how to plan a lessons learned meeting
TRANSCRIPT
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Lessons Capture Workshops
An overview
Rupert Lescott
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Aims
To explore lessons capture methods To offer advice on planning a lessons
capture workshop
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Definitions A lesson identified – a recommendation
based on analysed experience, from which others can learn in order to improve performance on a specific task or objective
A lesson learned – a change in personal or organisational behaviour as a result of learning from experience
‘The Lessons Learned Handbook’, Nick Milton (Chandos, 2010)
Source: Property of BP. Only to be used by or distributed to employees of BP and its affiliates.
Definitions A lesson identified – a recommendation
based on analysed experience, from which others can learn in order to improve performance on a specific task or objective
A lesson learned – a change in personal or organisational behaviour as a result of learning from experience
‘The Lessons Learned Handbook’, Nick Milton (Chandos, 2010)
Source: Property of BP. Only to be used by or distributed to employees of BP and its affiliates.
Lessons capture methods
1-1 interviews Lessons capture workshops Conferences
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1-1 interviews
Detailed expert knowledge on key topics (e.g. Army post-op interviews)
Knowledge retention (e.g. Shell ROK process)
Face-to-face or via phone One perspective (pros and cons)
Interviewee (and interviewer) Attribution vs. anonymity
Playing safe vs. honesty
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Conferences
Scale (>20) E.g. Army’s Mission Exploitation Symposia
Broad enquiry possible Context and background explained Handovers between project teams
Management-led enquiry possible Deep dives into priority areas
Concurrency Saves time but you must choose which
sessions to attend!
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Lessons capture workshops
What? Why? Who? When? Where? How?
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What are they?
Facilitated meetings, conducted to explore potential areas for learning in a structured way
Source: Property of BP. Only to be used by or distributed to employees of BP and its affiliates.
What are they?
Facilitated meetings, conducted to explore potential areas for learning in a structured way
Source: Property of BP. Only to be used by or distributed to employees of BP and its affiliates.
Why run them?
To combine multiple perspectives To explore root causes and other
contributory factors To make recommendations for the
future To record the impact of issues
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Who should participate?
Delivery teams Project teams Programme teams Functional teams Management teams Suppliers, vendors, partners
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When should we run them?
Key events (bid reviews, store openings etc.)
Project stage gates Project closure Ad hoc (conditions-based e.g.
following serious incident or accident etc.)
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Where should we run them?
Off-site Conference centre Hotel
NOT at the office if at all possible
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How should we run them?
Before the day Set scope Identify participants Set date, book venue, invite participants Pre-work (optional)
Facilitation support
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How should we run them?
Before the day – admin requirements Room layout Recording devices Whiteboard or flip chart Stationery Tent cards Refreshments
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How should we run them?
On the day Tea/coffee Welcome from sponsor Agenda Agree ground rules Scope presentation Identify and prioritise topics Start talking
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We seek active participants, not passive observers Let’s hear what went well, as well as what didn't go as
planned, in management as well as technology We will prioritise issues that future projects will face, rather
than one-off issues Everyone’s knowledge is welcome, regardless of rank or
role Disagreement is healthy and will be explored – the truth
usually lies in a mix of perspectives Let’s identify learning for others, not assign praise or blame Maintain a sense of humour and an enquiring mind Allow the session to be facilitated (HoC Speaker etc…) Mobiles, laptops…
Some ground rules…
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Fields to be captured
Title Context/expectation – what should happen? Event description – what did happen? Root cause? Lesson –What did/can we learn?
Recommendations for future? Impact – positive or negative? (money, time,
resources, efficiency, morale, safety) Point of contact
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A facilitator ensures…
Value of lessons Quality of lessons Root cause identified Participation No crucial
knowledge is missed
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Potential issues
Verbosity The elephant in the room Leadership Tact, robustness, judgement Analytical, ‘structural’ thinking Polarised viewpoints
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Things to listen out for
“Let’s move on...” “I’m not sure this is helpful...” “Let’s look to the future…” “We’ve got this covered…”
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How should we run them?
After the day Transcription turnaround Write-up of lessons Review by nominated POC Confirm lessons with sponsor Enter new lesson into management
system Start to make the changes…
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Questions
[email protected]. 07841 183130