Lessons Learned
[Insert Project Name]
Type the author name
Last Update: October 16, 2012
Lessons Learned– [Insert Project Name]
Introduction
The purpose of the lessons learned document for the [Insert Project Name] Project is to capture
the project’s lessons learned in a formal document for use on similar future projects. This
document may be used as part of new project planning for similar projects in order to
determine what problems occurred and how those problems were handled and may be
avoided in the future. Additionally, this document details what went well with the project and
why, so that other project managers may capitalize on these actions. Project managers may
also use this document to determine who the project team members were in order to solicit
feedback for planning their projects in the future.
[Insert any additional text you may wish to include]
Executive Summary
Create a brief executive summary of the highlights from the project in terms of lessons learned. What
were the top successes and most problematic issues that should be considered for future projects? What
was the impact of these successes and problems?
[Insert Executive Summary here]
Lessons Learned Approach
The Lessons Learned Approach describes how the document will be created, what it will consist of, and
how lessons will be categorized. Many projects will categorize lessons learned by project lifecycle phase
or by project management knowledge area (scope, quality, human resources, risk, quality, procurement,
communication). This approach should be covered in the initial stages of project planning so that an
appropriate set of tools can be identified to collect lessons learned throughout the project instead of just
at the end when some of the lessons may be forgotten.
[Insert Lessons Learned Approach]
Lessons Learned
The lessons learned must be communicated in a consistent manner, with a description, categorization,
statement of impact and a recommendation to consider for future projects. This chart should include
both successes and problems.
Examples of how lessons learned could be categorized include: project phase (analysis, development,
testing, etc), resource type (functional, developer, Application Administrator, etc), or by project
Page | 1
[Insert full path and file name]
Lessons Learned– [Insert Project Name]
management knowledge area (scope, quality, human resources, risk, quality, procurement,
communication).
You may want to order the chart by success vs problems, or you could do 2 charts – one for successes and
one for problems.
Category
Issue Name
Problem/Success
Impact
Recommendation
Process Improvement Recommendations
Describe any recommendations for process improvements that should be implemented. This is an
important step for the University to strive for continuous improvement and provide benefits towards
future projects.
[Insert Process Improvement Recommendations]
Project Team Members
Name
Page | 2
Role on Project
Email
[Insert full path and file name]