THE RECKONING

We humans have short memories; and there is nothing more easily forgotten than the experiences learned on a project. If it was a bad project we want to blot out those awful memories, while if it was a good one, we are euphoric and just want to take on something bigger and better. Pause just for a short while. Look back over a project and ask yourself questions like the following:

• Did you end up exactly where you said you would, or was the goal achieved different from the goal predicted ? Where did it change? Were you aware that it had?

Document how your estimates turned out against what actually happened :

• What did you do right and wrong, particularly with regard to people? What mistakes did you make? Were there things that just couldn't have been done better? If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

• What surprises occurred? What things did you not anticipate?

• Did you have to eat into your margin for error? Did you have problems with people's expectations? Did you have to actually go to your fallback position? What lessons do these hold for the future?

Write down the answers to these and questions like them, and have them there beside you when you set out to plan the next project.