An activity at the end of the project is to meet as a team to discuss what went well and what could have been improved upon during the project, or "lessons learned.' This meeting may also be referred to as a retrospective or post-mortem. Sharing lessons learned among the project team, creates visibility of innovative approaches that can be shared between departments, and provides documentation of what went well, things to do again, and what should be avoided, preventing the University from repeating the same mistakes.
Documenting learning from our own project experiences as well as the experiences of others doesn't need to wait until the end of the project. It is recommended to update the Lessons Learned document as you progress through the project.
Using the Template
- The PMO has created a template for departments to use for their project.
- The first tab "collective feedback" has been locked, as this sheet will auto-populate with responses. If you need assistance adding more team members, please reach out to someone on the University PMO team.
- Rename each tab/sheet with the Team Member's name.
- Each team member will edit their tab/sheet only.
- Answer each question by typing in the box with the red text "Enter responses here".
- At the end of the project, the Project Manager or Activity Owner can go over the first sheet/tab "Collective Feedback".
Adapted from PMI.