15.7 Samples

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I have been quite frank about prior experiences that, although instructive, were not necessarily too successful. On the other hand, I have alluded to personal experiences, and, humility aside, I think I added tremendous value. Quite naturally, the tougher battlefields are far more fertile grounds for exploration from a lessons learned perspective than those where you had the sun in your face and the wind at your back. Let us try to remember what we are trying to do here. We are not looking to explain away the eye-sores anymore than we are looking to take credit for success. What we are really doing is reviewing the project just past, and asking ourselves, as well as our team, three questions:

Knowing what we now know, how should we have handled situation X to make it more in line with timelines, budgets, or expectations?
What did we do in this project, either in general or specifically, that we must keep in mind as useful strategies for future projects?
What basic assumptions can we acknowledge we made about our work that require adjustments, of any sort, as we go forward?

This last question is perhaps my favorite. As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, many people appear to recycle their experience without learning very much. The most common symptom of this lethargy is the reiteration of past project strategies with statements such as: "When we (I) did the so and so project, we did process A this way. That is how it shall be done this time." That may sound like a lessons learned approach being applied, but I would caution you against taking statements like that on face value. Ask a few questions so you can deduce whether or not the past and present situations are similar and whether the results from the past were in fact all that great. Sometimes you will find that:

What is really going on here is a power play.
What is really being said is, "I decide on how these things are done, so butt out!"

Surely, you have the rectitude to ascertain whether or not that past tactic is something you want associated with your current project. Experience and growth do not automatically equate to one another. I learned that the hard way, too. Now, it is time to wrap up this subject matter with the example promised to illustrate the points made in this chapter.

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