Project Lessons Learned : Important Reminders To Learning From Mistakes
Project lessons learned are needed to be captured and must be noted. These lessons play a vital role and may serve several of purposes. Once the finalization of these lessons has completed, it will become a valuable tool to be used by other managers within the organization who may be assigned on the same or similar projects. This document should not only describe what went wrong during the entire project but also what went well and how similar projects may benefit from it. This document should be communicated to the project sponsor and the project management office for its inclusion to the organizational assets and archives as part of the lessons learned.
A project has to have well performing people and these people behind the project should be recognized and acknowledged through identifying their names as contributors to the project. A team needs to have a good leader in order to function properly. This leader should identify their strengths and weaknesses to improve and be significant to the company. Developing a strong communication between the members and the management especially in times of need is highly recommended. Keeping an open line from the end of the management would make it easier to get in touch with them and discuss the issues. The management should teach the members to become independent and should be informed that procrastination would be a hindrance to career growth and further advancement. Be prompt and address the issues when needed. Take the initiative to do something especially when it is urgent and the person positioned to the job is not around. Further, being flexible and being open to possible changes give opportunities to work spontaneously despite the conflicts. The knowledge of the available resources and how to utilize it are essential in the progress of the project. More so, documenting the lessons and the procedures done in the workplace must be done to be able to assess if the methodologies used are effective, and if there is a need to allocate more budget to make the process faster. Getting information on the new trends, creating surveys and doing extra research will help the company to identify the needs of the customers. By doing so, these findings will be reformulated to align with the organizations goals and vision. Respect to one another must be observed to avoid arguments and conflicts that may impede the progress of the project. It is much better if the issues are discussed in a professional manner. Next, being able to take risks and how to manage them is one of the fundamentals to achieve the goal of the team. Just make sure that the information be harnessed based on the results of those risks are given to the right people. It is also important to add that taking advantage on the use of technology will help the company and the team benefit a lot, because it will make the work much easier and modernized. Lastly, when it comes to decision making, make sure that these are rooted to facts and rational thinking.
Taking the lessons learned into notes or any other printed material, be it passed online or verbally, must be taken into consideration. This will help not just the company but its stakeholders as well to take charge and to improve their capabilities and skills.