Lessons Learned Detail

Purpose

The purpose of recording and sharing lessons learned includes:

• Avoiding making the same mistakes as others;
• Improving on current delivery standards by adopting proven good practice;
• Responding to changes in the Project Management environment including new government priorities, initiatives and strategies; and
• Contributing to organisational growth and maturity by effecting long term improvements in the way an organisation embeds and shares Project Management best practice.

Sources

LL information should form part of Project documentation but it can also come from independent review or audit of Project performance. Examples of potential sources of Lessons Learned material may include:

• Projects run under formal management methods (eg PRINCE2);
• DFP Supply’s comments or correspondence with Projects;
• Informal information sharing events or communities of interest (eg Project Management Office (PMO) Community of Interest);
• HM Treasury and Office of Government Commerce (OGC) best practice;
• Central Procurement Directorate procurement best practice;
• Achieving Excellence for construction initiative;
• Gateway Reviews of Projects;
• NI Audit Office and internal audit reviews/reports; and
• Public Accounts Committee reports.

Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and Management Board, the Project Manager is responsible for recording and collating Lessons Learned material throughout the programme/project lifecycle and producing a Lessons Learned report. For projects, this should form part of the Project Evaluation Review document. Centrally, the Centre of Expertise (CoE) for Programme & Project Management (PPM) has responsibility for the production of generic Gateway Review Lessons Learned based on final review reports. Longer term, the CoE is also planning to develop and maintain a web-based Lessons Learned system which will make available lessons from the sources listed above.  CoE will continue to facilitate the sharing of Lessons Learned through events or forums such as the PMO Community of Interest.