Category: Closure

An Effective Lessons Learned Process

Twitter has been a great medium for me to learn from and connect with some tremendous leaders and project management practitioners over the past 2 years.  I have had the opportunity to contribute to an e-book, join podcasts, and even get nominated in the Recent Computer Weekly Social Media Awards (vote for me now!).  It is with great honor that I will have some of those thought leaders provide blog contributions here on Kelly’s Contemplation over the next month or so.  To kick off this series, I am tremendously excited to share a post provided by Steve Hart.  Steve has proven to be a thought leader in this space and an excellent supporter of some of the initiatives I work on.  Without further delay, below are his thoughts on Lessons Learned…

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In my experience, the best practice area that is most often minimized or entirely overlooked is project closure. At the end of a project, project teams are hurriedly preparing to move onto their next assignment, and miss a prime opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the client organization. Implementation of a consistent continuous improvement practice (aka, the lessons learned process) enables the ability to enhance the organization’s project delivery capabilities with the initiation of each new project. The overall purpose of the lessons learned process is to identify improvement opportunities (things done well, or areas for improvement), and to initiate actionable next steps. In the context of this discussion, improvement opportunities can relate to both the product that was delivered, as well as how the project was planned and executed.

The lessons learned process should have consistent structure and organization from project to project. The following represents the primary steps in the lessons learned process:

Project Closeout

Hello again and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!   Each week I hope to bring you thoughts on Project Management & Leadership that have a balance of simplicity yet enough detail/explanation to add value.  From time to time, I am honored to have a guest entry from friends and colleagues from various industries, roles, and countries.  This is one of those weeks…Laura Bamberg has provided some thoughts on Project Closeout that I think will provide a great compliment to my post earlier in the year, Project Closure – Is the project complete or successful? Continue reading “Project Closeout” →

Project Closure Email

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I know, Kelly’s Contemplation has typically been a Monday affair, and I apologize for the delay. As I kicked around what to share this week, I stumbled upon a curious trend. For the past month or two, people have consistently been searching for a “project closure email” as they have found their way to my blog. So, I thought, why not jump into this topic this week? Perhaps it will pique the interest of at least one person, and hopefully, a few more.

But before we dive in, don’t forget to treat yourself to our Video of the Week. Click here to watch.

We’re all familiar with the significance of a first impression. Do you exude confidence when you enter a room? What image do you convey in those crucial opening moments of an introduction? These are essential considerations. Yet, in our quest for that stellar first impression, we often overlook something perhaps even more vital. When you depart, have you left a lasting mark? And if so, was it the impression you had intended to leave?

Projects tend to be remembered for their schedule and budget overruns. But they often overshadow significant shifts in strategy by the executive board or your client. I bring this up because, during your project’s “sign-off” phase, you have a golden opportunity to present a competent, effective, and accurate summary of the entire project. This email will continue to represent your project, your organization, and you, long after you’ve moved on.

So, what should this email encompass? {Think Project Sign-Off Document)

  1. Email Subject: Project Closure | [Insert Project Name]
  2. Executive Summary: A concise statement outlining the project’s objectives.
  3. Schedule: What was the initial target date, and when was the actual completion achieved.
  4. Budget: What was the planned budget, and what was the final expenditure?
  5. Changes: Detail any alterations that impacted the schedule, budget, or both, and describe their final resolution (resolved, new requirements, etc.).
  6. Link or Path to Archived Project Documents
  7. Thank You Statement/Summary
  8. Attached Project Sign-Off Document
  9. Review Your Stakeholder Register: Ensure that you’ve included all the relevant individuals in the distribution.

Of course, this is just one approach, and I hope it has provided some value. I would love to hear your ideas and feedback on this topic. Please share your thoughts; they’re greatly appreciated!

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