Capturing and Utilizing Lessons Learned

[DNAguy]

Greetings. I have been a Project Manager for the last 7 years, and I have always used Word and/or Excel documents to capture lessons learned for my projects. If I wanted to search the lessons learned from my past projects, and those of my colleagues, I would either have to sift through actual documents and/or electronic documents because we did not have a central database that is filterable and comprehensive.

I am working on improving how my group captures lessons learned so that they are easier to use for future projects. I have found various lessons learned software online, but these are either: (1) too expensive, (2) require multiple licenses, and (3) not user-friendly. I am looking into creating my own template in Google Docs, but I wanted to know if any of my fellow PMs out there are using electronic systems for their own lessons learned so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel. Thank you.

[NickC]

After trying different software for different uses I always tend to come back to MS Project and Excel.

I find that the only way I can quickly and easily keep evolving is to use these packages because I can add new features whenever I want.

For the lessons learned I still use excel.

First of all we have a master lessons archive. The lessons learned from each project get moved to the master lessons archive (in real time, not just once the project is closed) in Excel so they are all in one place.

To overcome the issues of searching the archive I use an extra column that has keywords / tags that categorise the lesson. I also have a column for the team that the lesson relates to. I can search by tag / team which helps me to simplify lessons reviews.

I have another column that rates the potential impact of not learning the lesson as a way to prioritise.

Each projects lessons log has a 'previous lessons' section which is completed at start-up. Lessons from the master archive are transferred to each projects 'previous lessons' section if relevant and the project plan / other management docs can then be used to demonstrate how you intend to build these previous lessons into your new project.

Most of the issues / lessons I find can be fixed by building check-points into certain stages of the project plan templates that we use. There aren't many entries in the master archive that don't say something like "Lesson captured in check-list document ABC which is called up in project planning procedure XYZ".

Just a quick brain dump from me!

[jblack]

As a project management consultant, I have peeked into many organizations. To be honest, I have never seen lessons learned really done well. I see them get captured, but most organizations seem to fail at actually learning from those lessons. You can find a few articles as well as podcasts on the topic here:
http://www.pmconnection.com/modules....sons%20learned

My favorite is called "Tips for Turning Lessons Learned into Best Practices".

[pmgr_fiona]

As a project management consultant, I have peeked into many organizations. To be honest, I have never seen lessons learned really done well. I see them get captured, but most organizations seem to fail at actually learning from those lessons. You can find a few articles as well as podcasts on the topic here:
http://www.pmconnection.com/modules....sons%20learned

My favorite is called "Tips for Turning Lessons Learned into Best Practices".

Thank you for this link. As a project manager I am also having difficulty documenting lessons learned from each project. These tips will surely help the entire team. Again many thanks.