For a project post mortem to be worthwhile, mistakes should be highlighted, not erased.
If the purpose of the post mortem exercise is to learn and do better next time, you need to understand not only what went right but, sometimes more importantly, what went wrong. Learning and improving is the whole point. Celebrate and reinforce the victories and learn from the mistakes that were made so they won’t be repeated in the future. And yet highlighting mistakes can be difficult and painful…especially in company cultures where employees are afraid of unfair retribution, fearful of blame or overly sensitive to positional hierarchy.
More often than not, problems with projects are associated with poor communication in settings where openness is not valued and the repercussions of pointing out a failure along the way are too severe. Sometimes the lack of communication can have tragic results.
A study was published in 1996 by Rebecca Chute of San Jose State University and NASA along with Earl L. Wiener of the University of Miami. They followed up on an 1989 Air Ontario crash that was caused by too much ice on the wings. A flight attendant had noticed snow on the wings but did not advise the pilot because:
1. Operational concerns were not her role
2. She had faith in the pilot’s training and awareness of all situations
3. Pilots in the past had been unresponsive to crew members’ reports
4. She had been made to feel “stupid” when relating potential safety concerns
The paper went on to examine the separate organizational cultures at work between cockpit and cabin crews and the social psychology behind the lack of communication of what could have been a life-saving message. The important lesson to carry forward is that when safety is a concern, the vital information must be passed along to those who can do something about it.
In a less critical setting, important information about a possible failure or roadblock during a project’s life should be passed along to project leaders. No one should be made to feel “stupid” for making a mistake or for reporting one. If the project continues without adjusting to the warning, it could completely derail. For example, during a recent project post mortem session at a technology client, the project sponsor was aghast to learn that a $15m mistake could have been easily avoided if the project team felt more comfortable voicing their concerns during the project planning phase.
The message to project leaders and team members is that open and frequent communication can make the difference between project failure and success. Make sure you establish an environment where mistakes become opportunities to learn, not opportunities to place blame or censure. You will know your project communication is on the right track when project team members believe that:
• Communication among project stakeholders is very good.
• Communication is good throughout our project team.
• Leadership has communicated a project vision that is motivating.
• They are well informed about issues.
• They have enough information and resources to do their job well.
• Project leadership listens to and takes project team member ideas seriously.
• Feedback to project leadership is well received and followed up on.
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