Do we really learn lessons from our projects? It's an area of project management that brings much eye-rolling yet the basic premise of Lessons Learnt is something that we all agree is - if done well, will really make a difference to the successful project rate as well as improving performance (and morale) of people working on projects.
The subject was covered at a PMO Flashmob hosted by Genesis Notting Hill Housing in London and presented by Ken Burrell. Ken loves this subject - and why not, if you're an experienced PMO practitioner, passionate about what you're doing, you too would want to bring some new ideas and thinking about this subject. Ken focuses on the practical and this session is full of great insights and things to try in your organisation.
Included here are the video session, presentation, notes and a small apology from us because the sound cut out about 5 minutes from the end *eye roll*. We cover the last few slides here in the post.
So sign in, read on and make sure you get in touch with Ken and let him know if you use some of the things you learn here, he'd be delighted to hear from you [connect to him]
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It's another of our 12 Stand Up for PMO Days Before Christmas and some insights from our first PMO Unconference from Manchester. This is number four and we're learning lessons.
In this session, Ken Burrell told us not to give up on the whole lessons learnt recorded challenges we face. We can do better, we must do better if the PMO is there to ensure the organisation performs better at programme and project management.
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The PMO Mini-Masterclass on Facilitating Learning Not Lessons was all about the role the PMO can play in facilitating the lessons learnt process and also how we can get better at helping organisations actually learn from past projects.
The aim of the session was:
We focused on the role of the PMO in collecting lessons learnt – facilitation – and the role the PMO should play in taking action to ensure lessons really are learnt.
This session went beyond the mere act of collecting lessons and sticking them in a database – this was about the proactive role that the PMO can take in ensuring learning takes place in the project organisation. We often talk about the PMO ‘adding value’ to the organisation – providing a great service here will do just that.
The evening session included:
Understanding what lessons learnt are and why they are important
Interactive sessions on facilitating and collection skills
Understanding why we don’t learn from lessons
Interactive session on what PMO can do with lessons recorded to turn them into lessons learnt
Further practical advice on what the PMO can do within the lessons learnt service area.
The Video
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Earlier this year we held our first session on "learning lessons from projects" in a PMO Mini-Masterclass held in Central London (you can take a look at the whole session here). The session looked at ways the PMO can get involved in that process we call "lessons learnt" (yet we all seem to dislike that phrase!).
A framework was introduced, some advice on facilitation and some different types of workshop tools or techniques that can be used.
That inspired one PMO Flashmobber - Jeremy Lesourd, Process Programme Manager from De La Rue - to put pen to paper and share a couple more tools which he uses in his work.
Here's Jeremy with more insights:
I wanted to share a couple of tools that I use for learning following meetings, workshops and projects.
These are 'Mad, Glad, Sad (the quick one…) and the 'Feedback Value Tree' (the long one!)
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