Analysis of Passion and Gotsill's lessons learned framework

Lessons Learned

Learning Lessons as a Team

Success, failure, blame, mistakes and effectiveness are amongst some of the words which are usually associated with projects. Vic Passion and Gina Gotsill also incorporate many of such key words while discussing about reflections and lessons learned from a project in their article; 'Learning lessons as a team'. The article serves as a brief guide for project managers and organizations as it encompasses the old yet the golden rule of learning from experiences.

What issue/topic is the article addressing?

The article 'Learning lessons as a team' addresses the issue of assessing the lessons learned by the team in order to analyze the desirable and undesirable outcomes of a project. In other words, this is essential as it helps the project leader gain insight about the success of the project and look into the matter of improvement if required which could be later applied on the future projects or simply used to modify the ongoing one. This information or rather the quality feedback is obtained from the sponsors, the stakeholders and the participants of the project. In addition, the team leaders engage the members who have worked hard for the project. This paves the way for a healthy relationship which in return is vital for the success of future projects. The lesson learned is like a review or the feedback once a project is finished or is being carried out. Therefore, 'Learning lessons as a team' encompasses the realm of project management, project evaluation and team work. All these components are essential not only for the implementation of a project or for the success of the future work, but also for the triumph of an organization. On the basis of this, training and success becomes effective. Therefore, the lessons learned addresses four main basic facets; project goal, the direction or the progress of the project which might or might not be in line with the goal, the success of the project as to what went well and how, and the different approach to implementation of the project. Apart from highlighting the key aspects and the importance of lessons learned from a project, this article also focuses upon things to do and to avoid. For instance, as mentioned earlier, the article talks about the timings for the lessons learned meeting to be held. It merely depends on the duration of the project. However, it is advisable to not only rely on the completion of a particular project in order to evaluate its outcome which then could be implemented on future projects, but also conduct the meeting before the start and during the process. This is beneficial for the ongoing project and for the upcoming ones. In other words, the experience with the past projects would help improve the current manner. Moreover, if such feedback discussions are held during the course of the meeting, it would help improve it more efficiently. The article also provides innovative ideas for carrying out discussions by stressing upon the use of a proper conference room, the use of video conferencing and holding meetings in a restaurant environment. In a similar manner, the writer further elucidates the importance of maintain records of the feedback along with the idea of formulating the list of required actions to take in accordance with the performance reviews. Moreover, Vic Passion and Gina Gotsill have briefly described certain ways to handle with the most expected challenges. For instance, one of the major objectives is to engage the team members and provide them with such a comfortable environment, encouragement and value that they freely share the complaints and give feedback. Therefore, these meetings are similar to the performance review of the team with an edge over encouragement and incentives. These meetings are essential for the progress and success of the organization and its people

Was the article well written? Why, or why not?

The article is written well to a great extent since it provides a detail view about the importance of lessons learned from a project. However, the writer could have elucidated and simplified the term 'lessons learned' and its associated content in order to provide a simplified version of the terminologies. Despite this, Vic Passion and Gina Gotsill have put in a tremendous effort in providing suggestions for dealing with the most likely challenges connected with the lessons learned meetings. This is benefit for the employers and the project managers who conduct these meetings. However, instead of focusing on the content of the meeting, the writer has focused more on the way a lessons meeting is organized and the basic realms which it addresses. Therefore, the emphasis on the lessons which were learned from the projects; examples of the problems faced on various different projects, would have added more value to the article.

Conclusion

The lessons learned from a project often go unnoticed and are rarely implemented in several organizations. This is another mistake which the organization and more typically the project managers repeat. Therefore, there is a dire need to learn from the mistakes which have been committed in the previous projects. Not only this, the meetings held to discuss the lessons learned is vital since it provides an opportunity to look at the desirable outcomes and the beneficial ways in which the previous or the ongoing projects are being handled. Thus, closely analyzing, evaluating and learning from the lessons hold great significance for the success of the project as well as the company.

Reference

Gotsill, G., & Passion, V. (2010). Learning lessons as a team. T+D.