There are ALWAYS lessons to be learned
No one should have to begin from nothing, at least when it comes to experience. Each experience builds on another as a part of learning. Let's see how we become an "ace" life learner.
By Sylvie Edwardsfor Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions
I must admit that for me the practice of “lessons learned” in project management has always been a subject of exasperation. As a practice, it is critically beneficial but actual application has caused a pain for a lot of PMs including me. Some organizations do this well, while others fail miserably.
Let us start by giving “lessons learned” a bit of background and context so that we are all working with the same assumptions.
Learning occurs on every project. “Lessons learned” are the learning gained from the process of performing the project (PMI® PMBOK Guide, 2004, p. 363). We learn from our own project experiences as well as the experiences of others. 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. Sharing lessons learned among project team members prevents us from repeating the same mistakes and allows us to take advantage of organizational best practices. Innovative approaches and good practices can be shared with others to improve outcomes. Lessons learned can be used to improve future projects and future stages of current projects.
That sounds great, but the process can be marred with lack of clarity and uncertainty as to the context in which the data is gathered, disseminated, stored, and used on subsequent projects. I have always been a big supporter of the lessons learned process, but I realized early that this can be complex to implement and not perceived as greatly beneficial when not properly supported or implemented by the entire organization. In doing more research I also realized that this process is labelled in diverse ways, some of which are not incredibly positive. These naming conventions include: (but not limited to)
Postmortem (after death)
Postpartum (after birth, associated with depression and pain)
Post engagement redress (PER) (to set right, as a wrong)
After action review (AAR) (in a military context)
C-GULL (Coast Guard uniform lessons learned, yep like the bird)
Debriefing (sounds like a covert operation)
Post implementation audit or review (sounds very formal)
Project retrospectives
Of all these naming conventions, I have grown fond of retrospectives which are utilized in Agile delivery. Regardless of what you call it, this process is at the core of the learning gained from projects all over the globe.
In working in education, I have come to value another related process, that of reflection.
Both reflection and lessons learned are closely related and aim to get an individual, group, or organization to grow and learn for the learning process itself so that it can be used to further improve. What if we were more purposeful in the use of these two related processes and used them in our own lives?
That’s the question I came to ask myself recently when trying to convince one of my students' groups to embrace the process. Think of all that one could gain from taking just a few minutes a week to look back, reflect and gather lessons learned from their past week’s experiences. I know some people that do this and use meditation to supplement the process. I must admit that I have tried several types of meditation without a lot of success. My mind tends to race, and I get easily distracted. This was not the way for me, but it may be for you.
No matter the “how”, the practice of taking stock, reflecting, or gathering your lessons learned is what the aim is. I started a few years ago to just jot down a few items on a piece of paper around what I want to learn more about. In the process of doing this, I examine what it is I still don’t understand and what I am trying to achieve as my final goal. I give myself direction in my learning based on areas I don’t feel comfortable with based on experience. Trial and error play a large part in it all. You need to give yourself permission to fail and try again.
So, my ask of you is this, set aside 10 minutes in your week… yes purposefully set aside 10 minutes where you go over your week’s experiences and jot down what could be learned from it. Based on your list, make a quick plan as to how you could learn further to improve the outcomes the next time.
Before you know it, you will be learning lessons weekly and growing with it.
About the author: Sylvie Edwards has been involved in Project Management in several industries for more than 25 years, overseeing projects in the IT, Banking, Health, Government and Securities sectors. She is a post secondary #educator assisting hundreds of potential PMP® achieve their certification, and a blogger on all things related to #projectmanagement. Sylvie is a two term past President and current member on the board of directors for the PMI-DHC (Project Management Institute- Durham Highlands Chapter). She had the honour of being named Fellow of the Project Management Association of Canada (FPMAC).
Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions 2024
Loved this perspective. I’ve always felt frustrated with lessons learned. They can become so pedantic. A thing that must be done because whatever methodology we subscribe to says that we should. But the plain and simple fact is that lessons learned keep us sane. I did not believe that until I had my own epiphany. What was that saying again? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results! Truly examining what we did and what the outcomes were in order to do better next time is what defines the human spirit.