A Challenge to all Project Managers

So you have been a project manager for quite some time now and you think you have done a good job.  Sure, you’ve made some mistakes and some bad decisions along the way that you wish you could have reversed at the time and sown better judgment in handling.  But, overall you think you have handled the basics of being a real “PROJECT MANAGER.” 

You have selected some good team members and guided them through some tough spots with projects.  You have successfully dealt with customers and stakeholders and made them partners in the process of getting the project done.  You have selected some good technologies to leverage the functionality of your project outcomes.  You have reached out to other project managers whose projects either provide significant inputs to your project or who depend on your project for information or deliverables to accomplish their objectives.

So where do you go from here?  What challenges are out there that really stir your blood?  What new project management techniques or Best Practices are lurking to “make your day?”

Let me give you a simple suggestion that you may not have thought of.  Or, if someone has mentioned it to you, perhaps you have brushed it aside without taking a closer look which it deserves.

Yes, I am talking about “Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.”  Perhaps you already know that lessons learned are an activity that most project managers try to ignore at the end of their projects.  Or you may have satisfied the requirement for itemizing some lessons learned by jotting down a few things from your memory and recall about the project that will make that other Manager go away when he mentions lessons learned.

My basic premise is that ACTIONABLE lessons learned from projects can be fed back in a continuous process improvement loop to improve the overall project management process or methodology which you have been working with.  Yes, you have the power to make improvements!  You are the Master of your Fate, You are the Captain of your should when it comes to defining process improvements which can benefit not only future projects but customer and stakeholder relationships and your company’s whole approach to projects.

Consider my Framework for Project Closeout and Lessons Learned which I have covered in this blog in previous posts as well as in Gantthead and other training courses offered through BOT International or CMCS.

A DISCIPLINED and ACTIONABLE approach to project closeout and lessons learned can be just the challenge that sparks you to new heights in your career.

Please consider it and let me know how I can help you in any way to make Project Closeout and Lessons Learned real for your company.