Question

Why is it important document and understand "lessons learned" at the end of the project? In other words, what would a Project Manager or PMO team use these 'lessons learned"?

Answer 1

While every step in project management is crucial and has its value and contribution to the success of the project. By definition "lessons learned" is the learning gained from the process of performing the project. Usually, this step is undertaken at the project closure activity by most of the project managers, which is the last step before the project is officially closed. During this step, the project manager makes a note of what went well and what could be improved in future projects. It's documented information that reflects both the positive and negative experiences of a project. It provides the project manager an opportunity to learn from the actual experiences of others.

Capturing lessons learned should be an on-going effort throughout the life of the project and should be encouraged by the project manager form the start of the project. Experienced project managers know the importance of capturing lessons learned from the start as it is not only good for the team but for the organization, existing and future projects. Lesson learned is an important step because:

- Organizations save money by not reinventing the wheel every time a new project is started
- Project managers or PMO can reduce project costs by learning from past project lessons learned and implementing past successes and by not repeating the negatives that hampered the success of past projects.
- Organizations also use lessons learned databases to capture project schedule, cost, and scope information apart from using this knowledge to create estimates based on previous project costs.
- Reapplying positive aspects of "lesson learned" prevents future mistakes and is the core reason why organizations capture lessons learned.