LESSONS LEARNED TEMPLATE

This Project Lessons Learned Template is for you to copy and use on your
project and within your organization. We hope that you find this template useful and
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LESSONS LEARNED
<PROJECT NAME>

COMPANY NAME
STREET ADDRESS
CITY, STATE ZIP CODE

DATE
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
LESSONS LEARNED APPROACH........................................................................................................3
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT.........................................................................................4
LESSONS LEARNED KNOWLEDGE BASE / DATABASE......................................................................5
LESSONS LEARNED APPLIED FROM PREVIOUS PROJECTS................................................................5
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION
Capturing lessons learned is an integral part of every project and serves several purposes. While
the finalization of a formal lessons learned document is completed during the project closeout
process, capturing lessons learned should occur throughout the project lifecycle to ensure all
information is documented in a timely and accurate manner. The lessons learned document
serves as a valuable tool for use by other project managers within an organization who are
assigned similar projects. This document should not only describe what went wrong during a
project and suggestions to avoid similar occurrences in the future, but it should also describe
what went well and how similar projects may benefit from this information. This document
should be communicated to the project sponsor and Project Management Office (PMO) for
inclusion in the organizational assets and archives as part of the lessons learned database. If the
organization does not have a PMO then other, formal means of communicating the lessons
learned should be utilized to ensure all project managers are included.

LESSONS LEARNED APPROACH

The lessons learned approach describes how the document will be created, what it will consist of,
and how lessons will be categorized. It is important that the lessons learned approach is covered
in the initial stages of project planning. The reason for this is that a methodology along with an
appropriate set of tools should be established to capture these lessons throughout the project’s
lifecycle. A project journal is one example of a tool to capture these lessons. If no thought is
given to lessons learned until project closeout then it is likely that many lessons and details will
be omitted from the document. The contents of the lessons learned document should also be
determined ahead of time. They should be detailed enough to provide value for future use and
the contents should be consistent with other lessons learned documents or organizational
standards. The categorization of lessons learned is another consideration. Many organizations
categorize lessons by project lifecycle phase or by the knowledge area that the lesson applies to.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT

The lessons learned must be communicated in a consistent manner. In addition to the
categorization and description of the lesson, it is important to state what the impact was and
provide a recommendation for project managers to consider on future projects.

The following chart lists the lessons learned for the NBC project. These lessons are categorized
by project knowledge area and descriptions, impacts, and recommendations are provided for
consideration on similar future new construction projects. It is important to note that not only
failures or shortcomings are included but successes as well.

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Category Issue Name Problem/Success Impact Recommendation

Procurement Contract The PM was not fully All requirements were not PM must be fully
Management Requirements engaged in the contract included in the initial engaged in all contract
process. contract award. A contract processes. This must be
modification was required communicated to both
which added a week to the PM and contract
project. personnel.
Human Award Plan There was no plan for Toward the end of the The PM should institute
Resources providing awards and project morale was low and communicate an
Management recognition to team among the project team. awards/recognition
members. There was increased program for every
conflict and team members project.
were asking to leave the
project.
Scope Scope Creep Stakeholders continuously The PM did not have a The PM must have an
Management tried adding to the project plan for addressing scope approval process for any
scope throughout the creep and allowed some proposed scope changes
project lifecycle. requirements to be added and communicate this
until the sponsor stopped process to all
it. Overall project delay of stakeholders.
3 weeks was the result.
Quality Building A process for determining This allowed the project Always plan quality
Management Material acceptable building team to work with the standards and allowances
material quality was contractors to smoothly into the project plan.
planned into the project. ensure all materials were of This helps avoid delays
acceptable quality and and cost overruns.
avoided any re-work and
delays associated with
substandard material.
Risk Zoning Approval A risk was identified that Impact was minimal Always consider external
Management there may be delays in because the PM included impacts on the project
receiving approval from potential zoning delays cost and schedule. This
the county zoning board. into the project schedule. must be continuous
This was a success because throughout the project
it was identified early and lifecycle.
planned for.

LESSONS LEARNED KNOWLEDGE BASE / DATABASE

The Lesson Learned Knowledge Base contains historical information from previous projects. It
is part of the organizational project assets and provides a valuable source of information to be
used by similar projects in the future. All project lessons learned and other historical information
need to be transferred to this knowledge/database in order to provide one centralized repository
for ease of use. This should also include information on issues and risks as well as techniques
that worked well which can be applied to future projects. Most lessons learned
knowledge/databases contain large amounts of information, so it is important that there is a
system for cataloging this information.

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LESSONS LEARNED APPLIED FROM PREVIOUS PROJECTS

The lessons learned document might also state which historical lessons learned were used on this
project. This information not only shows the value of the documentation of such lessons, but it
also shows which lessons are consistently applied by other similar projects. It is important to
reference not only what the lesson was but from which project it was associated with.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

It is important that once lessons learned are collected and documented that the organization
approves and implement any process improvements identified. It is important for organizations
to strive for continuous improvement and this portion of the lessons learned process is an integral
step.

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