Data Collection/Transparent Sharing/Reaching Critical Masses in Lesson Learned
The temporary character of projects not only gives way to information and experience obtained from projects to remain the knowledge of individuals who ta ...
What if you knew at the beginning of the project that the testing center in location A had a higher defect rate than location B? You would probably lobby hard to have testing resources at location B assigned to your project.
What if you also knew that typically, the more experienced business analysts are pulled from projects after the planning phase and assigned to other strategically important projects? You would want them to spend time training and mentoring the junior members of your team to ensure continued smooth project execution.
These are some of the benefits of having lessons learned from previous projects. For most companies, continuous process improvement is a strategic goal. Yet when it comes to implementing and supporting a lessons-learned database, the necessary resources are usually assigned to revenue-generating or infrastructure projects.
Sometimes the perception of a lessons-learned repository is that it is complex and costly to implement and maintain, can generate legal problems and places a burden on management who must commit scarce resources necessary to improve processes. But there are far greater benefits you could garner from such information.
Other Ways of Learning Lessons Whether you are an employee or a consultant, there are other ways to identify pitfalls if your company does not have a lessons-learned database that highlight problems and solutions. In the planning phase of your project, you might want to consider one or more of the following to maximize your chances for success.
1. Ask for a mentor. Ask your boss to suggest a mentor. This is a good way to share information and develop lasting relationships within a company.
2. Find information such as risk logs and issues for similar projects in your organization’s repositories. By doing so, you might be able to resolve issues and risks before they happen. Note that these records might not be organized or archived formally.
3. Benchmark with data gathered from outside consultants and professional organizations. There is a lot of information on the Internet supplied by professionals or professional organizations. Reading this material might be a trigger for you.
4. Interview executives about their perspectives on potential pitfalls with your project. You will gain valuable insight and show that you are a team player concerned about realizing your companies objectives.
5. Ask your team what went well and not so well with other projects they worked on. This will be a good team-building exercise as team members look at potential pitfalls and solutions together.
6. Meet informally with other project managers. This is a good way to network and exchange ideas to help each other succeed. You could meet them within your organization, online or through your local PMI chapter meeting.
7. Listen to the company folklore about past projects. You might garner valuable information about the culture of the organization.
After you successfully implement your project, remember to share what you have learned, whether it is by way of contributing to an established lessons-learned process or informally mentoring other project managers.
