Lessons learnt why

These are legitimate concerns. Lessons learned in commercial scale-up of new chemical processes Jazayeri, B. Getting big mining projects right: Lessons from and for the industry : By Mark Kuvshinikov, Piotr Pikul, and Robert Samek - Mckinsey More than four out of five mining projects come in late and over budget, by an average of 43 percent.

Moreover, some organisations do mandate documenting lessons learned but do not have a well defined process in place. Apart from this few organisations also lack the capability to apply documented learnings for new projects. Many believe that recording lessons is merely an exercise to generate a document while closing the project. In fact, project teams should document learnings and apply them in all stages of a project.

Project teams should document lessons through out the lifecycle of the project. Further, it is good practice to document learnings while closing a project or phase. Moreover, project manager should review previous learnings and apply them at the beginning of a new project or phase. Documenting lessons without following a defined process and tools simply creates a record of learnings.

This learning may or may not be shareable with others when they need. Also, when project manager intends to use such learnings it may be difficult to understand. An important attribute of lessons learned process is that it not only enables documentation but also promotes reuse of information. Primarily the lessons learned process in project management enables organisations to create a culture of sharing knowledge. This process also promotes use of existing knowledge to achieve project goals and contribute to organisational learning.

Also read: Lessons Learned Register Example. Lessons learned process benefits both projects as well as performing organisations. However, the lessons learned process has some challenges such as;. However, despite these challenges project teams should make sincere efforts to document learnings form each project. Was the customer satisfied with the end product s? If not, why not? Where costs budgets met? Was the schedule met? Were risks identified and mitigated? Did the project management methodology work?

What could be done to improve the process? What bottlenecks or hurdles were experienced that impacted the project? What procedures should be implemented in future projects? What can be done in future projects to facilitate success? What changes would assist in speeding up future projects while increasing communication? Lessons learned and comments regarding project assessment should be documented, archived, presented, and openly discussed with the intent of eliminating the occurrence of avoidable issues on future projects.

The ultimate purpose of documented lessons learned is to provide future project teams with information that can increase effectiveness and efficiency and to build on the experience that has been earned by each completed project. If documented and disseminated properly, lessons learned provide a powerful method of sharing ideas for improving work processes, operation, quality, safety and cost effectiveness, etc.

They also helps validate some of the tougher times endured during the project's life and helps future Project Managers avoid similar difficulties. Best Practices.