how to write lesson learned in research

College & Research Libraries News  ( C&RL News ) is the official newsmagazine and publication of record of the Association of College & Research Libraries,  providing articles on the latest trends and practices affecting academic and research libraries.

C&RL News  became an online-only publication beginning with the January 2022 issue.

Laura Andersen is collection development and public services librarian, e-mail: [email protected], and Beth Russell is digital technologies and e-learning librarian, e-mail: [email protected] at New York University Abu Dhabi Library in United Arab Emirates

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Lessons learned: Five pieces of advice for newbie researchers

Laura Andersen; Beth Russell

Academic librarians often conduct original research to fulfill tenure track requirements or their own professional development needs. Unlike the majority of other terminal degree programs, research methodology is not a required course in all Library Science graduate programs, leaving some librarians at a disadvantage. 1

After conducting our first research project as academic librarians, we realized we had taken some missteps and would have benefited from a primer that walked us through the basics. When administering our first survey, we discovered that an ample amount of forethought, planning, and investigation is essential. This article evaluates our first foray into research and provides accessible tips and guidelines for our colleagues.

We focused our project on the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Library’s preference for e-books. Our library has the unique opportunity of building a new collection that capitalizes on the most recent developments in 21-century academic publishing. E-books suit our collection well because they do not require physical space and can be shared by the global NYU community. The NYUAD Library collection development policy thus states that e-books are considered as the first purchase option when available. If e-book collecting continues to grow exponentially, the NYUAD library may someday hold only one tenth of its projected 1 million monographs in print.

The NYUAD Library benefits from being part of the NYU library system: our patrons can borrow from the multi-million-volume collection at Bobst Library. While our ties with Bobst offer rich resources, we still need to build a collection to support the research and teaching at NYUAD.

Early in our first academic year (2010–11), faculty and students began expressing negative comments about library e-books. We found that some students tried to print entire e-books, while others did not like extended reading on a computer screen and viewed print books as a respite from being plugged in.

We established a research project with a threefold purpose: to determine if negative comments toward e-books were widespread or held only by a few; to gauge whether the library’s preference for e-books was truly serving the broader NYUAD user community; and to inform our collection development policy in order to better match our patrons’ preferences.

We conducted a survey of the NYUAD population (384 total: 147 students, 237 faculty and staff members) during the 2011 spring semester. With the survey completed by over half of our university population and 100 percent of our student body, we expected the data would answer our original research queries.

After analyzing the results, however, we realized that there were a few problems with our methodology. While we did learn a lot about patron e-book usage, our outcomes did not correspond well with our initial queries. Our survey experience taught us several things about the research process that we should have considered when planning.

Lessons learned

1) Establish a clear research focus and small goals. At the beginning of our project, we lacked clear purpose and a sense of urgency. We began with the general goal of wanting to learn about our community’s perceptions of e-books, and then following up with an article that evaluated these perceptions. We should have taken the advice we give students: focus your topic and get to work.

With summer fast approaching, we realized we might lose the opportunity of surveying our campus. Suddenly we had motivation. We chose the best time to offer the survey and worked backwards to develop a schedule: seek approval from our supervisors; secure an incentive for respondents; write and test the survey; advertise the survey; and explore options for survey distribution.

By mid-May, our survey was complete and the harder work of analyzing results began. As we discovered problems with manipulating the data, we became discouraged about the possibility of publishing our results. Could we still draw insightful and helpful conclusions?

The tide turned again, however, when the opportunity arose for an ACRL research writing consultation at the ALA Annual Conference. This meeting gave us the impetus to compile preliminary results of the survey and to outline the article we hoped to write. That meeting was very helpful, and our consultant, Aline Soules, offered an alternative approach on our topic, which resulted in this article.

Our next steps included submitting an article query and developing a writing plan. This was a challenge since the writing of our article coincided with the start of a new school year, but we set small goals and divided the work. The main lesson here: have a clear sense of direction and use external forces to motivate your writing process.

2) Garner support from colleagues. This lesson has two parts. First, the process of administering a survey, analyzing the results, and then writing an article is involved and time-consuming. As a result, it is beneficial to divide the work. Find a colleague who is interested in collaborating. Not only will the tasks be distributed, but your project will also benefit from the input and skills of others. Additionally, you will be motivated to complete the work as others hold you accountable.

Second, make sure you have your colleagues’ support. Explain your goals and ask their advice. In our case, this meant asking for our colleagues’ input on the survey and requesting financial support to purchase an incentive for respondents. Our supervisors were generous enough to offer an iPad, which was the perfect reward, considering the topic. We also asked our fellow librarians and staff to help advertise the survey and to offer technical support.

3) Do your homework. When most of us hear the phrase lit review, we groan. Library science literature is not known for being pleasure reading. It is essential, however, to find out what has been written about your topic to be sure you are adding something new to the conversation.

In our case, we found many articles about e-book usage but nothing specifically about returning to print after anti-e-book sentiment was discovered. The article “Why Aren’t E-Books Gaining More Ground in Academic Libraries” 2 surveys the literature on e-book usage, access, and acquisition. This article certainly informed our understanding of how other libraries are handling the e-book question, but it did not address our particular question. Reading the library literature assured us that we had a unique angle and that there appeared to be a gap in the literature.

We conducted further research when we decided on the new approach of writing about “lessons learned.” We found articles suggesting tips in the writing process, such as the one that suggests the benefits of working with colleagues in a dossier support group. 3 Since we were unable to find any article exactly like the one we wanted to write, we had the confidence to move forward with our query.

The bottom line: no one works in a vacuum. We are part of the larger world of academic libraries. When conducting research, engage the community by reading relevant literature and joining the larger conversation.

4) Know your software. NYU Libraries subscribe to Qualtrics, a Web-based survey tool. We created several test surveys to understand how the program worked and to make sure it would meet our needs. After the testing, we were confident that Qualtrics was a good choice; however, some glitches appeared while administering the survey and afterward when analyzing the results.

One issue occurred when offering the survey in the campus café. We had several laptops set up during lunch hours so we could take advantage of the midday crowd. We encouraged people to take turns using the laptops to complete the survey, but we soon realized that Qualtrics blocks repeat surveys in the same browser. A workaround was to run several browsers simultaneously and to refresh them after each survey, but this led to some scrambling on our part.

A larger issue emerged when analyzing our results. We originally decided to survey the entire campus community, including students, faculty, and staff. After looking at the results and trying to draw conclusions, we realized that to reflect our community’s e-book usage accurately we needed the ability to analyze the data by population. We understood after the fact that the majority of staff likely does not use library e-books, because the collection is primarily comprised of academic titles. Since nearly a quarter of respondents were staff (23%), including their responses dramatically skewed the results. We assumed it would be easy to remove staff responses and re-examine the data using only faculty and student input. However, after more closely examining the Qualtrics program, we discovered that there was no easy way to eliminate staff responses. Ultimately, we were left with data that did not accurately represent academic e-book preferences and uses. Spending more time working with Qualtrics initially would have helped us avoid this mistake and possibly given us the desired outcome.

5) Be prepared to respond. Finally, explore the ramifications of your research. Is your institution ready to respond to your results? How will your colleagues react to your findings? It is impossible to predict responses before conducting a survey; however, it is possible to discuss your research plans with your colleagues and to design your project in a way that will more likely yield viable indicators for change.

We designed our project in response to patron complaints about e-books. We did not think to pose the question, “If survey results indicate that our campus is resistant to e-books, could we really shift the collection development policy? What other options might be available?” In hindsight, it would have been helpful to consult our colleagues at NYU-New York to gauge whether there was room for change in e-book policies.

The results of our survey indicate that 71% of respondents only read library e-books a few times a year or not at all. The survey also finds that 43% of participants do not read library e-books, but this question was skewed by staff responses. Patrons’ major reasons for e-book frustration included discomfort with reading on electronic displays for extended time periods, network dependence, and the distraction of other online activities. The survey also reveals a desire for printing options and the ability to annotate.

While one respondent said, “E-books are incredibly convenient and in many circumstances are ideal for research,” another said, “I find it extremely difficult to quickly navigate ebooks [and I] “just print [the pages] anyway.”

The survey yielded a new set of questions: Are e-books easy for our patrons to locate? Would the use of e-books increase if they were available on all e-readers? Do we need e-books in more or different disciplines? The only clear finding that emerged from the survey was that 73% of respondents would like to know more about e-book access and usage.

Since e-books are a crucial building block to the NYUAD Library, they will remain the focus of the collection development policy. Our goal should not be how to change the policy; rather, we should aim toward better educating our readers in finding and using e-books.

The lesson learned: seek to understand the broader forces impacting your research topic in order to ask the appropriate questions. By customizing the project accordingly, your institution will be able to respond to the results.

As librarians conducting our first research study, we were excited to contribute to the conversation about e-book usage and preferences among university populations. We thought it was a good time to survey our campus on this topic after listening to comments from students and faculty, and we were confident that we would be able to survey a large percentage of our population. While we found the exercise valuable and it provided some insight into the e-book pulse at NYUAD, we did not achieve our intended outcome of informing our collection development policy.

As librarians new to the process, we learned that we would have benefited from structured planning, collegial support, reading the current literature in advance, testing (and re-testing) any survey tools, and ensuring that the environment is ready to respond to the results. While we were fortunate to have some of these pieces in place for our own project, a little more homework about the process of conducting research would have provided us with greater benefits in the end.

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12 Steps To Writing a Lessons Learned Report [Free Template]

Editorial Team

Before we dive into the steps of writing a lessons learned report , let’s go through what lessons learned report itself is. A lessons learned report is one of the most important documents of a project . Every important event, challenge, constrain, risk, and uncertainty faced during the project are documented in a lessons learned report along with the healthy and timely solutions you came up with for them.

Now, why is it important to write a lessons learned report when the project can be completed without it? Well, it is important to write a lessons learned report to record the desired outcomes and solutions for all future projects. In this way, it helps in avoiding the same mistakes again. The lessons learned report from the previous projects can be viewed and analyzed before starting a new project to remember the mistakes that are not to be made.

Not only this, a lessons learned report is helpful throughout the same project as well. When you put in all the lessons learned at the end of every step/major task, it helps greatly in the next step. Therefore, it is important to write and review lessons learned report.

When you plan to write a lessons learned report for your project, an important thing to consider is that which will be the healthiest and best steps to write it. To ease that for you, we have developed some beneficial steps that can help you along the way. So the 12 easy steps for writing a lessons learned report are:

1. Take Help From Different Project Documents That Are Already Prepared

To make effective lessons, learned report, taking help from different project documents that are already prepared is very beneficial. Such reports provide a documented piece on all the ups and downs faced in the project.

It might be some cost calculation report; resources report, project progress report or an analysis report. As these reports contain all the important data regarding the project, there must be important findings and solutions to the potential risks that you can include in the lessons learned report.

Thus, reading all the important project documents and utilizing them in the best possible way is a key step to draw a lessons learned report.

2. Assess The Goals And Objectives

Whenever you come across something that you think is important to include in a lessons learned report, wait a minute. Before doing that, assess the goals and objectives of the project as well as of the lessons learned report to make sure they are healthy for the overall project framework.

If there is a lesson that is important but is not relevant to the core goals and objectives of the project, you must not include it in a lessons learned report. In order to ensure whether any learned lesson is feasible to be a part of the report, check:

• The goals and objectives of the project are relevant to it?
• Has the lesson made any difference to the outcomes of your project?
• Will it be helpful for the future projects of the same nature?
• What do you aim to achieve with this specific lesson?

When you have positive answers to this kind of questions, you have well assessed the goals and objectives. You can then include those lessons learned in the report.

3. Be Clear On The Report’s Audience And Purpose

Now, the next step is to find your audience. At times, you are not clear of the audience you are targeting with the lessons learned report. Sometimes a lessons learned report is for the team while, at other times, it is for the stakeholders. Most of the times, it is entirely for the project manager himself.

Some important audience of a lessons learned report are:

• The project team and field staff: The lessons learned report includes challenges during meetings, training workshops, communication tools, data collection tools, and everything related to the project team and field staff.
• Stakeholders: Lessons learned report for stakeholder includes the approaches and methodologies that worked best in engagement and interaction with the stakeholders.

This helps in not only determining the audience of the report but also clears the main purpose of the report by targeting a specific audience.

4. Make Sure You Know What Is Going Right In The Project

It is a healthy step to stay aware of all the positive outcomes and beneficial results of the project. It helps in boosting the morale of the team and keep them motivated . When you are aware of what is going right in the project, you are open towards all the potential risks or uncertainties that can come in the way.

As you are confident of the measures you took before, you can implement them again in case any problem appears. So, ensuring that you know all the positive aspects and right dimensions of the project helps you stay on track in time.

5. Make Sure You Know What Is Going Wrong In The Project

When you know what is going right in the project, it is equally important to know what is going wrong in the project. When you are aware that the project is not going in the right or decided dimension, you can work on it.

How can you know if something is going wrong in the project? The answer is simple. Check your project activities with the project schedule and management plan. You can check whether the results and outcomes are positive or not. Also, if there are any delays in the project deliverables, something is causing it a hindrance and identifying that cause lest you know what is going wrong in the project. 

So make sure you know what is going wrong in the project so you can deduce the solution and then include them in the lessons learned report.

6. Compare Costs And Results Of Different Activities

A lessons learned report is about the ups and downs faced during project activities . As each project activity has a specific cost (which in many cases can be the project resources), it has the desired result according to that. Therefore, you need to compare the costs and results of different activities to ensure if they are aligned.

This step helps in coming up with advantageous material to include in the lessons learned report.

7. Come Up With All The Improvements And Solutions

Once you identify the risks and uncertainties in the project, you along with your team, will be working on the improvements and solutions. Finally, you come up with all the improvements and solutions that lead the project in the right direction.

Now that is what a lessons learned report is all about — coming up with the improvements and solutions for the encountered or potential problems of the project. These improvements and solutions need to be included in the lessons learned report to utilize them at later stages, or in the future relevant projects.

8. Do a Comprehensive Analysis Of The Lessons Learned

It is not important to include full-fledged problem along with its solution in the lessons learned report. It is better to do a comprehensive analysis of the lessons learned. This ensures that only the important aspects of the lessons are included in the report . These help in coming up with the on point and timely solutions for the problems that are faced in future projects.

Furthermore, it saves the readers from wasting time on the extra details that render no use later on. Also, it makes the report comprehensive and readable. Thus, it serves the exact purpose of a lessons learned report.

9. Structure The Report In a Good Format

When you have come up with all the problems , risks, and challenges along with their improvements and solutions, you are ready to inculcate them in a document that would be called a lessons learned report. Before that, deciding the format of the report is an important step so you can structure the report in the most readable and convenient manner.

A good format helps with the comprehensive as well as organized reporting. A good format and structure have the following important elements:

• Summary : An executive summary of the lessons learned report is written by the end of the report but included in the beginning. It is the most important section of the lessons learned report. It gives a brief account of the audience and purpose of the report so the reader might know if he needs to continue reading the report.
• Introduction : An introduction is a comprehensive part that provides context and outline of the report.
• Findings and discussions : This is the detailed part that includes all the learned lessons along with their outcomes, analysis , and future significance. Make sure it’s to-the-point, and no irrelevant material is included.
• Conclusion and recommendation : This is the last part of the report that binds all the elements included in the report in a concise and clear way. The recommendations include the next steps that can be taken for further improvements.

When your lessons learned report is structured in this format, you are done with the most important step of writing a lessons learned report.

10. Draw Summaries Or Full-Fledged Report As Per The Project’s Need

Now, you might not need a full-fledged report for a small scale project. For such kind of projects, it is convenient and better to draw just the summaries of the learned lessons. Those can be done combined to produce a report. Make sure you consider the project needs, so you do not end up wasting time in something that is not required.

11. Make Sure The Report Is Readable

Another significant step is to ensure that the project is readable. If the project is not readable, the reader might not be able to deduce the positive results from the report. This renders your efforts zero. Therefore, you need to make sure that the report is accessible and convenient to read. In this way, a reader enjoys as he reads through the report because he is gaining a lot out of it.

To make a report readable, it is advised to use good formatting, some visuals and graphics, and breaking up long sections into smaller ones.

12. Re-Read And Edit The Report If Needed

Last but not least, a lessons learned report is like any other report which is drafted before compiling. So once you have drafted your report, re-read it to make sure there are no human errors. If there are any, you must go towards the editing part.

Re-reading and editing is a healthy step to take. It makes sure that your lessons learned report is serving the right purpose, has a clear audience, and is not a piece of waste.

A good and positive lessons learned report shows that you and your team are sincere to your roles and responsibilities . Therefore, above-mentioned are the 13 instrumental and valuable steps that you can take to write a lessons learned report. These steps ensure that you do not just produce a lessons learned report as the part of the project that needs to be done but, a part of the project that serves you and your team greatly in the future as well.

Click  here  to download Lessons Learned Report Template.

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Lessons learned guidelines and examples. And how to automate them for project management

A lesson learned is a record of what was done, why it was done that way, and what went wrong. It is a summary of the project's successes and failures, and it helps future projects to avoid repeating mistakes.

In this blog we will explore:

• An introduction to Lessons Learned

Examples of lessons learned in project management

Why lessons learned is an important part of project management.

• Stage 1: Identify recommendation for future projects
• Stage 2: Document and share findings
• Stage 3: Analyze and organize results
• Stage 4: Store the results for easy access
• Stage 5: Retrieve for use in current projects

An introduction to lessons learned

Often not explicitly captured, lessons learned are an important way of not repeating mistakes and shoring up “how to do it” knowledge, lending advantages and experience to the next time you undertake a similar task. Continuous improvement is an important aspect of running an efficient PMO, team, department, or business. Small but regular incremental changes add up over time and lead to greater efficiency, productivity, and in turn, revenue and Return on Investment. This is known as ‘Kaizen’, a Japanese school of thought meaning ‘change for the better’ which sees improvement as gradual and methodical. 

Inefficiencies in any form, whether it is delays, shortcomings, quality control, poor communication, can impact your business in any number of ways from easily quantifiable things such as productivity and revenue, to things which are harder to measure, such as reputation within the marketplace. Lessons learned are an excellent way to learn from experience, just like we do in life. If you have made a mistake or could have done something slightly better, we tend to learn from this to make it easier for ourselves next time. Lessons Learned in Project Management can be leveraged in the same way and play an important part in both PRINCE2 and PMP PM methodologies. Sharing these lessons learned with other project stakeholders and other managers will help your next projects to be even better, even if you are not directly part of them. That sounds great, but where to start? In this blog, we will explore the five stages of lessons learned:

• Identify recommendation for future projects
• Document and share findings
• Analyze and organize results
• Store the results for easy access
• Retrieve for use in current projects

Scope management lessons learned:

• Defining Clear Objectives : A project that suffered from scope creep shows the importance of having a clear, detailed project scope agreed upon by all stakeholders from the outset.
• Change Control : Implementing a rigorous change control process is essential. Without it, unapproved changes can lead to project delays and budget overruns.

Time management lessons learned:

• Realistic Scheduling : Underestimating the time needed for key tasks led to missed deadlines. Future projects will benefit from more realistic time allocations and contingency planning.
• Critical Path Awareness : Not keeping a close eye on the project's critical path resulted in overlooking dependencies that later caused bottlenecks.

Cost management lessons learned:

• Accurate Cost Estimation : An initial budget that did not account for all potential costs led to a funding shortfall. Subsequent projects should include a more thorough estimation and a contingency fund.
• Regular Budget Reviews : Failing to regularly review the budget against actual expenses caused overspending. Continuous monitoring is crucial for keeping a project on track financially.

Quality management lessons learned:

• Quality Assurance Processes : Skimping on quality assurance in favor of speed resulted in rework. Incorporating regular quality checks throughout the project lifecycle is vital.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT) : A project delivered without extensive UAT faced user dissatisfaction. Involving end-users early and frequently in the testing process ensures the product meets their needs.

Risk management lessons learned:

• Risk Identification : Risks that were not identified at the project's start materialized and caused issues. A more comprehensive risk assessment is needed during the planning phase.
• Proactive Risk Mitigation : A lack of proactive risk mitigation strategies led to reactive firefighting. Developing and following a risk mitigation plan can prevent many problems.

Stakeholder management lessons learned:

• Regular Stakeholder Engagement : Insufficient stakeholder engagement resulted in a lack of buy-in. Keeping stakeholders informed and involved is necessary for project success.
• Clear Communication Channels : Miscommunication with stakeholders led to misaligned expectations. Establishing clear, open communication channels is essential.

Resource management lessons learned:

• Team Skill Assessment : Assigning tasks without properly assessing team skills led to underperformance. Matching task requirements with team members' skills is important for efficient task execution.
• Resource Allocation : Overallocation of resources resulted in burnout and turnover. Effective resource management and allocation prevent team exhaustion.

Communication lessons learned:

• Effective Communication Plans : Without an effective communication plan, team members and stakeholders were often out of the loop. A structured communication plan is crucial for keeping everyone informed.
• Documentation : Poor documentation practices made it difficult to track decisions and changes. Keeping detailed records helps maintain continuity and clarity throughout the project.

Watch the video below to capitalize on lessons learned ⬇️

Project managers can learn from past projects by analyzing where they succeeded and where they failed. This information can be used to improve future workflows, processes, and products.

Here are five stages of lessons learned:

Guideline Stage 1: Identify recommendation for future projects

This stage is a detailed examination of what happened during the project, why it happened and what could be done differently in the future to avoid similar problems.

Firstly, you need to prepare the lessons learned session. This is usually led by the designated project manager and can be done by completing a project survey. This also helps participants be prepared for the lessons learned session and provide any feedback. The survey should be made up of different categories to make sure that essential information is included. Examples of categories could be project management, resources, technical, quality, scope, communication, testing, implementation, etc. Also consider adding key questions as part of the survey such as:

• What went right?
• What went wrong?
• What can be improved?

Don't wait until the end of a project before starting this phase! If you wait too long, people will forget why things happened or what caused them to happen—and then your report will be incomplete and unreliable.

Guideline Stage 2: Document and share findings

Once lessons learned are captured, they need to be reported to the project stakeholders. This report, often referred to as a ‘lessons log’, should contain the data captured during the lessons learned session and any feedback from the participants. After a final review, the report should be stored as part of the project documentation or the Project Management Office (PMO) administration documents. 

An important aspect of documentation is to action those items which may need effort applied to them. For example, if the lesson is that it took too long to book in resources, the action here is to review the resource booking process to identify improvements to reduce lead time so that this lesson is ‘learnt’ and applied to other projects in the future. Good PM methodology states that actions should be dated and owned/actioned by somebody, and then managed to meet the success criteria for that action.

Lesson logs can include an ID for each line or lesson, the related project info, date lesson captured, who logged or raised the lesson, how much of an issue this item became (1 for showstopper, 5 for negligible, as this will also help prioritize your lessons (and subsequent effort to complete actions) from most to least important), as well as if the lesson is open (still be actioned) or closed (has been actioned and completed successfully).

Atlas for easy document management

As a leading digital workplace platform for Microsoft 365, Atlas is the ideal place to create and upload project documents. Atlas makes it easy for PMO to template and provision their own Project workspaces. You could even upload your lessons log document template into the workspace template so that the same version is available within each project. Being able to upload and manage lessons learned within an Atlas Project workspace allows the project team members to view previous lessons learned from other workspaces, as well as document new lessons inside each project.

Here at ClearPeople, we have a project workspace for each implementation that our clients can access using their external user credentials. It’s here that we upload and manage previous lessons learned via our project documentation so that our clients can view shared insights and experiences.

Guideline Stage 3: Analyze and organize results

Information from the lessons learned session is shared with other teams to decide what can be done. Outcomes of the analysis could be used to improve project management processes or training.

It’s common that lessons are captured, but during project closure some of the ‘admin’ tasks fizzle out as PMs pick up newer seemingly higher priority projects. It’s essential that the lessons log is well maintained, managed, and closed as part of the project lifecycle. If the project has its own lessons log, that project shouldn’t be marked as completed and formally closed until the lessons log has been completed, reviewed, and delivered in its entirety.

Guideline Stage 4: Store the results for easy access

We often see organizations that don’t have a lessons learned repository in place. They are stored with other, irrelevant project documents on a shared drive or project library which means data is difficult to retrieve and share with the right people. Not to mention searching through different versions of reports makes it tricky for any user.

Lessons learned can be centralized so that it collates lessons from all projects, or each project can have its own lessons log which should be worked on and completed as part of the internal project closure process.

Atlas for lessons learned

Atlas helps to make sure any documentation, content, or knowledge, related to lessons learned are captured correctly. When a user searches ‘lessons learned’, everything related to lessons learned will appear for them, including notes, documents, comments, or knowledge and news pages. They do not need to go all the way to the project site documents, it can be brought back to them automatically or with one simple search from anywhere inside Atlas.

There are several ways lessons could be stored within Atlas. SharePoint lists can be created and built with bespoke columns so you can actively manage lists outside of an excel file. This can sometimes make for better sharing and reporting on granular, dynamic, items, rather than a single clunky spreadsheet.

Atlas FAQs with a simple question and answer capability can be used to store lessons learned, applying the lessons learned tag and any related tags (for example, ‘resourcing’ or ‘budget’ for quick filtering and search, and to ensure all the appropriate FAQs show up when lessons learned has been searched.

Atlas knowledge and news pages can be an excellent way to distribute news and information around lessons learned. We have seen clients in the past post PMO News Updates with titles such as ‘5 lessons we’ve learnt in PMO this quarter’ or ‘our updated process for capturing and managing lessons learned’. Tagged with the lessons learned tag, this is all good content to help inform users of both the lessons collated, as well as additional processes or guidelines on how to do this correctly.

Guideline Stage 5: Retrieve for use in current projects

For retrieval of information, it is key to have the right categories and tags applied to your reports. Without key word search capability, it is a maze to retrieve the appropriate lesson learned.

Project management office (PMO) process is important here. The lessons log should be reviewed by the PMO team and all PMs each month or each quarter to view new additions and help each other continuously improve their projects and not fall into pitfalls already experienced. This also helps reduce stress and can even improve Project Managers work life balance or leave them freer to do value added tasks.

Atlas for your lessons learned hub

The magic of the Atlas’ tagging and taxonomy functionality can be leveraged one step further.... With Atlas you can quickly and easily create a pre-configured ‘listing’ or ‘directory’ page which is pre-filtered to dynamically pull in everything related to lessons learned (that is, has been tagged with lessons learned. Additional content and webparts can also be put onto the page, so guidelines and advice about lessons learned can be easily found by anyone, including the FAQs and news and knowledge pages discussed above. This can then become the ‘hub’ or center for all things lessons learned.

Atlas for automating lessons learned

The lessons learned during a project are of immense value to the organization. But where do you store this knowledge? How do you store it? And how do you make it accessible? Create a super-highway of knowledge-based innovation and excellence with Atlas for Information and Knowledge Management.

Improve and learn from your projects with Atlas. Atlas makes it easy to find the appropriate lessons learned by correctly storing and tagging all relevant data.

Why use Atlas for your Lessons Learned?

• Tag lessons learned content for quick searching. 
• Users and project managers can easily find what they need from within 1 click.
• One source of truth where all your lessons learned can be stored. 
• Decentralized view of all lessons learned, breaking down project silos and information silos.

Why don’t you see it for yourself? Book a demo and we will show you how Atlas improves your projects with Lessons Learned.

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How to Write a Lessons Learned Report

A Lessons Learned Report is a vital document that helps project teams reflect on their performance and identify areas of improvement. Through the report, project teams can document the successes, challenges, and obstacles that they encountered during the project's lifecycle and use it to improve future projects. In this article, we will explore how to write a comprehensive Lessons Learned Report that can help project teams optimize their performance and outcomes.

Understanding the Purpose of a Lessons Learned Report

Importance of documenting lessons learned.

Documenting lessons learned is not only crucial but also a best practice in project management. It helps organizations avoid making the same mistakes repeatedly. By documenting lessons, project teams can identify the causes of their challenges and develop practical solutions to manage them effectively. This approach enables project teams to become more efficient, productive, and successful in future projects.Furthermore, documenting lessons learned also helps in the continuous improvement of the organization's processes and procedures. By identifying areas for improvement, project teams can develop new methods and strategies that will enhance their work processes, leading to better results.

Benefits for future projects

Lessons learned reports provide a wealth of knowledge and insights that can be applied to future projects. By analyzing past project performances, project managers can identify potential issues, risks, and develop a better project plan. The report also helps to identify best practices and strategies for implementing future projects successfully.Moreover, the report can be used as a reference for future projects, enabling project teams to learn from the experiences of their predecessors. This approach can help organizations save time, money, and resources in future projects by avoiding the same mistakes that were made in the past.

Creating a comprehensive lessons learned report

To create a comprehensive lessons learned report, project teams should start by identifying the project's objectives, scope, and deliverables. The team should then review the project's performance, highlighting the successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.It is also essential to involve all stakeholders in the lessons learned process, including project team members, sponsors, clients, and vendors. This approach ensures that all perspectives are considered, and the report is comprehensive and accurate.In conclusion, documenting lessons learned is a critical aspect of project management. It helps organizations improve their processes, avoid making the same mistakes, and achieve better results in future projects. By creating a comprehensive lessons learned report, project teams can ensure that the knowledge and insights gained from their experiences are captured and shared with future project teams.

Key Elements of a Lessons Learned Report

Project overview.

The project overview is a critical component of the Lessons Learned Report. It should provide a detailed review of the project scope, goals, objectives, and milestones. It should also include the project team structure and key stakeholders involved in the project. A comprehensive project overview will help the reader understand the context and background of the project.

Successes and Achievements

Detailing the successes and achievements of the project is essential. This section should highlight the positive outcomes of the project, such as completing it on schedule or coming in under budget. It is crucial to identify what went well and why it was successful. This information can help future project teams replicate the success and build on it.

Challenges and Obstacles

Identifying the key challenges and obstacles that the project team faced during the project is critical. This section should provide a clear and concise assessment of the problems encountered, their causes, and how they were addressed. By identifying the challenges and obstacles, future project teams can learn from the mistakes made and avoid similar pitfalls.One example of a challenge that a project team may face is a lack of communication between team members. This can lead to misunderstandings and delays in completing tasks. To address this challenge, the team may implement regular team meetings or use collaboration tools to improve communication.

Recommendations for Improvement

Developing recommendations for improvement based on the challenges and obstacles identified is an essential part of the Lessons Learned Report. These recommendations should be realistic, practical, and achievable. They should also include measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed improvements.For example, if the project team identified a lack of communication as a challenge, one recommendation for improvement could be to implement a project management tool that includes communication features. The team could then evaluate the effectiveness of the tool by tracking communication and project progress.In conclusion, the Lessons Learned Report is a valuable tool for improving project management practices. By providing a comprehensive project overview, detailing successes and achievements, identifying challenges and obstacles, and developing recommendations for improvement, project teams can learn from their experiences and continuously improve their processes.

Gathering Information for the Report

Conducting interviews with project team members.

Interviews with project team members will help capture first-hand insights and experiences. Interview questions should focus on project successes, challenges, and recommendations for future projects. The responses from the team members should be analyzed to identify common themes and patterns across the project.

Reviewing project documentation

Reviewing the project documentation is an essential step in gathering information for the report. The documentation includes project plans, schedules, budgets, and risk assessments. This information provides an excellent insight into how the project was managed and what lessons can be learned.

Analyzing project performance metrics

Project performance metrics, such as KPIs and ROI, are useful indicators of progress and success. This information should be analyzed to determine whether the project was successful and to identify areas for improvement.

Structuring Your Lessons Learned Report

Executive summary.

The executive summary should provide a condensed version of the report that summarizes the key points and recommendations. The aim of the summary is to provide an overview of the report's contents in a few pages.

Detailed project analysis

The detailed project analysis should include a comprehensive review of the project, including the project scope, goals, objectives, milestones, and outcomes.

Lessons learned and recommendations

The lessons learned and recommendations section should provide a summary of the challenges and obstacles experienced during the project, recommendations for improvement, and the expected benefits of implementing the proposed recommendations.In conclusion, writing a comprehensive Lessons Learned Report is essential for project teams to improve their performance and outcomes. By documenting the successes and challenges, project teams can develop practical solutions for managing future projects more effectively. The report's structure should include an executive summary, detailed project analysis, and recommendations for improvement. By following the guidelines outlined in this article, project teams can write a comprehensive and useful Lessons Learned Report that can enhance their future project management experience.

ChatGPT Prompt for Writing a Lessons Learned Report

Chatgpt prompt.

Please write a detailed report outlining the lessons that have been learned from a particular experience or project. This report should include a thorough analysis of the successes and failures of the project, as well as any key takeaways or recommendations for future endeavors. The report should be comprehensive and provide a clear understanding of the insights gained from the experience.

[ADD ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. CAN USE BULLET POINTS.]

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Everything There Is to Know about Running Lessons Learned Meetings

By Kate Eby | June 24, 2021 (updated November 18, 2021)

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Lessons learned meetings are a way to gain valuable feedback from your team about what did and did not go well in a project. Experts share advice on how to prepare for, facilitate, and act on findings from these meetings. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to run a lessons learned meeting , and find a downloadable meeting agenda template , tips and techniques for running meetings , and guidance for facilitating them remotely .

What Are Lessons Learned Meetings?

A lessons learned meeting is a collaborative feedback session in which you document what your team took away from the successes and missteps of a project. These meetings are a way to collect comments and observations and should include everyone on the team.

Why Do You Need to Hold Lessons Learned Meetings?

In a lessons learned meeting, the team documents successes and missteps in order to help build team unity. By involving every team member in the process, you can build trust, foster development, and encourage an environment of learning from mistakes and improving processes.

Patti Armanini , Quality Manager of FESTO USA, explicitly highlights one of the advantages of holding ongoing lessons learned meetings. “One of my best lessons learned was on a very large project between my company and our customer in the defense sector. We did lessons learned meetings at critical stages throughout the project. This helped to keep us ahead of deadlines by identifying roadblocks cleared and roadblocks not foreseen at the beginning that could have caused a significant delay in the project. For example, a 60-day waiting period that we did not know of at the outset, but were able to adjust into our schedule with minimal frustration.”

When Should You Hold a Lessons Learned Meeting?

You should hold lessons learned meetings as often as you feel is necessary. However, depending on the scope of your project, you may find that having a routine for holding ongoing meetings is more beneficial than doing just one retrospective meeting at the end.

You can hold a lessons learned meeting at the beginning of a new venture to review lessons learned from past projects and brainstorm ways to apply them in the present. You should also have meetings at regular intervals throughout your project lifecycle, or as your team finishes predetermined tasks.

Kathy Hallstein , Senior Customer Success Manager at SAP SuccessFactors, recommends  always holding a final lessons learned meeting to wrap up the end of any large-scale project. “There are always roadblocks during the project that you may forget if not addressed immediately following completion. It’s an excellent time to get the entire team together to document what to improve on the next project or share with other groups. A successful post-mortem is when everyone participates and you document the roadblocks, how they were resolved, and how they will be addressed in the future. Assign action items, owners, and an expected completion date (ECD). I would suggest keeping a version and date on those documents.” 

Following Hallstein’s advice will provide closure for the team and allow you a chance to document any additional large-scale lessons learned. To learn more about post-mortem meetings, read our guide to post-mortem in business and download free post-mortem templates to help you get started.

How to Prepare for a Lessons Learned Meeting

When preparing for a lessons learned meeting, you’ll want to invite team members, form an agenda, and book a space.

• Invite Participants: Ask those planning to attend to review the project’s outset goals and prepare questions. If this meeting occurs before the end of a project, consolidate your notes from previous lessons learned sessions and send them as a refresher.
• Create an Agenda: Be sure to consider the things you need to discuss and your audience size, as the number of participants may affect the order of events or the total time allotment for the meeting. Generally, meetings should last no more than an hour, but make sure to allow ample time for each agenda item. Include time for a brief introduction, feedback and discussion, and to highlight next steps.
• Arrange the Room: Come prepared with writing utensils and sticky notes or printouts. Designate a note-taker or secure whiteboards or wall space so everyone can see the comments. Provide comfortable seating for all attendees, and consider providing snacks and light refreshments for the meeting as well. Additionally, send meeting invites to remote attendees and set up a virtual room along with the physical one. Read our article with a list of 130+ remote collaboration tools for more information about working with teams remotely.
• Consider a Facilitator: A facilitator may help smooth the flow of conversation for a team that is not comfortable sharing opinions openly. Pick a facilitator who is familiar with the project and the team, but not directly involved — perhaps another project manager or someone who has led a similar project in the past.

How to Structure a Lessons Learned Meeting

Meetings should include a brief introduction, time to gather and discuss feedback, and a plan for next steps. Here’s a breakdown of those steps:

• Introduction: Make introductions by sharing the agenda. At this time, establish ground rules by letting everyone know why they are here and what you expect from them.
• Gather Feedback: Facilitate discussion and participation from team members. Encourage everyone to give input. Remind them that you want to know what went right and wrong in the project so you can all learn from the experience. Have the designated note-taker document all the feedback.
• Evaluation: Discuss the feedback and use it as a basis for critically examining the lessons learned. Organize observations into lists or categories and begin to brainstorm answers to problems. 
• Conclusion: Recap the lessons learned and assign action items to specific team members. Ask for final comments and thank everyone for attending.
• Follow-Up: Organize the feedback and create reports to send to attendees. Ensure that you follow up on action items within a predesignated timeframe.

Lessons Learned Meeting Agenda Template

It is essential to set an agenda for your meeting so that participants know what to expect and can come prepared. Use this lessons learned agenda template to help you structure the meeting. You’ll find space for meeting objectives, team discussion, and action items for future projects — simply edit the sample copy to meet your needs. See our lessons learned templates article for more options.  

Download Lessons Learned Meeting Agenda Template

How to Run a Lessons Learned Meeting

Running a lessons learned meeting is no small task. The project manager or a neutral third party will generally facilitate meetings, but all meetings should follow the same format.

1. Prepare Ahead of Time: You must come to the meeting prepared to facilitate, and team members must come prepared to participate. You may consider polling participants on which meeting times work best for them. Send meeting invites, and include any relevant notes from past discussions. Attach the meeting agenda to the invite, and ask participants to prepare comments and questions. Ensure that the room where your session takes place is ready ahead of time with chairs, writing utensils, and refreshments.

With a larger group, or for an unsuccessful project, you may want to gather input ahead of time through an anonymous survey. Armanini suggests asking participants the following questions and presenting the findings anonymously at the meeting to ease and encourage discussion:

Download Anonymous Pre-Survey for Lessons Learned Meetings — PDF 

Anonymous Pre Survey for Lessons Learned Meetings

• Name three things you feel are going well.
• Name three things you feel are not going well.
• Name three processes you would change to address your answers to the previous question.

2. Introduce your Meeting: Thank everyone for coming and encourage them to get comfortable. Consider going around the room and having attendees introduce themselves if the meeting consists of multiple teams or departments.

3. Lead Discussion and Encourage Team Input: Allow and encourage everyone to give feedback and write it all down, and ensure that everyone has a chance to speak. Organize feedback notes into sections or categories that relate to the process or the project. You may consider asking the following questions:

• What did we do well? 
• What processes need improvement? 
• How well was your role on this project defined? 
• How effective was teamwork and leadership?

As the facilitator, aim to keep the conversation neutral and avoid finger-pointing or shifting blame. Depending on the size of your group, it might be beneficial to split into smaller groups to facilitate the conversation and amplify the voices of people less willing to share in a large group setting.

4. Evaluate the Feedback: Once you have recorded attendee feedback on a whiteboard or note pad, it is time to examine it critically. Review the notes as a group and determine the most pressing issues. Having the group vote on which topics they feel are the most important can help everyone feel included and valued. Start brainstorming solutions to these issues together. If possible, create action items and assign them to a group member for follow up.

5. Conclude and Thank Everyone: Recap the most critical discussion items and their actionable solutions. Ensure that everyone responsible for a solution knows when to follow up. Ask for any last-minute questions or comments, and thank everyone for their participation. If this is your final meeting for the project, consult our project closing and retrospect guide for more advice and best practices.

6. Follow Up: Organize the meeting notes and create a lessons learned report to share with meeting attendees. Check in with those who were assigned action items and confirm they have everything they need to implement changes.

Rules for a Lessons Learned Meeting

Set ground rules for your lessons learned meetings so that everyone is heard, the team builds trust, and the meeting is productive and useful going forward. 

Example ground rules are as follows: 

• Do not pass blame or point fingers. The good and bad should be impersonal or applicable to the whole team. Also consider allowing anonymous input by way of a survey before the meeting. 
• Everyone gets to speak or give feedback, and one person speaks at a time.
• Remain present: No phones or computers! 
• Meet in person whenever possible.
• Stay on topic and stick to the agenda. Provide suggested times on the agenda for this reason. Don’t go over and lose engagement.

Techniques for Running a Lessons Learned Meeting

When running a lessons learned meeting, hold a round-table talk and collect feedback openly. Take notes on a whiteboard or a large notepad. Create columns for what did and did not go well, and ask participants to add comments.

When a project is successful, a team will generally feel good and be open to discussion. Use methods like Mad, Sad, Glad, Add or Stop, Start, Continue to help organize thoughts. In these exercises, attendees consider what parts of the process made them mad, sad, or glad, and what they would stop, start, and continue in the future. See our Mad, Sad, Glad and Stop, Start, Continue fillable templates for use in your meetings.

Stick to your ground rules, and consider establishing a talking stick rule, wherein the only person speaking is the person holding a “talking stick,” or even a coffee mug or something similar.

You may need to try different approaches in larger gatherings or for not-so-successful endeavors. Always consider the group size, your team’s success (or lack of) on the project, and how outspoken its members are when considering what techniques to use.

Primary Lessons Learned Success Criteria

The success of a lessons learned meeting lies in its ability to identify successes, resolve issues within a project, and strengthen the team’s bond. A successful lessons learned meeting will do the following:

• Generate Feedback for Reports: One of the biggest takeaways from any lessons learned meeting is the report generated from the input gathered. Make sure to encourage participation and take great notes.
• Leave Team Members Feeling Heard: Everyone should have the opportunity to provide feedback, both positive and negative, without fear of reprisal. Clarify that there are no repercussions for sharing to help foster growth and unity within the team.
• Identify Potential Changes to Processes: Use the minds in your team to crowdsource changes to processes that are not working well. Ask them how things can be done better and use their input for future projects.

Lessons Learned Meeting Outcomes

At the end of a lessons learned meeting, you should feel good about the whole process. Ultimately, the process of identifying lessons learned should unify the team. 

Hallstein defines a successful lessons learned session as "when everyone participates and you have documented the roadblocks, how they were resolved, and how they can be addressed in the future.” 

A successful lessons learned meeting will also do the following:

• Answer Questions: Your team should voice their questions and concerns, and receive answers when possible.
• Acknowledge the Success of a Team: Even if the project as a whole was unsuccessful, it is important to praise the things your team did well.
• Encourage More Cohesive Teams: As a team works and improves together, they build trust.
• Identify the Processes that Need Improvement: Even successful projects have areas that you can fine-tune. 
• Establish Easily Measured Follow-Up Actions: Assign tasks to team members and follow up with them later. Ensure they have the tools they need to complete these actions on time.
• Improve Processes Over Time: By documenting the change in processes over time through lessons learned, it is easy to track improvements within a team and a company.

Lessons Learned Meeting Follow Up

After any meeting, you will likely produce different reports for people with varying levels of engagement within the project. Send those reports out to meeting participants within a few days, and label and store those reports somewhere for future reference, like a shared drive or cloud storage. 

For more information on lessons learned reports, read our “ Guide to Lessons Learned in Project Management .”

You may also consider sending out a follow-up survey to attendees to gauge their feelings on how the meeting went. Use that information to tailor your facilitation techniques for the future.

Benefits of Lessons Learned Meetings

There are far-reaching benefits to lessons learned meetings. An entire organization benefits from the experience of a single team. Multiply that by the many teams within a company, and you can see how quickly these meetings become a force for change.

On a smaller scale, holding lessons learned sessions creates more cohesive teams and better project managers. By highlighting a team’s accomplishments and taking steps to learn and grow from their failures, you can foster trust between team members and the system as you all grow as professionals.

It is critical to establish and follow best practices when recording and storing lessons learned documents. Create an intuitive naming scheme that includes the date of the project or meeting, and store reports and documents in an easily accessible place. Set up a shared searchable database of lessons learned reports and meeting notes.

Tips for Facilitating Lessons Learned Meetings

A meeting for a project that went well will run a little differently than for one that did not. Consider your group size and the success of your project when choosing which techniques to utilize.

• Choose Your Time and Place Wisely: Choose a time and place that works for everyone with no conflicts. Use a meeting scheduling tool, such as Doodle, and send out a poll ahead of time for people to volunteer available time slots.
• Write Notes Where Everyone Can See Them: When possible, use a whiteboard or a large notepad to write down team member input. If your meeting is remote, use a shared screen to keep everyone on track and feeling acknowledged. 
• Stick to Your Agenda: Do not let your meeting go long or veer off course. Keep attendees focused by being accountable for their time.
• Encourage Everyone to Contribute: Gather as much input from as many people as possible. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts, and treat everyone’s feedback the same.

Tips for Facilitating Large Lessons Learned Meetings

Large groups require additional planning. You may decide to use a survey prior to the meeting to gather feedback to save time, or even split a large meeting into smaller groups.

Tips for Facilitating Lessons Learned for Unsuccessful Projects

Not every project is successful. Your approach for facilitating these lessons learned meetings should focus on anonymity and sharing the responsibility for the loss.

• Do Not Place Blame: Use techniques like Mad, Sad, Glad to shift focus from any one person to the team’s experience at large. This approach can help smooth things over without highlighting any one person’s mistakes.
• Anonymous Surveys: Collect feedback anonymously before the session, and ensure it stays anonymous. Organize anonymous input and present it to the group without any identifying information.
• Utilize a Third-Party Facilitator: Armanini suggests using an outside facilitator for projects with an undesirable outcome. “If I'm the one running the session, it needs to be with a team that trusts me fully so that I get honest feedback.” Using a facilitator “can help to take some of the emotion out of the session,” she says.

Tips for Facilitating Remote Lessons Learned Meetings

Remote meetings are always a little tougher than those done in person. Remote meetings should strive to maintain focus, encourage participation, and adhere to a schedule.

Hallstein provides the following ideas to ensure successful remote meetings:

• Always turn on your video. Be presentable, professional, and meet your participants eye to eye. It’s so important to see body language in order to know if they agree, don’t agree, or if you’ve just lost them and need to step it up. 
• Review expectations at the beginning of the meeting, and summarize them at the end to ensure they were met. 
• Document minutes, action items, owners, and ECDs. Share these notes, or post them in a shared drive where everyone knows how to find them and has access. 
• Mute your line when you’re not talking.

In addition, ensure that you do the following in a remote meeting:

• Share a Screen while Documenting Input: Just like using a whiteboard in person, write down notes in real-time where everyone can see them.
• Use Surveys and Other Online Tools to Encourage Engagement: Send out a survey prior to the meeting to gather input and prepare charts and visual aids to keep attendees engaged.
• Keep to Your Agenda: Most people only stay engaged in a meeting for the first 45 minutes. Make sure that your meeting stays informative, but does not go too long.

To learn more tips for remote teams, read our guide to effectively managing remote teams .

Tools for Running a Lessons Learned Meeting

Running a lessons learned meeting doesn’t have to be complicated. There are many tools available across many platforms to ease the process, including the following:

• Survey Tools: Use surveys to determine time slots for your meeting or to gather anonymous feedback before a session. You can also use surveys to gather information about the meeting you’ve just held and how to improve it next time. “Typically when I use Zoom or Teams, you can throw up a survey at the end. You can also create a survey for later, to give participants time to digest the information and then give feedback,” suggests Hallstein.
• Graphic Tools: Create charts and graphs from feedback gathered during pre-meeting surveys. Display them in your introduction, or as you discuss these points.
• Display Tools: Create slideshows to display graphics and input from surveys or previous meetings. 
• Storage Tools: Invest in quality storage locations that are accessible to the whole team, like a shared database or cloud drive. Make your lessons learned findings easily accessible for future use.
• Writing Tools: Don’t discount the usefulness of pen and paper. Sticky notes and a large notepad or whiteboard can be a great way to keep your attendees engaged and contributing.

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• Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

Published on October 26, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A research question pinpoints exactly what you want to find out in your work. A good research question is essential to guide your research paper , dissertation , or thesis .

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

Table of contents

How to write a research question, what makes a strong research question, using sub-questions to strengthen your main research question, research questions quiz, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research questions.

You can follow these steps to develop a strong research question:

• Choose your topic
• Do some preliminary reading about the current state of the field
• Narrow your focus to a specific niche
• Identify the research problem that you will address

The way you frame your question depends on what your research aims to achieve. The table below shows some examples of how you might formulate questions for different purposes.

Using your research problem to develop your research question

Note that while most research questions can be answered with various types of research , the way you frame your question should help determine your choices.

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Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate the strength of your research question.

Focused and researchable

Feasible and specific

Complex and arguable

Relevant and original

Chances are that your main research question likely can’t be answered all at once. That’s why sub-questions are important: they allow you to answer your main question in a step-by-step manner.

Good sub-questions should be:

• Less complex than the main question
• Focused only on 1 type of research
• Presented in a logical order

Here are a few examples of descriptive and framing questions:

• Descriptive: According to current government arguments, how should a European bank tax be implemented?
• Descriptive: Which countries have a bank tax/levy on financial transactions?
• Framing: How should a bank tax/levy on financial transactions look at a European level?

Keep in mind that sub-questions are by no means mandatory. They should only be asked if you need the findings to answer your main question. If your main question is simple enough to stand on its own, it’s okay to skip the sub-question part. As a rule of thumb, the more complex your subject, the more sub-questions you’ll need.

Try to limit yourself to 4 or 5 sub-questions, maximum. If you feel you need more than this, it may be indication that your main research question is not sufficiently specific. In this case, it’s is better to revisit your problem statement and try to tighten your main question up.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.

This involves:

• Reading abstracts , prefaces, introductions , and conclusions
• Looking at the table of contents to determine the scope of the work
• Consulting the index for key terms or the names of important scholars

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (“ x affects y because …”).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses . In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

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How to Improve Your Research Skills: 6 Research Tips

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Aug 18, 2021 • 3 min read

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Table of Contents

Guide to lessons learned in project management, what are lessons learned in project management, what is the purpose of lessons learned, lessons learned process in project management, what is a lessons learned document, how to write a lessons learned report in project management, how to share lessons learned, what are examples of lessons learned in a project, why are lessons learned important in project management, benefits of lessons learned in project management, challenges with lessons learned in projects, how to apply lessons learned, best practices for lessons learned in project management, considerations for gathering lessons learned in a wfh environment, best practices, best practices for preparing a lessons learned document.

When a project is finished, you celebrate, right? Not so fast—you might not be finished with your project if you haven’t yet prepared a lessons learned document. If you’re studying for your PMP certification , you’ll want to understand why preparing a lessons learned document is important.

Read more: What is Project Management ?

By collecting and publishing lessons the team learned while completing the previous project, your organization as a whole can benefit. You can help reduce the odds of other teams making your same mistakes, and provide insights into how various processes and procedures can be improved.

In this article, we will examine some of the best practices in preparing a lessons learned document along with how they can help an organization in improving its project performance.

Most project managers know the value of documenting lessons learned and how it benefits their teams, organizations, and current and future projects. Lessons learned are the information that has been recorded and reflects both the successful and unsuccessful aspects of a project.

Sharing lessons learned among project team members enables an organization to benefit from organizational best practices while preventing them from making the same mistakes again.

Project effort is undertaken to produce something fresh and original. Working on a project encourages a tone of invention, experimentation, and investigation in search of more effective methods. Even if every project is different, it is crucial to apply all the knowledge and lessons gained from earlier initiatives to improve the current project's efficiency.

Making mistakes is commonplace, but hiding them is illegal and repeating them is sinful. Effectively capturing all new lessons gained and making sure that they are applied throughout the business in all current and future projects will help the teams avoid making the same mistakes and make the most of all their positive experiences.

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Lessons learned as a practice cover the procedures required for lesson identification, archiving, validating, and disseminating. Utilizing and incorporating those processes entails identifying applicable lessons learned, documenting lessons learned, archiving lessons learned, distributing lessons learned to the appropriate personnel, identifying the actions that will be taken as a result of the lesson learned, and monitoring the situation to make sure the right actions were taken.

Organizations handle lessons learnt using the five-step process outlined below:

The first stage is to recognize and compile the fresh learning discovered. All pertinent project stakeholders are involved in the collection of lessons learnt. Stakeholders participate in workshops to share lessons learnt. The main goal is to understand what went well, what didn't, and what can be done better. Future initiatives will benefit from the recommendations that are identified.

All of these fresh teachings must be formally recorded. And all pertinent stakeholders inside the organization must be informed of these.

Experts examine all of these new lessons learnt to determine the best locations in which to apply them. The newly discovered lessons must be recorded as suggestions for certain applications so that team members can easily pick up such knowledge.

It is equally crucial to use technologies to store all of this knowledge so that the entire business may easily access it. Establishing and maintaining a repository for all of this knowledge is necessary.

The knowledge and lessons learned must be used in ongoing projects.

Lessons learned are the information that has been recorded and reflects both the successful and unsuccessful aspects of a project. They stand for the organization's dedication to excellent project management and the project manager's chance to gain knowledge from others' real-world experiences. However, we are all at different stages of lessons learned. For example, some of us don't consistently record lessons learned since there isn't a specific mechanism in place for doing so. Alternatively, we record lessons learnt after a project and do nothing with them. Or alternatively, we record lessons learned and examine them before beginning new initiatives, but we don't produce analytics for the frequency of keywords appearing in successful or unsuccessful projects.

How to Document Lessons Learned?

Lessons learnt should be recorded and then communicated to project stakeholders. Depending on the audience, many sorts of reports can be created. The information gathered at the lessons learned session and any extra comments from participants who could not attend are included in the detailed lessons learned report. All participants should receive a copy of the thorough lessons learned report from the facilitator and have the opportunity to comment on its accuracy. Even if they did not participate in the lessons learned session, the whole project team should receive a copy of the report once it is finished. The final report needs to be kept with the other project records.

The facilitator should prepare a summary for leadership. An overview of the lessons learned process, a list of the project's strengths—what worked well—project weaknesses—what didn't—and recommendations—what needs to change—should all be included in this report. If the leadership needs further information, it can be made available or given as an attachment.

MidProject Survey Lessons Learned

Everyone who participated in the survey had full access to our blogs and could see every detail of all we had done up to that point. This was done so that they could respond to the queries knowing that they had seen everything we had done so far, we spoke with assurance. The person present as we weren't, even if the River ice way answered with generosity: The responses from this person were also anonymous. The poll received four responses. Each survey respondent met the qualifications to be our target market.

When composing a report, take into account the following:

• Identify the report's target audience. Is this report intended for project team members or stakeholders? Reports from team members will be more concerned with the project's daily activities, whereas reports from stakeholders will emphasize the project's overall goals.
• Determine the takeaways from your text that matter to your audience.
• Sort your survey replies and input them into the many report types they pertain to. There could be multiple types of reports based on a lot of responses.
• Describe the key takeaways. Make suggestions for enhancing the procedures. Be sure to note the positive aspects of the event.
• Share and keep the report. For storage and usage in upcoming projects, make a folder in the cloud or on a shared drive.

The best method to communicate your findings is to write customized reports for various degrees of interaction. You should create a lessons learned report to share your group's results with a specific audience.

• Providing Stakeholders with: The bigger picture of a project should be visible to stakeholders. They'll be curious in factors like your project's alignment with other industry objectives, fiscal considerations, profit margins, and long-term deadlines.
• What to Give Team Members: Team members are curious about how a project is carried out on a daily basis. Give them a report that places a focus on each person's deadlines (both met and missed), the team's cohesiveness and communication, and the project's overall performance. Be sure to also point out their accomplishments.
• Reports should be kept in a central repository. Reports should be kept in a completely accessible database, such as a shared drive or cloud storage, so that various company employees can consult them whenever necessary.
• Make a list of the project's lessons: Without going into great detail, put your findings in a general overview. A larger audience can be informed about this list, possibly via email or a workplace newsletter.

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Essentially, the lessons learned process consists of identifying, documenting, analyzing, storing, and retrieving steps to assist project teams in successfully managing current and future projects.

Every completed project, whether successful or not, provides experience to those who worked on it. These lessons can be general or task-specific. Examples of lessons learned for various levels of an organization are provided below.

Lessons Learned Examples for Project Managers:

• Assist Your Team: Appropriately delegate tasks and set realistic deadlines. Create an environment that promotes collaboration.
• Communicate clearly: Check in with the team frequently and keep lines of communication open. Make it clear what you expect.
• Give frequent praise: Let your team know when they do something well. Don't forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments as well.

Examples of Team Member Lessons Learned:

• Seek Advice: Seek advice from your leaders and teammates.
• Check in Frequently: Communicate effectively with all levels of project involvement and provide regular updates to your manager(s).
• Improve Your Work: Use feedback to help you improve. This will allow you to learn from your mistakes and build on your successes.

Examples of Company Leadership Lessons Learned:

• Outline the Big Picture: Define your expectations clearly. Budget and time constraints should be considered early in the project's lifecycle.
• Protect Against Risk: Examine high-risk areas. Attempt to avoid large-scale delays.
• Educate Your Team: Use your ongoing experience (as well as the experience of those around you) to improve processes at all levels.

Having the lessons learned documented and shared throughout the organization aids in the avoidance and reduction of failure. It also contributes to the development of best practices that can be implemented in future endeavors.

Conducting lessons learned sessions also aids in the development of trust among team members by allowing them to share their own perspectives on what went right and wrong during the project, making them feel more involved and encouraging them to be more supportive of the project management process.

Finally, lessons learned can have a real impact on company processes and team operations.

You can capitalize on your successes and learn from your mistakes by identifying lessons learned. Other advantages of project management lessons include the following:

• Learn from Experience: Build on your past successes while avoiding mistakes. Make a note of everything you learn in real-time, so you don't forget anything.
• Identify Inefficient Processes: Eliminate redundant processes and streamline future endeavors. Get rid of anything that isn't helping the team reach its objectives.
• Record Your Procedures: Allow future teams to benefit from your expertise. Share your expertise with those who will follow you.
• Demonstrate Growth: Use organized reports dating back to previous projects to demonstrate productivity and results. Compare those to future reports to track your progress or identify areas where you still get stuck.
• Promote More Cohesive Teams: Raise morale by achieving more victories as a group.
• Improve Communication: From the start, involve your team in the process. Encourage them to stay involved by listening to what they have to say.
• Develop Best Practices: Determine what works best for your team, then implement and enforce those changes.

When implementing lessons learned processes with your team, you will almost certainly encounter some difficulties. Here are some examples of project management challenges:

• Future Implementation: Applying what you've learned to future projects can be difficult. As a quality professional, when things don't go as planned, employers tend to favour root cause, corrective action (RCCA), and 8D-type investigations. In a structured format, both methods state the problem, identify the causes, and then propose corrections to eliminate or reduce the causes.
• Time Management: When you're on a tight deadline, it can be difficult to find time to collect your team's feedback. Make sure to account for opportunities to collect and analyze data on lessons learned so that you don't overlook them.
• Organization: A company's organizational changes could range from handwritten notes on pre-filled questionnaires or in notebooks, to notes on a whiteboard or flipchart, to beginning to use Microsoft Teams and a OneNote page.
• Blame: For a team that isn't used to sharing negative experiences, make your questionnaire anonymous. Avoid blaming any one member of the team for mistakes. It is best to find someone to facilitate this session, preferably someone the team can fully trust to provide honest feedback. Use a facilitator, especially if the project did not go well. It can help to remove some of the emotional content from the session.

In New Projects 

Every new project should require the team assembling to review all available lessons pertaining to the task directly (e.g., same type of project) or indirectly (e.g., different type of project, same customer).

Team management requirements should be more stringent. The team management should be encouraged not only to read the related lessons, but also to demonstrate to the company executives that they have done so by presenting a plan demonstrating how the existing lessons will be applied to their task. The performance of the task management against this plan should be reviewed at the project's own lessons session (e.g., following the completion of its first phase).

During Phases of a Project

In the case of a multiphase project, the project team and management should be required to review the lessons learned from the previous phase and to act on them by continuing what went well and correcting what went wrong. The project manager should present the progress status on the lessons implementation plan, as seen from his or her perspective, during periodic project reviews with company executives.

As a Contribution to Risk Management Activities

Lessons should be integrated into the risk management effort as a tool for identifying risk areas and ways to mitigate them.

As a Component of Training Plans

Another area where the lessons-learned inputs should be considered is training planning, as the lessons will often highlight deficiencies that can be corrected through appropriate training programmes.

As part of the Process of Continuous Improvement

Lessons learned are an invaluable source of feedback for the process of continuous improvement. Targets for improvement in existing processes and procedures, as well as potential new process needs, process tailoring requirements, and so on, are typically identified. The lessons-learned process should be integrated into all process maintenance activities in every company.

It is critical to think about the best practices for your specific team. The following are some universal best practises for project management lessons learned:

• Gather Information Frequently: Gather feedback from your team and hold informal meetings. The more data there is, the better.
• Document Your Findings: Ensure that your reports are well documented and searchable in storage so that you can easily find relevant lessons learned from previous businesses.
• Review Previous Lessons: Create a process for reviewing lessons learned at each stage of a project, and keep it up to date as you go.
• Involve the Entire Team: Everyone involved in a venture, from intern to management, should be able to contribute.
• Don't assign blame: The team as a whole succeeds and makes mistakes. Encourage collaboration and camaraderie rather than animosity.
• Close the Loop: Conclude operations with a project retrospective.

In an ideal world, you would be able to conduct lessons learned meetings and surveys in person. However, if all or part of a team works from home, there may be additional considerations.

Communication is central to effective teamwork and it's possibly the most important aspect of office life. Thankfully, technology has assisted in closing this critical communication gap. However, when you are not working in a structured office environment, it is easy to become complacent. Not just clothes, but also pets, children, and losing interest in meetings because they are online rather than in-person. Regardless of the circumstances, new team members can find creative ways to connect with their colleagues, from icebreaker activities to domestic interruptions. Also, to accommodate both groups, keep meeting schedules and survey deadlines as flexible as possible.

Isolation can be the most difficult aspect of working from home for those who do not have strong support systems around them. A return to the office could make all the difference for these people, providing a working environment that promotes not only better productivity but also better overall well-being.

Workers require flexibility to be successful, whether they have a global team to manage across time zones, a project-based role that is busier or slower depending on the season, or simply have to balance personal and professional obligations throughout the day.

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In order for companies to learn, a process must be established to collect, process, and disseminate the accumulated lessons. Lessons learned can become extremely valuable tools if properly set up and consistently implemented within a company.

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• Reuse lessons in your project. You’ll learn in PMP certification training that you should reuse lessons learned from past projects to better manage your current projects.
• Create lessons learned throughout the project. You can save quite a bit of time by collecting them as you go along. Then, when the project is finished, you can finalize them during project closing or the project phase closing. This is one of the best ways to ensure that they are accurately recorded.
• Identify Items in lessons learned Sessions. Consider holding regular brainstorming sessions with the team to unearth lessons that are valuable to the project. As we’ve discussed, this can help promote the success of future projects. It’s best not to leave it until the end of the project when memories have faded.
• Include all your experiences. Be sure to should include positive as well as negative experiences in the lessons learned document to add the highest value to all the future projects in the organization.
• Involve all stakeholders while preparing the lessons learned. Be sure to include everyone, including all relevant stakeholders, while preparing the lessons learned, whether you prepare the list during or after the project. This will help ensure that all the lessons are captured in the document.
• Solicit feedback from all stakeholders. Consider conducting a post-project survey to solicit feedback on the project from the project team, customers, and stakeholders who were well acquainted with the management of the project. This helps in capturing the lessons learned in the project while they are fresh in people’s minds. You could summarize the results and pass the recommendations to future teams.
• Store your lessons learned document in a central repository in your organization. This makes it easier for other project teams to access them whenever it is required. Many organizations have an online portal for document sharing—think SharePoint, Google Docs, OneDrive, or another centralized network location.
• Archive your lessons learned documents. Lessons learned documents should be archived as historical project data and incorporated into organizational lessons learned.
• Share your lessons learned with other project teams. The basic objective behind documenting lessons learned is to provide other project teams with information that can increase their efficiency and effectiveness and build on the experience that has been earned by each completed project. Sharing your lessons learned with other teams helps improve the overall performance of the organization.

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7 Key Steps in Lessons Learned in Project Management

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving business world, project management has emerged as a vital discipline, bridging the gap between ideas and execution. It is a realm where plans are forged, teams are led, and challenges are conquered. Every project brings a unique set of lessons to be learned, shaping how we approach future challenges.

Whether you're an experienced project manager or just starting, embracing these lessons can be transformative, enabling you to navigate the complexities of project management with confidence and finesse. Join us as we share priceless lessons learned in project management.

What Are the Lessons Learned in Project Management?

Lessons learned in project management are invaluable insights and experiences gained throughout the project lifecycle. They provide guidance and wisdom for future endeavors, helping project managers navigate challenges and achieve success. These lessons include planning, communication, risk management, team collaboration, and stakeholder engagement.

Why Are Lessons Learned Important in Project Management?

Lessons learned are vital in project management because they help project managers navigate challenges, enhance their skills, and drive positive organizational change.

By analyzing what went well and what didn't, project managers can identify areas for improvement, avoid repeating mistakes, and make informed decisions for future projects. Project learning also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, ensuring that knowledge is shared and applied to future attempts. In short, project learning is a vital tool for project success and professional growth.

Lessons Learned Process

The lessons learned process in project management involves systematically identifying, documenting, analyzing, validating, sharing, applying insights, and reviewing experiences gained during a project. Here are the key steps involved in the lessons-learned process:

• Identification: Project managers and team members identify lessons learned throughout the project lifecycle. This can be done through regular reflection, team discussions, surveys, and interviews.
• Documentation: Lessons learned are documented in a structured manner, including details about the project, the specific situation or issue, the lessons learned, and any recommendations or actions to be taken.
• Analysis: Project learnings are analyzed to understand their impact on the project. This involves identifying patterns, root causes, and potential opportunities for improvement. It also helps in assessing the effectiveness of project management processes and practices.
• Validation: The documented lessons learned are validated by relevant stakeholders to ensure accuracy and completeness. This step may involve seeking feedback and input from team members, project sponsors, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Sharing: The lessons learned are shared with the project team, other project managers, and stakeholders. This can be done through formal reports, presentations, knowledge repositories, or informal discussions. Sharing lessons learned promotes knowledge sharing and prevents the repetition of mistakes.
• Application: The insights gained from the lessons learned are applied to future projects or the current project if it is ongoing. This involves incorporating the lessons into project plans, processes, and best practices. Applying lessons learned helps avoid mistakes, optimize project performance, and ensure continuous improvement.
• Review: The lessons learned process is reviewed periodically to assess its effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. This helps in refining the process and making it more efficient and impactful.

Purpose of Lessons Learned

The purpose of key learnings from a project is to capture and document valuable insights, experiences, and best practices gained throughout the project lifecycle . These lessons serve several purposes:

• Enhancing Skills: Lessons learned allow project managers to reflect on their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and improve their skills and knowledge. By analyzing successes and failures, project managers can learn valuable lessons that help them become more effective.
• Avoiding Mistakes: Lessons learned enable project managers to identify and understand mistakes made during previous projects. By documenting these mistakes, they can develop strategies to avoid repeating them in future projects. This helps reduce risks, improve project outcomes, and ensure continuous improvement.
• Optimizing Project Execution: By analyzing project learnings, project managers can identify areas of improvement in project execution . They can identify processes, tools, or techniques that worked well and those that didn't and adjust accordingly. This helps streamline project workflows, increasing efficiency and delivering better results.
• Sharing Knowledge: By documenting and sharing lessons, project managers enable others to benefit from their experiences, avoiding potential pitfalls and leveraging best practices. This promotes collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement across projects.
• Ensuring Project Success: By applying lessons learned, project managers are better equipped to handle challenges and avoid risks. Key learnings from a project help project managers develop more effective strategies, make informed decisions, and adapt project plans as needed. This ultimately increases the chances of project success and client satisfaction.
• Driving Professional Growth: Project learning is valuable for the current project and the professional growth of project managers. By reflecting on their experiences, project managers can identify areas for personal development, acquire new skills, and enhance their project management capabilities. This contributes to their professional growth and helps them become more effective leaders in future projects.

How To Capture Lessons Learned?

Capturing lessons learned is an essential step in the project management process. Here's how you can do it using ActiveCollab:

• Set up a Lessons Learned section: Create a dedicated section in ActiveCollab where you can capture and organize all lessons learned. This can be a separate project or a specific category within your project.
• Identify the lessons: Encourage team members to reflect on their experiences and identify lessons learned. You can do this through surveys, interviews, team meetings, or individual reflections.
• Document the lessons: Use AtiveCollab's task or document management feature to record the identified lessons learned. Include details such as the project phase, the problem or issue encountered, the solution implemented, and the outcome.
• Analyze and validate: Review the captured lessons learned and validate their relevance and accuracy. Try discussing them with the project team or subject matter experts.
• Share and communicate: Share the lessons learned with the project team, stakeholders, and other relevant parties. AtiveCollab allows you to share documents or tasks with specific individuals or groups easily.
• Apply the lessons: Integrate the lessons learned into your project management practices. Update your project plans, processes, and procedures to incorporate the new knowledge and avoid repeating past mistakes.
• Review and improve: Regularly review the lessons learned repository to ensure it remains current. Continuously improve your project management practices based on the insights gained from past experiences.

How To Write Lessons Learned Report in Project Management?

Here are easy step-by-step instructions to help you write an effective lesson-learned report:

• Identify the purpose: Determine why you are creating the report. Is it to improve future projects, share knowledge with stakeholders, or comply with organizational requirements?
• Gather information: Collect data and information from various sources, such as project documentation, team members, stakeholders, and project meetings. Ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the project's successes, challenges, and outcomes.
• Define the structure: Organize the report into sections such as project overview, objectives, key deliverables, challenges faced, successes achieved, and recommendations for future projects. This structure will help readers navigate the report easily.
• Document lessons learned: Summarize the lessons learned from the project. Include positive and negative experiences, highlighting what worked well and what could have been improved. Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate each lesson.
• Analyze lessons learned: Reflect on the project learnings and analyze their impact on the project's overall success. Identify patterns or recurring issues that may need attention in future projects.
• Provide recommendations: Based on the key learnings from a project, offer practical recommendations and solutions for addressing similar challenges in future projects. These recommendations should be actionable and specific.
• Document best practices: Identify best practices that contributed to the project's success and document them in the report. This will help ensure that these practices are repeated in future projects.
• Create a lesson-learned document: Compile the report into a formal lesson-learned document. Make sure it is well-structured, easy to read, and includes relevant graphics or visual aids.
• Share the report: Distribute the lessons learned copy to relevant stakeholders, project team members, and other interested parties. Consider using a lesson-learned repository or knowledge management system to store and easily access lessons learned from multiple projects.
• Review and update: Periodically review and update the lessons learned document as new projects are completed. This will ensure that the report remains a valuable resource for future projects.

Types of Lessons Learned

Lessons learned in project management can be categorized into various types based on the nature of the insights gained. Here are some common types of lessons learned:

• Technical Lessons: These lessons focus on the technical aspects of the project, such as technology implementation, design considerations, or development methodologies. They highlight what worked well and what could be improved regarding tools, processes, or techniques.
• Process Lessons: Process project learning related to the management and execution of the project. They include insights into project planning, scheduling, risk management, communication, stakeholder engagement, and quality control. These lessons help identify best practices and areas for improvement in project management processes.
• Team and Interpersonal Lessons: Lessons in this category focus on team dynamics, collaboration, and communication within the project. They can include insights into team structure, leadership styles, conflict resolution, or effective communication strategies. These lessons help improve teamwork and foster a positive work environment.
• Stakeholder Lessons: Stakeholder lessons involve understanding and managing the expectations and needs of project stakeholders. They can include insights into stakeholder engagement, relationship management, or addressing conflicts of interest. These lessons help improve stakeholder satisfaction and ensure successful project outcomes.
• Risk and Issue Management Lessons: These lessons highlight identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks and issues throughout the project lifecycle. They can include insights into risk assessment techniques, issue resolution approaches, or contingency planning. These lessons help improve risk management strategies and minimize project disruptions.
• Organizational Lessons: Organizational lessons focus on the broader implications of the project within the organization. They can include insights into organizational culture, governance, resource allocation, or strategic alignment. These lessons help align projects with organizational goals and improve decision-making processes.

Benefits of Lessons Learned

Here are the benefits of lessons learned in project management:

• Cost-Efficiency: Key learning from a project helps identify cost-saving measures, avoid unnecessary expenses, and optimize resource allocation.
• Time-Saving: By learning from past mistakes and successes, project teams can streamline processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and reduce project duration.
• Quality Improvement: Project learning enables teams to identify areas for improvement, implement best practices, and deliver higher quality outcomes.
• Risk Mitigation: Lessons learned help identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them, reducing the likelihood of project failures or disruptions.
• Team Morale: By recognizing and celebrating successes, lessons learned boost team morale, motivation, and engagement.
• Scalability: Project learnings provide insights into scaling project operations, processes, and resources to accommodate growth and changing project requirements.
• Market Reach: Key learnings from a project help teams understand market dynamics, customer preferences, and industry trends, enabling them to expand their market reach.
• Innovation: Lessons learned foster a culture of innovation by encouraging experimentation, learning from failures, and promoting creative problem-solving.
• Customer Satisfaction: By incorporating lessons learned, project teams can better understand customer needs, deliver products or services that meet or exceed expectations, and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Competitive Advantage: Key learnings give organizations a competitive edge by enabling them to learn from their competitors' mistakes, capitalize on industry trends, and stay ahead of the competition.
• Streamlined Communication: Lessons learned improve communication practices, ensuring information flows effectively between team members, stakeholders, and project sponsors.
• Task Automation: Lessons learned help identify opportunities for automating repetitive tasks, reducing manual effort, and improving overall project efficiency.
• Employee Retention: By implementing lessons learned, organizations can create a supportive work environment, foster employee growth, and improve retention rates.
• Incremental Improvements: Project learnings facilitate continuous improvement by identifying small-scale changes that can lead to significant overall project enhancements.
• Quick Decision-making: Lessons learned provide valuable information that enables teams to make informed decisions quickly, reducing project delays and bottlenecks.
• Lower Operational Costs: Lessons learned help identify cost-saving measures, eliminate wasteful practices, and optimize operational efficiency.
• Simplified Reporting: Key learnings from a project streamline reporting processes, making it easier to track project progress, identify issues, and communicate project status to stakeholders.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Project learning promotes collaboration among team members, enabling knowledge sharing, cross-functional cooperation, and collective problem-solving .
• Skill Development: Lessons learned allow individuals to develop new skills, enhance their expertise, and grow professionally within the organization.

Project Management Lessons Learned Example

Project Name: Product Launch for Organic Skincare Line

Team Members: Sarah, Michael, Emily

Project Goals: Successfully launch a new line of organic skincare products, increase brand visibility, and generate sales.

Project Successes:

1. Implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy that included social media campaigns, influencer partnerships, and email marketing.

2. Conducted market research to identify target audience preferences and tailored product offerings accordingly.

3. Developed a user-friendly e-commerce website with secure payment gateways and seamless navigation.

4. Established partnerships with local retailers to expand distribution channels and increase product accessibility.

Lessons Learned:

1. Problem: Limited product availability during the initial launch phase.

Impact: Potential customers could not purchase products, resulting in missed sales opportunities.

Recommendation: Ensure sufficient inventory is available before launching and establish a robust supply chain management system.

2. Problem: Ineffective communication between the marketing and design teams.

Impact: Marketing materials did not accurately represent the brand's values and product benefits.

Recommendation: Implement regular cross-functional meetings to align marketing and design strategies and improve communication channels.

3. Problem: Insufficient customer support resources.

Impact: Customers experienced delays in receiving responses to inquiries and complaints.

Recommendation: Increase customer support staffing and implement a ticketing system for efficient issue resolution.

4. Problem: Inadequate post-launch analysis and evaluation.

Impact: Difficulty identifying areas for improvement and measuring the success of the launch.

Recommendation: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and conduct regular post-launch evaluations to track progress and refine strategies.

What Tools Are Best Used To Share Lessons Learned From Projects?

There are several effective tools for sharing project learning. One popular option is project management software with a knowledge base or a project learnings repository. This allows team members to document and share their insights and experiences. ActiveCollab, for example, offers Notes as Discussions as features that can serve as a place for teammates to share experiences and observations on the project they've worked on.

Another tool is a project retrospective meeting, where team members can openly discuss successes, challenges, and key learnings from a project. Creating a project closure report or a post-project review document can also help consolidate and disseminate valuable lessons to the wider organization or future project teams. Ultimately, the best tool depends on the organization's preferences and the project's specific requirements.

How Should the Lessons Learned From a Project Be Communicated?

Lessons learned from a project should be communicated concisely and effectively. This can be done through various means, such as project reports, presentations, or meetings. The key is highlighting the key positive and negative takeaways and providing actionable recommendations for future projects.

It is important to document the lessons learned in a structured format, ensuring they are easily accessible to the relevant stakeholders. Additionally, sharing these lessons learned with the broader organization can help foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

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Think Like a Researcher: Instruction Resources: #6 Developing Successful Research Questions

• Guide Organization
• Overall Summary
• #1 Think Like a Researcher!
• #2 How to Read a Scholarly Article
• #3 Reading for Keywords (CREDO)
• #4 Using Google for Academic Research
• #4 Using Google for Academic Research (Alternate)
• #5 Integrating Sources
• Research Question Discussion
• #7 Avoiding Researcher Bias
• #8 Understanding the Information Cycle
• #9 Exploring Databases
• #10 Library Session
• #11 Post Library Session Activities
• Summary - Readings
• Summary - Research Journal Prompts
• Summary - Key Assignments
• Jigsaw Readings
• Permission Form

Course Learning Outcome:   Develop ability to synthesize and express complex ideas; demonstrate information literacy and be able to work with evidence

Goal:  Develop students’ ability to recognize and create successful research questions

Specifically, students will be able to

• identify the components of a successful research question.
• create a viable research question.

What Makes a Good Research Topic Handout

These handouts are intended to be used as a discussion generator that will help students develop a solid research topic or question. Many students start with topics that are poorly articulated, too broad, unarguable, or are socially insignificant. Each of these problems may result in a topic that is virtually un-researchable. Starting with a researchable topic is critical to writing an effective paper.

Research shows that students are much more invested in writing when they are able to choose their own topics. However, there is also research to support the notion that students are completely overwhelmed and frustrated when they are given complete freedom to write about whatever they choose. Providing some structure or topic themes that allow students to make bounded choices may be a way mitigate these competing realities.

These handouts can be modified or edited for your purposes.  One can be used as a handout for students while the other can serve as a sample answer key.  The document is best used as part of a process.  For instance, perhaps starting with discussing the issues and potential research questions, moving on to problems and social significance but returning to proposals/solutions at a later date.

• Research Questions - Handout Key (2 pgs) This document is a condensed version of "What Makes a Good Research Topic". It serves as a key.
• Research Questions - Handout for Students (2 pgs) This document could be used with a class to discuss sample research questions (are they suitable?) and to have them start thinking about problems, social significance, and solutions for additional sample research questions.
• Research Question Discussion This tab includes materials for introduction students to research question criteria for a problem/solution essay.

Additional Resources

These documents have similarities to those above.  They represent original documents and conversations about research questions from previous TRAIL trainings.

• What Makes a Good Research Topic? - Original Handout (4 pgs)
• What Makes a Good Research Topic? Revised Jan. 2016 (4 pgs)
• What Makes a Good Research Topic? Revised Jan 2016 with comments

Topic Selection (NCSU Libraries)

Howard, Rebecca Moore, Tricia Serviss, and Tanya K. Rodrigues. " Writing from sources, writing from sentences ." Writing & Pedagogy 2.2 (2010): 177-192.

Research Journal

Assign after students have participated in the Developing Successful Research Topics/Questions Lesson OR have drafted a Research Proposal.

Think about your potential research question.

• What is the problem that underlies your question?
• Is the problem of social significance? Explain.
• Is your proposed solution to the problem feasible? Explain.
• Do you think there is evidence to support your solution?

Keys for Writers - Additional Resource

Keys for Writers (Raimes and Miller-Cochran) includes a section to guide students in the formation of an arguable claim (thesis).  The authors advise students to avoid the following since they are not debatable. 

• "a neutral statement, which gives no hint of the writer's position"
• "an announcement of the paper's broad subject"
• "a fact, which is not arguable"
• "a truism (statement that is obviously true)"
• "a personal or religious conviction that cannot be logically debated"
• "an opinion based only on your feelings"
• "a sweeping generalization" (Section 4C, pg. 52)

The book also provides examples and key points (pg. 53) for a good working thesis.

• << Previous: #5 Integrating Sources
• Next: Research Question Discussion >>
• Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 10:23 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ucmerced.edu/think_like_a_researcher

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How to Use Lessons Learned Effectively to Avoid Project Failure

Updated on: 5 January 2023

Every project is a learning experience. Failures alert us to not make the same errors again. Successes guide us to effectively navigate our current and future projects. A proper process in place for capturing these failures, wins, and areas for improvement are necessary for successful project management. This is what the project lessons learned method does. 

In this post, we’ll explore how to avoid project failures effectively using lessons learned. The templates provided throughout the post are editable online. Use them to get a move on with your tasks. 

What are Project Lessons Learned? 

Lessons learned are the key – both positive and negative – experiences collected throughout the lifecycle of a project as well as at its conclusion. Reflecting on this knowledge and understanding, you can convert what’s learned into actions needed to improve the current systems and processes and secure the success of future projects.  

For some organizations, lessons learned in project management is an informal process where they discuss and document project experiences during the closure phase. Other organizations conduct a lesson learned session at the end of each phase of a project. Project managers, project team members as well as team leaders can participate in the lessons learned session to review the reports and make the decisions on how to convert the gained insight into actions.  

Lessons learned sessions can be conducted at different phases of the project based on its complexity; at the end of each phase, at the conclusion of the project, or in real-time as it happens.

Why lessons learned should be an integral part of project management

Having the lessons learned documented and shared across the organization helps avoid and reduce the chances of failure. It also helps create best practices that can be incorporated into future endeavors. 

Conducting lessons learned sessions also help with building trust among the team members; allowing them to share their own perspective on what went right and wrong during the project will let them feel more involved and encourage them to be more supportive of the project management process.     

Ultimately, lessons learned can have a real impact on the company processes and the way the teams operate. 

The lessons learned process

The lessons learned process includes five steps. They are aimed at gleaning important lessons learned during the project from the participants of the meeting, and at determining how to successfully apply that knowledge into achieving better results with future projects. The steps are,

Step 1: Identify the lessons learned 

Start by revising what went well and what didn’t go so well during the project you’ve just completed and what needs to be improved. This should be done during the lessons learned session participated by the key stakeholders of the project. 

• In preparation for the session, the facilitator should send the participants a survey. It should include specific questions related to the different aspects of the project (i.e. project management, resources, communication, requirements, etc.).  Equally important is to obtain their feedback on what worked, what didn’t work, and what should be improved in it. Answering the survey will not only help the participants better prepare themselves for the session, but the answers themselves will help guide the discussion between them. 
• Summarize the survey results and analyze them along with other key reports during the session to identify project failures and wins. Recommendations for future project improvements should be discerned by the end of it. 

You can use a similar chart like the one below to record the feedback and key points discussed during the session.

Step 2: Document the lessons learned

The next step of the process is to document the results with a detailed report. It should include the participant’s feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the project and recommendations for improvement. 

Once the report is complete, share it with the relevant internal and external project stakeholders. While you can create an overview of the detailed report for the leadership, the extensive report can be sent as an attachment for further reference.

Step 3: Analyze the lessons learned

During this phase of the process, analyze and organize the lessons learned in order to determine how to apply them. The required training for employees and improvements to project management processes are then decided. 

As a further step, you can create an action plan outlining the necessary steps, responsible parties/ departments, resources, and a timeline.

Step 4: Archive the lessons learned

Store all lessons learned documents in an easily accessible location, like in a shared drive (i.e. Google Drive ), making it readily available to the project team as well as other teams in the organization and stakeholders. 

Step 5: Retrieve the lessons learned 

Refer to the lessons learned documents to improve the current project processes. Optimize the retrievability of these documents by creating folders for each type of project and properly organizing them by date or project name. If the tool you use to store the reports offer keyword search capability, it would be much easier for anyone to retrieve them.

How to Avoid Project Failures with Lessons Learned

Here are a few steps you can incorporate into your project lessons learned process to ensure project success.  

Conduct lessons learned sessions frequently

Many things can go wrong or right in a project, especially if it is a large complex initiative. Therefore it would serve well to record key information sooner rather than waiting till the end of the project. As time elapses you might fail to retain key insight or in the case of a non-success, information may get intentionally looked over.

Have a standard process and set of tools 

Many organizations often fail to capture lessons learned during projects because they lack a defined process. 

A proper set of steps in place makes it seem more requisite and can aid the team to fall into a routine of recording the lessons learned during the projects. Similarly, having a predefined set of tools to use for gathering the information, storing the reports and documents, and sharing them across the organization, will further help streamline the process.    

Make use of lessons learned during risk planning

During the risk assessment of a new project , refer to the past lessons learned reports of relevant projects to identify potential risks easily. Subsequently, you can move on to developing mitigation strategies.

Have a lessons-learned team 

You can apply the lessons learned method – or actively record experiences, insight, and impressions in real-time – throughout the project. Clarify how you will be applying the method and select a team to take part in and take on an active role. 

A best practice is to include members from different areas of the project so as to collect diverse perspectives. Keep the number of team members between 3 to 10. 

Maintaining such a logbook of project experiences thus will help run more effective lesson learned sessions.

How Would You Use Lessons Learned in Project Management?

We have defined what are lessons learned in project management, the lessons learned process, and how to effectively apply the method to avoid project failure along with useful templates in this post.  

Ensure that capturing, analyzing, and learning from lessons learned is part of every project you do. Equally important is to plan for the next set of steps to effectively apply the lessons learned.  This continuous effort will help cultivate a culture of ongoing improvement within your organization.

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Hi Amanda, I love this idea! Lessons learned are huge and should be identified so they won’t happen again unless they were lessons to benefit you or others. Analyzing is key to this in project management as you have pointed out. One cannot make recommendations with problems/successes. Excellent points!

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Lessons Learned in Project Management

Fahad Usmani, PMP

July 2, 2024

Every project is an opportunity to gain new experiences and provide you with lessons that will be beneficial to future initiatives.

Lessons learned are part of organizational process assets and assist the project management team in improving their processes and skills and avoiding repeating previous mistakes.

In today’s post, I will explain the lessons learned, their importance, and their benefits, and highlight best practices. By examining these lessons learned, you can better navigate challenges, optimize team performance, and deliver projects on time and within budget. 

Whether you’re an experienced project manager or new to project management, these insights will enhance your project management acumen.

What Are Lessons Learned in Project Management?

Lessons learned are knowledge gained from previous projects in such a way that it can help future projects. Lessons learned in project management are crucial for improving work performance in future projects.

Lessons learned are collected throughout the project lifecycle and contain all positive and negative events. The goal is to reuse the best practices and avoid the same mistakes in the future.

The PMBOK Guide defines the lessons learned process as a “collection of interconnected actions and activities undertaken to accomplish a specified set of goods, results, or services.”

Lessons learned are knowledge gathered from project experiences, both successes and failures. They capture what worked well, what didn’t, and why. Based on this experience, you can take corrective and preventive actions to improve your workflow in the next projects .

Stages in the Lessons Learned Process

The lessons-learned process involves five stages:

• Identify: Make a list of comments and suggestions. These can be sources of information for future initiatives.
• Document: Record all information, discuss it, and highlight the lessons learned during the conversation.
• Analyze: Analyze and arrange the lessons learned. They can be used in training or to enhance project-management processes.
• Store: Keep a copy of the lessons-learned reports on a shared disk or in the cloud so that they are accessible to all project teams.
• Retrieve: You can retrieve the lessons learned from the archive for use in your current project.

Lessons Learned Benefits

A few lessons learned benefits are:

• Sharing Knowledge: The lessons learned provide a structured method for collecting and sharing experiences, insights, and expertise within a team or organization. This collective knowledge will ensure that everyone has access to valuable information, thus reducing the learning curve for new team members and improving overall competence.
• Avoiding Mistakes: Documenting and reviewing the lessons learned from past projects can help you identify what went wrong and why. This can help prevent you from repeating the same mistakes, thus leading to fewer errors and smoother execution in future projects.
• Improving Skills: Analyzing what went well and what didn’t will allow team members to understand their strengths and areas for improvement. This continuous reflection and feedback loop will promote the development of skills and competencies, thus enhancing performance over time.
• Optimizing Processes: The lessons learned often highlight inefficiencies or bottlenecks in current processes. By addressing these issues, organizations can streamline workflows, reduce waste, and improve productivity, leading to more efficient, effective processes that save time and resources.
• Promoting Professional Growth: Engaging in the process of capturing and applying the lessons learned will promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It will also encourage a growth mindset in which team members will be open to learning and adapting. This will contribute to personal and professional development.
• Saving Time: Learning from past experiences can help teams avoid redundant efforts and missteps. By applying these insights, you can complete projects with fewer obstacles, thus saving valuable time that can be allocated to other important tasks.
• Improving Quality: The lessons learned will provide a feedback mechanism to identify and correct defects or deficiencies in products or services. Implementing these improvements will enhance the quality of deliverables , thus leading to higher customer satisfaction and better outcomes.
• Promoting Innovation: Reflecting on the lessons learned can spark new ideas and innovative solutions. Understanding past challenges and successes can inspire creative thinking and encourage the exploration of new approaches, thus driving innovation and keeping the organization competitive.

How to the Capture Lessons Learned

Capturing lessons learned requires a structured process to ensure you get valuable insights from all stakeholders, which are recorded. 

Start by planning and preparing for the lessons learned session, defining objectives, and assigning a facilitator. Conduct review sessions at key project milestones with diverse stakeholders to provide comprehensive feedback. To collect data, you can use brainstorming sessions , interviews, surveys, and review project documents , logs, etc.

Facilitate discussions in a non-judgmental environment, focusing on key areas such as successes, challenges, and areas for improvement. Encourage participants to provide specific examples and actionable insights. 

Team members can be hesitant to share negative lessons learned, so you must clarify that this exercise is not to express personal rage. You should welcome positive criticism, as the lessons learned exercise is about providing useful and constructive criticism to improve processes and avoid previous errors.

Document lessons learned using standard templates, categorizing them into technical, process, management, and cultural types.

Analyze the collected data to identify trends and patterns, validating the findings with the team. 

After completing the lessons learned, you will create a lessons-learned report and share it with stakeholders for their feedback and comments. After receiving their responses, you will update and archive the report in your organizational process assets. 

The lessons-learned report includes:

• Summary: This is a one-page summary with recommendations. 
• Executive Report: This is a review of the lessons learned (e.g., what went right or wrong and how you can improve processes). 
• Findings: This is a summary of the problems discovered.
• Recommendations: These are actions to avoid negative events and realize opportunities.

You can email the final report to stakeholders, publish it on the portal, archive it on OPA, and use it during presentations or in a newsletter.

You should document the lessons learned throughout the project lifecycle . Capturing the lessons learned is a continuous process. You should encourage team members to share the lessons learned whenever possible. They should not wait for a specific time; instead, they should record the lesson as soon as they learn it.

The following are a few methods with which to collect and document the lessons learned: 

• Post-Project Reviews: In a post-project review, you will evaluate what worked and what didn’t. You can have an open conversation about the project and use this knowledge for your next project. After completing the exercise, you will update the record. Ensure the presence of key team members in this exercise and ensure that they share the lessons learned.
• One-on-One Meetings: Meet with your key stakeholders and ask about the lessons they have learned. During these meetings, you may discover that some stakeholders are more willing to offer feedback, and you may collect some valuable ideas. Team members may be willing to discuss their accomplishments in a group discussion but may not be willing to admit their mistakes. In a one-on-one meeting, they may be less concerned about others overhearing their faults, so they will speak freely.
• Team Meetings: Don’t wait until the project is completed to compile the lessons learned. Make it a regular exercise. Inquire about what team members have learned during the week, discuss it in an open environment, and record it. Although useful lessons may not be learned in every meeting, the process will create an environment in which team members are encouraged to share their experiences.
• Wikis/Software: Encourage your PMO to create a wiki for the lessons learned if one does not already exist. Wikis are simple to develop and allow all team members to contribute. Keep the wiki updated throughout the project lifecycle, making it a useful learning resource. 
• Lunch Sessions: Team meetings are useful with team members, but lunch sessions have a larger audience. You conduct these sessions during lunch and let team members from other projects in your organization join. This can help knowledge-sharing across different teams. Lunch sessions are informal meetings and good knowledge-sharing exercises.

What Should You Include in the Lessons Learned?

• What Went Well?: This includes positive experiences. If you don’t look at what went well, you may avoid using strategies to realize opportunities in future projects.
• What Did Not Go Well?: This includes negative experiences. Learning from your mistakes is essential. Ignoring what went wrong will ensure that you repeat the same mistake.
• Were the Project Milestones Met? If Not, Why?: Project milestones are important project events. If you miss your key milestones, then you should review the causes and ensure that you do not repeat these mistakes in the future.

Best Practices for Documenting the Lessons Learned

Use the following best practices to capture the lessons learned:

• Don’t Get Caught Up in Past Mistakes: Don’t obsess over past issues (e.g., as a disagreement with a stakeholder or a task you failed to complete). While this can be reasonable, it is also unproductive. Accept unpleasant experiences and concentrate on learning.
• Remember That Stakeholders Will Always Criticize: Even the finest project managers face criticism because projects are constantly debated inside the organization. Remember that many of your colleagues will point out your mistakes, and you may not be appreciated for your hard work.
• Be Willing to Learn: Accept that you may not always have the greatest solution. Some project activities can be planned better. You will improve if you are willing to learn.

Lessons Learned Examples

Now, I will provide you with two examples of lessons learned in different formats.

Project Overview: This was a construction project to build a commercial office complex. The project experienced delays and cost overruns but was ultimately completed successfully. The project manager conducted a lessons-learned session to capture insights for future projects.

Technical Lessons Learned

• Issue: Incorrect soil-testing results led to foundation issues, thus causing delays.
• Lesson: Ensure that thorough, accurate geotechnical surveys are conducted before the design phase.
• Action: Implement a more rigorous soil-testing protocol and involve experienced geotechnical engineers.

Process Lessons Learned

• Issue: Inadequate subcontractor scheduling resulted in workflow interruptions.
• Lesson: Properly sequence subcontractor activities and improve coordination.
• Action: Develop a detailed, realistic project schedule, regularly update it, and maintain close communication with subcontractors to ensure their adherence.

Management Lessons Learned

• Issue: Poor communication between project managers and site supervisors led to misunderstandings and errors.
• Lesson: Establish clear communication channels and regular update meetings.
• Action: Schedule weekly progress meetings and use project-management software to inform all stakeholders.

Collecting lessons learned in project management is a key process for generating knowledge and passing it on to future generations. By capturing lessons learned, you get valuable insights from successes and challenges. This knowledge allows you to continuously improve, identify areas for optimization, and equip future project teams for greater achievement.

Critical review is vital for effective lessons learned. Build confidence in your team members so they can speak their minds freely. Also, ensure that no one blames other team members for past errors.

I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.

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I Passed My PMI-RMP Exam – Lessons Learned

Today I am going to share my PMI-RMP lessons learned. I hope this information will help you with your own preparations.

I passed my PMI-RMP exam on April 9, 2012, about a year and a half after earning my PMP credential.

I had decided to rest and celebrate for a few days after becoming a PMP, and then I became busy with my daily schedule. However, I always attended the local PMI chapter meetings. They gave me new insights on risk management and my interest in the area was steadily growing. So, I took it upon myself to apply for the PMI-RMP certification exam, and I began gathering information.

After equipping myself with all the knowledge I could get my hands on, I made a list of all the resources for my exam preparation. I also reviewed the lessons learned from a few PMI-RMP certification holders to get clearer picture of the exam and the resources they used.

PMP Lessons Learned: How I Passed the PMP Exam!

I passed my PMP exam on December 13, 2010, and I will share my PMP lessons learned in today’s blog post. Note: Although these are old lessons learned, it is one of the most visited posts on this blog. Therefore, I have updated this blog post with additional comments to make it more useful for…

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CommonLit 360 How to Teach a CommonLit 360 Research Unit

Olivia Franklin

Engage students with interesting research topics, teach them skills to become adept independent researchers, and help them craft their end-of-unit research papers.

CommonLit 360 is a comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6-12. Our standards-aligned units are highly engaging and develop core reading and writing skills.

Want to engage students in independent research? Looking to hook students with interesting research questions and informational texts? CommonLit has your back.

CommonLit’s 360 curriculum provides research units for grades 6-10 that will help students complete independent research and craft evidence-based research papers.

Get students excited about their research with Essential Questions designed around timely topics

Each research unit has an Essential Question that students analyze and discuss throughout the unit. The topics for each research unit are designed to be interesting, timely, and relevant to students’ lives.

Students will learn about the status of the world’s oceans, discuss if social media is beneficial or risky, argue if contact sports are worth the risk, research how branding influences purchasing behavior, and learn about the human costs of clothing.

Here are the research units and their Essential Questions:

Get students excited about the research topic with introductory slide decks

Each unit comes with introductory slide decks that preview what students will be learning about over the course of the unit. The slide decks spark classroom discussion, hooking students from the very first lesson.

In Our Changing Oceans (6th grade), students discuss what it would be like to be an oceanographer, preview the texts they will be reading about issues facing our oceans, and hear about the key skills they will be learning throughout the unit.

Informational texts anchor each research unit

CommonLit’s research units are centered around informational texts that provide students with key background information and research to eventually support their end-of-unit essay.

Four core texts make up the Essential Reading Lessons for 6th grade. These texts teach students about the need to protect Antarctica and how plastic debris, sea level rise, and overfishing are affecting the world’s oceans. These texts teach students important facts they will need to cite in their end-of-unit research papers.

Supplemental texts allow students to dig deeply into independent research

Each unit comes with a large selection of supplemental texts to provide students with more facts and information to use in their research paper.

In middle school, students use the provided supplemental texts to further inform their research. In high school, students learn about finding reliable sources and can use both provided supplemental texts on CommonLit and texts from additional sources in their research.

For example, in Our Changing Oceans, 6th graders choose to research one of three topics related to ocean changes.

In high school, students are taught about the beginning of the research process, including developing a research question, finding reliable sources, and reading and taking notes. Students in 9th and 10th grade can use the supplemental texts as well as texts found in books or on other online learning platforms.

Students learn about the research process and how to craft research papers throughout the unit

Each unit includes lessons about conducting research so students can be prepared for the end-of-unit research paper. Scaffolded supports help students move through the research process. In lower grades, certain steps in the process, like developing a research question and finding reliable sources, are provided for students.

Students learn about writing research papers during writing lessons. In 8th Grade, students learn how to discuss and outline research papers. Then, they learn how to write a counterclaim, format a Works Cited page, and use in-text citations properly. Each of these research-paper focused writing lessons will prepare students to answer the end-of-unit essay.

Students also explore how to conduct independent research in research-specific lessons. In 8th Grade, teachers explain that they have provided the first two steps of the research process for students: developing a research question and finding reliable sources.

In the lesson, students are taught how to use a graphic organizer to take notes on each text they read in preparation for their research paper. Students also engage in an Introduction to Independent Research lesson, where they learn about steps of the research process and begin reading and taking notes on supplemental texts. Later, students engage in a discussion lesson that will help them synthesize all the information they have learned throughout the unit by discussing the research question with classmates.

Related Media Explorations provide even more background information for students

Related Media Explorations are a unique cornerstone of our ELA curriculum. These interactive tasks bring our research units to life and provide background information for students to use in their research.

In 8th Grade,  students learn about the way football culture has changed over the past few decades as scientists learn more about the long-term effects of repeated concussions. Students watch three videos that explain the culture of football in the past and present, and analyze statistics about concussions before discussing the question: “Who is most responsible for shaping mindsets about tackling in football: players, coaches, parents, or fans?”

Discussion lessons help students synthesize information in preparation for their research paper

Discussion lessons in each research unit provide students with the opportunity to practice citing evidence from sources, explain their evidence to classmates, and practice synthesizing information. These conversations give students the chance to gain new perspectives, receive feedback on their ideas, and boost their confidence before delving into the research paper.

In 8th Grade, students synthesize their ideas about the research question through a class discussion. After the discussion, students have an opportunity to outline their research paper using both their discussion notes and the note-taking graphic organizer they have used throughout the unit.

Participate in an optional final project that fosters creative thinking and collaboration

Each research unit comes with an optional end-of-unit project to further engage students through project based learning. These optional projects help foster student creativity and collaboration. Students can work with a partner or group to complete the task.

In 8th grade, students must make a brochure providing prospective parents and student athletes with factual information about the benefits and risks about contact sports so families can make an informed decision about participating. Students must work with a peer with an opposing view on the topic so the brochure is factual and unbiased. This task encourages teamwork and collaboration between peers with differing views.

Vocabulary and grammar lessons build student comprehension and writing skills

Each 360 unit comes with vocabulary and grammar lessons. Vocabulary activities help students internalize high-impact academic vocabulary words they will see in the texts they are reading. Grammar activities help students improve their writing skills, teaching students valuable skills to construct carefully crafted, grammatically correct paragraphs.

Want to learn more about research units and CommonLit 360? Register for a free, 30-minute webinar today!

Interested in learning about our affordable support packages? For just $6,500 per school, School Essentials PRO Plus provides teachers with three  benchmark assessments, two unit skill assessments per 360 unit, personalized professional development, school-wide data reports, LMS integrations, and more.

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