Using Project Post-Mortems for Continuous Improvement

Improve long-term program success with one simple technique: retrospectives. A project’s success isn't just measured by the final deliverable—it’s about learning from every step of the process. One of the best ways to drive continuous improvement is by holding lessons learned workshops to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how to do better next time. Here are three practical steps to get the most out of these workshops: 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Don’t wait too long after the project wraps up. Fresh insights are critical, so gather the team while the project is still top of mind. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Encourage team members to be candid about challenges and successes. Set the tone for honest discussions by framing the workshop as a tool for learning, not blame. 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Organize the feedback into actionable categories (e.g., communication, timeline, resources) and make sure key lessons are captured in a way that can influence future projects. Pro tip: Use these lessons learned when you kick off new projects. Incorporating past insights ensures you're not repeating mistakes and are continuously improving your processes. #ProgramMangement #LessonsLearned #ContinuousImprovement

Leadership can really shine during high-stakes retrospectives (a.k.a. postmortems). Teams get worried immediately following major failures, like a total outage. Customers are upset, company perception is impacted, and teams feel down. Times like that demand a leader who can simultaneously show stability, encourage transparent discussion, and steer the team toward productive resolutions. One of the most crucial initial steps is creating an environment where root causes can be identified. If you have ever been in one of these high pressure situations, you will know that they are often multi-dimensional, including a set of unforeseen conditions, lack of communication, insufficient process, and cross-functional elements. Right from the start, the leader should make it clear that the retros purpose is learning and prevention, not blame. Underscore a non-judgmental atmosphere, “We’re here to identify where we could have done better, not to single out individuals.” This tone encourages the team to share insights and challenges, ultimately leading to a deeper discussion. Beyond setting the tone, a leader should actively model the behaviors they wish to see: action, curiosity, improvement. When groups are knocked off their center, the leader plays a critical role to reunify the group and being laser-focused on finding paths forward. You can ask: What signals did we miss? Did we fail to communicate certain risks? Which assumptions proved false? Highlighting systematic or procedural gaps rather than individual errors fosters a sense of collective responsibility for solutions. Last, clear follow-through is important. Tell the team what you expect at the end of the retrospective: well-defined action items with assigned owners and timelines. Hopefully, you already have a documented process for retros. You can point to this and reiterate that the outcomes will be real changes that focus on the current failure, but importantly, prevention of the class of potential failures. While it’s necessary to provide an accurate account of what went wrong, it’s just as important to convey a measured plan for preventing a recurrence. During the period when all of the answers are not known, leaders often need to provide teams protection and time to make recommendations. If you do these things well, a leader can transform a moment of failure into a more resilient and proactive team.

When projects fail, people often misinterpret the cause. Consider the following situation. Engineer: "We were unable to launch on time because the design was late. The designers need to be done on time." If you stopped the discussion here, you might assume that the designers need to get their act together. Designer: "We had the first version of the design ready, but the product management team kept requesting changes. We could never get agreed upon designs." Ok, we've just learned the issue, right? It seems like the product team couldn't make up their mind! Product: "Remember, we had contracted with the user research group. But we did it so late that they gave us the results halfway through the project. Still, the results told us that we were building the wrong thing. We had to change the product and design, or we would have failed." Now we have a more complex and interesting answer. Real life is often more complex than it first appears. If we had gone with the simple answer, the engineering team would continue assuming that the designers were the cause of their issues. The design team would assume the product managers couldn't make up their mind. This is also a good reason for a post-mortem (retrospective) meeting process to include all stakeholders. Because we now have a compelling and complex cause of the delay. Someone will need to take responsibility for getting user research done further in advance of the project. This is why we do a Post-Mortem. We look under the surface. We pull together disparate sources of data to tell a story. We build collective organizational knowledge, and then disperse organizational learning. Everyone learns something, opens their mind to the complexities of project management, and we execute the next project that much better. For more about how this process works, read on!

Closing a project is just as important as starting one. A well-executed closure ensures knowledge transfer, captures key learnings, and sets the stage for future success. Your project closure process should focus on: → Ensuring deliverables meet expectations → Capturing lessons learned → Strengthening stakeholder relationships Here’s a roadmap to guide you: 1/ Finalize Deliverables and Validate Outcomes: → Ensure objectives are met and approved → Verify that deliverables meet scope and quality standards → Conduct final testing, QA, and user acceptance reviews → Obtain stakeholder sign-offs for formal closure 2/ Complete Documentation: → Update and store all project documents → Close contracts, budgets, and financials → Archive key artifacts like requirements and risk logs → Document scope deviations and resolutions 3/ Conduct Lessons Learned Sessions: → Hold a team retrospective on wins and challenges → Capture insights on risks, issues, and best practices → Document key takeaways for future projects → Foster open discussion for continuous improvement 4/ Transition Responsibilities: → Ensure ongoing support and maintenance plans → Transfer knowledge to relevant teams → Conduct end-user or operations training → Provide stakeholders with final documentation 5/ Celebrate Success and Recognize Contributions: → Acknowledging team achievements → Share project impact with leadership → Organize a final reflection meeting → Send personalized appreciation messages 6/ Formalize Project Closure: → Conduct a final stakeholder review → Report key outcomes and learnings to leadership → Close out remaining administrative tasks → Archive all closure documents 7/ Strengthen Stakeholder Relationships: → Follow up to maintain key relationships → Gather stakeholder feedback for future improvements → Identify opportunities for collaboration → Address any final questions or concerns 8/ Reflect and Improve Future Processes: → Assess areas for improvement → Integrate lessons into team best practices → Update templates and workflows → Refine risk management, communication, and execution strategies Project closure isn’t just about wrapping things up. It’s about ensuring that knowledge, relationships, and insights continue. Focusing on 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 ensures a smooth handoff and future success. What best practices help you close projects effectively?