How to use lessons learned to enhance future projects

There is a pertinent quote that says: ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’. This is why a lessons log is a crucial tool in project management, especially within the PRINCE2® framework.

A lesson log serves as a repository for capturing insights, experiences, and lessons learned throughout the project lifecycle. By creating a lesson log, teams can significantly enhance the success of future projects. However, effective utilisation of this tool is key to ensuring those lessons are really learned and improved upon.

So, what can project managers do to turn their lessons into actions that help enhance future projects?

Why use a lessons log?

The adage goes that what gets measured gets managed, and a lessons log is instrumental in driving improvements and ensuring the success of future projects.

A lessons log can help with the following:

• Avoiding recurrence: By documenting past errors, future projects can avoid similar pitfalls, leading to smoother implementation
• Replicating success: Recording successful strategies and techniques ensures they can be applied to future projects, increasing the likelihood of success
• Continuous improvement: A lessons log promotes a culture of learning and continuous improvement, driving better project outcomes
• Knowledge sharing: It enables the sharing of knowledge and best practice across teams and projects, leading to more informed decision-making

Not using a lessons log yet?

You can set up a lessons log in three quick steps:

1. Firstly, choose a format for the log, for example, a spreadsheet, a database, or within project management software. Ensure it is easily accessible for all team members
2. Secondly, organise the log into categories such as scope, time, cost, quality, risk, and communication to facilitate easier analysis
3. Finally, assign a team member, often the project manager or a dedicated lessons learned coordinator, to maintain and update the log

A lesson log should cover aspects such as the date, project phases, category, description of the lesson, its impact, and, most importantly, recommendations going forward.

How to capture lesson learned

There are many opportunities to capture lessons; however, in the middle of busy project activities, it can sometimes be neglected. By outlining key milestones, it becomes more systematic to capture these lessons, such as:

• During team meetings
• At stage-end reviews
• When reporting incidents and issues
• Final project reviews
• When receiving stakeholder feedback

You can find an example of a lessons log here.

Applying lessons learned to future projects

Pre-project planning

Review previous lesson logs before starting a new project to identify relevant learnings that can inform the project plan and risk management strategies. This ensures that potential issues are mitigated and successful approaches are used.

Make it part of project kick-off meetings

It can be helpful to discuss key lessons from past projects during project kick-off meetings to ensure the team is aware of them from the outset. Building on previous experiences sets a foundation for success.

Standardise lessons learned

Integrating lessons learned into organisational processes, templates, and standards can ensure they are consistently applied across all projects. This standardisation leads to more predictable and positive project outcomes.

Use as training material

Lessons serve as valuable training tools for new team members and for developing ongoing training programs. This helps build a knowledgeable and skilled project team that is better prepared to handle future challenges.

Is reviewing lessons learned a valuable project activity?

When there is a new project to get started with, it may feel counter-intuitive to review previous projects. However, lessons learned can play a significant role in the success of future projects. It helps:

• Optimise resources: Understanding past resource allocation successes and failures helps in planning efficient use of resources in future projects, avoiding over-allocation and staff burnout. Lessons learned may also help to identify which skills and roles were most effective in previous projects so that you can assemble a well-suited project team
• Boost project planning: Estimating project timings can be tricky, but lessons learned can help provide more accurate time estimates and avoid schedule overruns. Furthermore, using a lessons log to identify scope creep can offer data on scope changes and the impact of each, helping manage project scope more effectively
• Add value and quality: Documented best practice and quality standards can be applied to future projects to ensure high-quality deliverables. Similarly, insights into past quality issues can help identify potential defects early and implement preventive measures
• Improve decision making: Lessons learned data provides a basis for making informed decisions rather than relying on intuition. Within the project, you can then compare current performance against past projects, which can provide benchmarks for success
• Encourage innovation: Documented problem-solving techniques and recording past approaches can inspire creative solutions to new challenges. Lessons learned can also offer insights into the effective use of tools and technologies that can drive innovation in project execution
• Enhance team performance: Understanding what worked well in previous team dynamics can help build cohesive and productive teams. Similarly, lessons on team motivation and morale can help create a positive work environment and improve team performance

Utilising your lessons learned

A lessons log is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance the success of future projects and can be a vital document to help learn valuable lessons from previous activities. By effectively capturing, analysing, and applying lessons learned, project managers can develop strategies to drive continuous improvement and project success.

Utilising lessons learned is a key feature of the PRINCE2 methodology. If you want to follow best practice for developing a lessons log and making use of post-project reflections, PRINCE2 can really help.

Explore our PRINCE2 courses.