Including Lessons Learned in a Closeout Report
Capturing lessons learned thoughtfully in a closeout report is important and often overlooked. Here are lessons learned to include in your closeout report:
Project successes and issues: Highlight what went well and any issues experienced to inform future project managers. Keep to the facts. Don’t share personal opinions. Avoid names. The individuals involved won’t necessarily be available for future projects. Avoiding names also reduces the concern of publicly appraising a team member.
Plan recommendations and risk records: Help the next project manager be proactive. Recommend planning approaches and share risk records that would have helped your project. Be specific to ensure that people not involved in your project fully understand the information. Document any organizational priorities or management preferences that impacted your project, as they will likely affect future projects. Don’t mention names. Simply share the priorities expressed by different areas of the business.
Early warning signs: Identify conditions that foreshadowed issues that occurred on your project. These signals are often overlooked. When tied to recommended risk records, knowing early warning signs can save considerable money and time on future projects. Talk about the characteristics of early deliverables and/or circumstances that affected your schedule or budget. If debates occurred between team managers, document those including their positions and rationales.
Other items you learned: Document what you wished you knew before you started the project. The future project manager that references this may be YOU, and you’ll be glad for a reminder of what to do or avoid on your new project!
For more about this, check out my course Project Management Foundations course.
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