part of the operational strategy and initiate changes that everyone will thank you for.

What’s the best project you’ve ever worked on? Sample interview answers

You’ve experienced your fair share of successes and failures in life. You’ve worked on great projects and belonged to excellent teams, but you have also failed in some of your endeavors–just like any other person in the world, including the billionaires. But what exactly are the hiring managers referring to, when they ask about the best project?

Are they inquiring about the most successful one? Or about a project that you enjoyed working on the most, because you had a great team? Do they perhaps want to hear about the project that failed, but you learned a crucial lesson while working on it, and that’s why you consider it the best one, or the most important one for your professional career?

The answer isn’t obvious. Actually it doesn’t matter much whether you talk about a successful project, or about one that ended up a failure. As long as you can demonstrate right attitude to work, and to life in your answer, they will be satisfied with your words. Because employees with the right mindset do not fail. They either succeed, or learn.

Let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to this interesting interview question. The list includes also some answers for people without previous working experience.

Do not forget to check also my notes below the answers, because they will help you to pick the right answer for your interview (or to adjust your own answer accordingly, while describing your best project), and also offer some advice for the case when you deal with one of the alternative questions to this one, such as “What types of projects would you like to work on?”, or “Tell us about the most challenging/interesting project that you have worked on“, or simply “Tell me about your project.”

7 sample answers to “What’s the best project you’ve ever worked on?” interview question

Your attitude matters, not the particular project or situation you describe

It doesn’t matter much whether you talk about a seminary project, some small improvement you suggested in your last job, or about a big project with a budget in millions.

As long as you clearly demonstrate that you tried your best, that you went above and beyond, or that you learned a crucial lesson while working on the project, hiring managers will be satisfied with your answer.

Because they understand that when you are in your early twenties, or even early thirties, you have likely not had a chance yet to work on something big. Maybe that chance awaits you in their company… As long as you have the right attitude, and proactive approach to work, you’ll grab the chance by the horns, and do your best in every project.

* Special Tip : This isn’t the only difficult question you will face while interviewing for any decent job. You will face questions about prioritization, dealing with pressure, dealing with ambiguity, and other tricky scenarios that happen in the workplace. If you want to make sure that you stand out with your answers and outclass your competitors, have a look at our Interview Success Package. Up to 10 premium answers to 31 tricky scenario based questions (+ more) will make your life much easier in the interviews. Thank you for checking it out!

Numbers and dates help with credibility when you talk about your project

At the end of the day, you can make something up. You can talk about a project that never really happened, or you can add a few unreal details here and there, just to make your story more compelling.

If you decide to do so, be sure to add some numbers and dates to your narrative. For example, you can specify when exactly this or that happened, and quantify the results of your efforts with some numbers, percentages, or tangible goals.

This will help you to sound more credible, and it will also be easier for the hiring managers to visualize the project, and what exactly you achieved, and why you consider it the best one you’ve ever worked on.

Do not be afraid of failing

If you read the biographies of famous entrepreneurs and business tycoons, you will find out that they have several things in common. Failure is one of them. Nobody was born a genius, and even the most successful people had to fail to learn the important lessons the hard way, and to build their success from there.

You can definitely talk about a project which ended up a failure. Explain what exactly you learned, and how it helped you to become better in your profession, or how it changed you as a person. Picking a project that failed and describing it as the best project you’ve even worked on can be a very powerful answer, something the hiring managers will remember long after the interviews with you…

And that’s exactly what you want to achieve--you want them to remember you once they are making the final decision about the shortlisted job candidates…

Alternative question: What types of projects would you like to work on?

Sometimes they inquire about the past, and sometimes they ask you to look into the future. Asking about your preferences, the hiring managers wonder whether you will find satisfaction in your new job, working on projects that really interest you. Obviously you should study the job description carefully, as well as the website of the company. Try to understand your new role, and what kinds of projects you may have a chance to work on–in case that you get the job, which I hope you will :).

Then you should mention such projects in your answer. And if you are not sure, you can simply say that you would like to work on any projects that will allow you to put your creativity to the test, to bring some value to the team, to learn something new. Most hiring managers will be satisfied with such an answer.

Ready to answer this one? I hope so! Check also 7 sample answers to other tricky interview questions:

Guide to Lessons Learned in Project Management

Lessons learned from past projects are tools you can use as a project manager to drive improvement within your team. We’ve compiled expert advice on how to collect, document, and apply lessons learned toward future endeavors.

What Are Lessons Learned in Project Management?

The term lessons learned refers to the experience you gain by participating in and completing a project. A team should apply past lessons learned at the beginning of a new venture and compile new findings during and after its completion.

While it is essential to collect lessons learned at the end of a project, it might be beneficial to gather input while in the middle of one as well.

To find out about free project management lessons learned templates for project managers, product managers, project coordinators, moderators, project sponsors, and more, refer to our Free Project Management Lessons Learned Templates article.

What Is the Purpose of Lessons Learned?

The purpose of documenting and applying the lessons learned is to encourage improvement in best practices for future projects. The goal is to create a team that learns from its missteps and repeats and improves its successes.

Patti Armanini is a Quality Manager with Festo USA and has more than a decade of experience in management. She encourages project managers to “review past lessons learned to avoid making similar mistakes the next time around. But [it is] just as important to leverage the wins going forward, to help streamline the project, and to help remove impediments before they happen.”

A successful project manager recognizes the processes that help and hinder a team. They can also implement the lessons they have learned to improve those processes continually.

Seek input on lessons learned from everyone involved in a project. Team members at all levels within the hierarchy have essential contributions to the discussion, and it is wise to gather as much information from as many people as possible. This process can even be a team-building experience in itself, as everyone makes themselves heard.

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Lessons Learned Process in Project Management

The Project Management Institute (PMI) outlines its Lessons Learned Process in Project Management in five steps.

Example: When finalizing the schedule for upcoming projects, search keywords like deadline to find references to past lessons learned about realistic timelines for completed projects.

What Is a Lessons Learned Document?

A lessons learned document is the collected results of surveys and team member input throughout the lifecycle of a project. Create a process for gathering input at key points throughout the project, then record and use it to create detailed reports.

It is important to record these initial observations, so you can access them later. This document contains the raw data you will use to write your reports.

How to Document Lessons Learned

A project manager is responsible for documenting and identifying lessons learned throughout the lifecycle of a task or project. A successful project manager will utilize the following strategies:

You and future teams will use this feedback to learn from your experience. It is important to create processes that streamline the capture and sharing of this information.

How to Capture Lessons Learned in Project Management

A great way to capture lessons learned is by surveying the people working on and observing the project. You might find that you can extract more diverse responses by administering a survey during a project instead of only after it ends.

One benefit of a midproject survey is that you can identify and correct issues before they become a real problem. Armanini helped create this sample of a midproject survey for project managers:

Midproject Survey Lessons Learned

Another excellent way to capture comments from the team is to hold lessons learned meetings, sometimes called a post-mortem. For more information about post-mortems, read our guide to running a post-mortem and download free post-mortem templates.

How to Run a Lessons Learned Meeting

Lessons learned meetings can occur at any point during a project. During the meeting, your team should share feedback about what went well and what needs improvement. These meetings are also an effective team-building activity, as they are more collaborative than conducting individual surveys.

Your lessons learned meetings should all follow a similar format and usually begin with a stated agenda. Let your team know what you will cover and what you expect them to contribute. Next, encourage a robust group discussion of the lessons learned during the project, and make sure that you have assigned someone to take the minutes. This discussion should include a critical evaluation of the lessons learned and a plan for how to utilize them in future projects.

How to Write a Lessons Learned Report in Project Management

One of the most critical steps in applying lessons learned is creating lessons learned reports. The purpose of writing a lessons learned report is to consolidate the input from your team and present it to an audience in a concise and legible way.

Step by Step: Write a Lessons Learned Report

When writing a report, consider the following:

Lessons Learned Report Sample

Download Completed Lessons Learned Sample Report

You can use the above sample lessons learned report to display the conclusions from your surveys and meetings, as well as your own observations as a project manager. Download the completed version and use it for reference. You can also edit and customize it based on information that is important to your audience.

Download Blank Lessons Learned Template

Download a blank version of the template for your needs.

How to Share Lessons Learned

The best way to share your findings is to create specific reports for varying engagement levels. The goal of creating a lessons learned report is to distribute your group’s findings among a targeted audience.

What Are Examples of Lessons Learned in a Project?

Every completed project provides experience to the people working on it, whether or not it was a success. These lessons can be universal or specific to the task. Below are examples of lessons learned for different levels in an organization.

Examples of Lessons Learned for Project Managers:

Examples of Lessons Learned for Team Members:

Examples of Lessons Learned for Company Leadership:

Why Are Lessons Learned Important in Project Management?

Organizations that capture and utilize lessons learned from past projects can more easily avoid mistakes, repeat their successes, and minimize risks on future work. Project managers play an integral role in this process and enable their teams to thrive.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about half of all new businesses fail in the first five years. A company that commits to documenting and improving its processes stands a much better chance of survival than one that does not. Hiring and retaining stellar project managers ensures that these processes will continuously improve.

Benefits of Lessons Learned in Project Management

By identifying lessons learned, you can capitalize on your successes and take note of your mistakes. Additional benefits of lessons learned in project management include the following:

Challenges with Lessons Learned in Projects

When you implement lessons learned processes with your team, you will likely run across some challenges. Here are some examples of challenges that project managers face:

How to Apply Lessons Learned

The most crucial step in applying lessons learned to future projects is identifying those lessons in the first place. Create a system of surveying and collaborating on input with your team, and make sure that you record these responses so that you can access them later. Organize it by team, by task, or by the system most pertinent to you.

Establish timely check-ins with your team members. Hold informal gatherings in between formal meetings, and create a system of collecting weekly or monthly feedback, depending on the scope of your project. You can use these evaluations to check against past lessons learned and to identify new ones as they arise.

Don’t be afraid to implement lessons learned within the same project, rather than waiting until the next one. In fact, one sign of an effective project manager is knowing when you need to nudge a process in a different direction. Use the collected lessons from your institution to guide your team to success.

Best Practices for Lessons Learned in Project Management

It is vital to consider the best practices for your unique team. Some universal best practices when it comes to lessons learned in project management are as follows:

Considerations for Gathering Lessons Learned in a Work-from-Home Environment

In a perfect world, you will have the opportunity to conduct lessons learned meetings and surveys in person. But when all or part of a team works from home, you might have additional considerations.

“It’s easy to get complacent when not working in a structured office environment. Not just the clothes, but also losing interest during meetings because it’s online and not in-person. But since I work in a production environment in an essential industry, we were not completely shut down for long. I’ve been back in the office full time since mid-January. Engineers, purchasing, and the like still mostly work from home,” says Armanini.

“We turned meeting rooms into large break rooms with few tables for better spacing, and rotated break times to keep fewer team members on break at the same time.” She suggests staying flexible for meeting schedules and survey deadlines when possible to accommodate both groups.

Read our “Experts Hacks and Tips for Working at Home” to learn more about flourishing in an at-home work environment.

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