Keeping a repository of lessons is a recurring discipline in almost everybody’s lives. It allows discovering and carrying lessons that can be usefully applied for upcoming endeavors. In the world of Project Management, this practice prospers through Project Lesson Learnt Logs.
A Project Lesson Learnt Log is pre-outlined document that aims to identify and record learnings from the project. It usually contains a template that captures what were learned and the team’s impression on them. The document should be regularly updated to come up with new ideas during and after the project. Entries provide inputs and find key points that can update or improve the overall project process. Each log reveals settings, circumstances and even people to avoid or foster for the project’s success. Its indispensible contents are:
• Project Name
• Project Manager
• Project Description
• Project Phase
• Circumstances surrounding the Lesson
• Lesson Learned
• Mitigation Strategies, if any
• Needed Follow-ups
• Recommendations and Comments
• How to Incorporate the lessons to the next project or phase
• Name of Learner or Participant (can be optional or anonymous)
It is a popular practice among management teams to begin a Project Lesson Learnt Log during the last phase of the project. This may be called a Post Mortem, Post Implementation Review, or simply a Post Project Review. However, such common practice is not always good. Each project phase begets knowledge and experiences that should be extracted and documented. A team that captures these lessons only towards the project’s conclusion leaves them forgotten and ignored. These lessons could give better inputs to maximize the expenses, time and effort for the project’s subsequent stages. And since timing is an essential element in logging lessons, the project manager must gather them when they are still fresh.
Though keeping a Project Lesson Learnt Log is discussed agenda in management and business, it is still an overlooked area. It is accomplished with the least attention amidst busy schedules and hectic deadlines. Project Managers also tend to forget that not all lessons can be disclosed thorough formal methods. Lessons are like icebergs – 90% of them are out of sight, and only 10% can be viewed with the first look.
People also like to talk more their successes rather than failures. If the lesson was brought about by a failure, persons who contributed to it might prefer to hide the disaster and its accompanying lessons. They feel scared and ashamed to talk about lessons that root to their mistakes. Even managers and leaders tend to avoid punishment and blame by not being completely honest. Project teams therefore should nurture a fault-tolerant atmosphere to encourage themselves to speak without fearing consequences.
Regardless of when and how a Project Lesson Learnt Log is accomplished, it should be a continuous and productive effort. It should not be done for compliance purposes alone, but primarily for enhancing the organization and its members. It should not simply be an afterthought, but a fundamental exercise in all project management processes.
