When a project is finally complete, most people want to enjoy the result and then move on, even when the project goes well. Although the idea of new projects becomes alluring at this point, it’s the perfect time to reflect back on the finished project with 20/20 vision. Even on successful projects, there are things that could’ve gone smoother. There are also portions of it that go much better than expected. So why are lessons learned important in project management? Here are a few benefits of this.
What Are Lessons Learned In Project Management?
In project management, “Lessons Learned” refers to a specific written summary of what was learned and experienced throughout the life of the project, once the project is 100% complete. Contractors and consultants alike always aim to do better in the future, as do property owners and design professionals – any party that’s involved in the project wants this.
Lessons Learned can be written within an organization or shared between parties. In either scenario, this is an official document that essentially becomes part of a company’s best practices.
Why Are Lessons Learned Important In Project Management?
A Lessoned Learned document is created for the future.
Do you absolutely hate making the same mistake twice? Lessons Learned prevents this from happening on an operational level.
No doubt, there were parts of the project that went wrong. The best projects can still be improved in some way.
There were also things that went well. The great parts of the project are worth pursuing on others going forward.
Then there are the project specifics – the good, the bad and the ugly. Those are always worth examining as well.
Here are a few ways why Lessons Learned are so important in project management:
- Which Parts Went The Best?
- Which Parts Went The Worst?
- What Mistakes Were Made?
- Where Was Money Made & Lost?
- What’s The Client Relationship Like?
- Which Vendor & Subcontractors Were The Best? Worst?
Let’s go into a bit more detail.
Which Parts Went The Best?
Everyone wants to appreciate the parts of a project that went well. If your firm did it right on this project, you can probably do it even better on a similar project in the future.
This includes the performance of work, hitting or beating milestones, maintaining quality through the process or whatever else stands out.
Every project is a little different. There are always techniques and ways of doing things that can be translated to a whole host of future work.
A solid Lessons Learned document will note the positive parts of the project.
Which Parts Went The Worst?
This is very important, probably tied for most important on this list. Which parts of the project went badly? These are the parts of the project that required way more time or resources than anticipated.
This can include items that took way more man-hours than the project plan allotted, a production rate that was lower than expected or failed portions of the project that needed to be remedied.
What’s done is done. What we can do at this point is to sharpen our swords on the bad parts so we can be sharper the next time. It’s essential that all Lessons Learned focus closely on what went wrong.
What Mistakes Were Made?
Mistakes that were made are a little different than parts of the project that went badly. Mistakes refer to individual decisions or judgements that did not pan out as expected. Even portions of projects that went fine might have mistakes along the way.
It’s important to look at the why behind the mistake, as that is where the problem originated.
Was a decision that went south done in haste or without a proper review? Were mistakes made out of miscommunication or misunderstanding? Was there not enough direction given to people carrying out certain tasks?
These type of observations contain the most value for the team going forward.
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Where Was Money Made & Lost?
While running in tandem with some of the previous items, doing a comprehensive review of the project’s final budget can relate just as much to the original budgeting as it does to the performance of work.
Items in the contract may have been underbid from the get-go. Perhaps there was an error in estimating production rates or hard costs. The same can happen in reverse – items get overbid and yield a windfall of profit.
Performance can also play a factor. Maybe your company has done similar projects in the past that went better financially. Why? You might’ve blown the budget out of the water, too. That’s great – what specifically made it happen?
We’re in the industry because it’s challenging and rewarding, but we’re in the business for money. Companies that don’t make money won’t be companies for long. Observing where money was made and lost is a critical part of reviewing Lessons Learned on a project.
What’s The Client Relationship Like?
All projects are ultimately conducted by a Client of some kind. In many instances, your company could have the chance to work for them again in the future.
Whether or not this is going to happen is predicated on the project concluding with a positive Client relationship in tact.
This portion can be reviewed with the Client themselves in a joint Lessons Learned session. The items above can be discussed with them in a two-way format. This is particularly good for situations where a longstanding Client-Contractor relationship is in place.
Lessons Learned can be written privately about a Client, too. How quickly they paid, how particular they were about certain things, what was good vs. bad about working with them – all of these are good questions to ask.
Which Vendor & Subcontractors Were The Best? Worst?
Lastly, it’s important to consider the performance of vendors and subcontractors who were involved in the project.
This can range from pricing, terms and conditions, general performance, issues, delays and quality. It’s obviously important to consider these factors, because there’s a high likelihood of working with those companies or their competitors in the near future.
No matter what we do, the performance of a vendor or subcontractor can drastically impact how well our projects go.
What better way to make educated choices of vendors or subs than to observe their prior performance with you!
Lessons Learned help us know who we should work with in the future.
In Summary
In life, we can’t live in the past – otherwise we’re doomed to repeat it. Project management is the exact opposite. If we forget our past, we’ll probably make the same mistakes again! Nobody wants that. So why are Lessons Learned important in project management? That’s how we get even better. Thanks a lot for reading!
