3 Highly Effective Tips For A Successful Project Post Mortem

A project post mortem, colloquially referred to as a ‘project retrospective,’ may be defined as a “process that has been initiated for evaluating the success (or failure) of a project's ability to meet business goals.” 

Such business related post mortems are typically conducted when the project has been concluded. They are useful tools for understanding the success (or lack of it thereof) of a project.

They may also be used at the conclusion of a specific stage of a multi-phase project. The actual term post mortem is a Latin derivative and in the literal sense means "after death." In the healthcare industry, this term is widely used to describe the examination of a cadaver so as to be able to determine the cause of death.  

Following are some tips for deriving the most out of a single or a series of ‘project post mortem’ meetings:

Have a Post Mortem for Each and Every Individual Project Regardless of Size and Outcome

Done well, project post mortems are a great accountability, learning, alignment, and teambuilding experience and serve as road side indicators to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. A great sage once stated that, ”Only a fool trips over the same stone twice.” This is where a project post mortem comes into its own.

Even with small projects, the odds are that there will be teeny tiny things that would help you increase your learning on how to do things when a bigger project is under consideration. Let us take the example of power outages. 

In a small single day project, a few minutes of a power outage would merely mean little lost time. But in a bigger project, where a client is breathing down the neck and time is critical, it might make sense to have back up power supply available.  

Another point to note is that a ‘Project post mortem” should be conducted even if the project was successful beyond the wildest dreams of the organizers. The key learning points might be used to make sure that they may be replicated in other projects as well.

Have a Pre-Planned Agenda Ready

As with all other types of meetings, a project post mortem meeting should also have a pre-defined agenda. This will help make sure that there is zero possibility of the discussion going off the tangent and thereby wasting the precious time of the participants of the meeting.

Have a Positive Mindset Beforehand

This is by far the most important tip on this list. The whole point of a project post mortem is not to degrade and humiliate team members based on what may have gone wrong, nor should a post mortem be conducted to play the ‘blame game’ and create scapegoats.  

The point of the whole process is not to score or deduct points for subsequent performance appraisal of the various subordinates and team members, but rather to help seek out constructive lessons that would be useful for future projects and their successful conclusion.

To learn more about a successful project post mortem, download The Biggest Project Mistakes to Avoid

The Pro’s and Con’s of Small Project Teams

Project post mortems are intended to give you a chance to evaluate the results of your project, consider what went well and what didn’t, and learn what you can in order to improve the results of the next project.

In our most recent project post mortem, we were struck by how much easier it was, this last time anyway, to work with a small group. Here is how we evaluated the pros and cons. Hopefully our experience will help you as you design your next project team.

Advantages

• It is easier to build collaborative relationships.
• The project leader can make connections personally to each individual in order to articulate goals and gain agreement and commitment.
• With team members handling multiple responsibilities, they have a lot more freedom to manage their wide-ranging roles.
• Regular check-ins and small meetings are handled quickly and efficiently.
• It is easier to shape a culture that suits the team. Engaged team members are excited about their work and committed to project goals.

Disadvantages

• Team members have to wear several hats at once. Accountability is more difficult to assign.
• Not all tasks can be handled by the team. You will need to outsource some work to allow your team members to do what they do best.

Perhaps the greatest “plus” is flexibility. With a small group, you can adjust course as needed with little delay or upset. If you have selected the team members for their expertise, their compatibility, their work ethic and their practice of communicating openly, you will have a team that works well together. Your job becomes quite simple: keep them on track and be available and understanding of their needs. 

Download the Top 10 Project Management Mistakes and How to Prevent Them from Destroying Your Next Project

Is There Room for a Devil’s Advocate on Your Project Team?

Much is being said these days about the importance of optimism in the building and sustaining of a positive work environment and successful project teams. But, as you approach your project post mortem, consider how the project might have been run differently (and even had a better outcome), if you had paid more attention to the devil’s advocate on the team.

We all love the optimists who believe in a rosy future. As we work together on a project team, they are the ones who cheerlead and say “yes, we can” and “why not.” These positive thinkers energize the team and keep us moving forward. We all feel good about working and planning together. 

But remember what happened when one of the project team members said, “Hold on. Wait a minute. This won’t work.” How did you react? Did you just shut down the skeptic? Were you simply too impatient to keep moving on the smooth, easy path ahead?

As you use a project post mortem to review the outcome of your recent project, also evaluate how it might have gone more smoothly if you had listened to the pessimist during the definition, planning or execution stages. You need to be aware all along of what could go wrong. You need to carefully weigh possible challenges. You need to face how the project plan could fail. You need to take a step backward when things are not going as you had hoped (a mini project post mortem) and think about how these backward steps could affect the entire success of the project in the long-term.

Every project team needs at least one person who can foresee and highlight potential obstacles to success. And every project team needs to listen when those potential problems are raised. The optimists should continue in their cheerleading mode only after they:

• Have developed strategies to prevent project problems
• Are able to plan a reasonable project budget and project timeline
• Have outlined clear-cut steps for project execution
• Have examined all risks and what to do in case of project failure

And then, they need to pay attention during project execution to the pessimist’s concerns. If issues are raised, listen to them and be sure you balance potential problems with workable solutions. 

Download the Top 10 Project Management Mistakes and How to Prevent Them from Destroying Your Next Project

Think Agile and Waterfall As Part of Your Project Post Mortem

As you convene your project post mortem team to take a look over the fence at what went right and what went wrong, it may be smart to think through your basic methodology. Was your process well chosen for and matched to the project goals and objectives?

Project post mortem experts generally acknowledge two basic project management methodologies: the waterfall model and the agile methodology. Projects and project leaders usually have a preference for one or the other. But there are pros and cons to both that could be part of the project design and execution. Often you can use a combination of both.

Waterfall Project Management Approach
In general, this project management method is linear and sequential. It cascades through steps, one after the other, from feasibility through planning and design, into the build, test, produce and maintenance phases. The difficulties in this project management model are that it is inflexible. Changes are often time consuming and difficult. You typically need all the requirements upfront and testing usually does not occur until late in the game. The pros are that the plan is clear, thoughtful, well-documented and fully fleshed out from the beginning.

Agile Project Management Approach
In general, development using the agile project management approach is highly iterative. There is far less planning upfront than the waterfall model so it allows for learning and changing requirements over time. The problems encountered are that, at least initially, the plan is less easy to understand and documentation is often neglected. The pluses are that working prototypes can be delivered faster, lessons can be learned more quickly, and changes can be incorporated along the way and even late in the development.

In your next project post mortem, try to decide if any aspects of the two methods played a role in your success or failure.  For example, was the project business case and plan good enough?  Did your project team prototype and learn and innovate fast enough?

In general, consider the waterfall approach for more static and complex projects where there are unlikely to be many changes after the project planning process. And consider Agile for those projects where multiple changes and innovations are required for project success. 

If flexibility is integral to the success of your project, choose aspects from Agile Project Management. If straightforward design and delivery is important, choose aspects from the traditional waterfall project design.

Download the Top 10 Project Management Mistakes and How to Prevent Them from Destroying Your Next Project

Stop Ignoring These 10 Project Management Attributes

Unfortunately, really good project managers seem rare. That is because as more work is being accomplished through projects and project teams, few exhibit the range of project leadership skills required to succeed. 

The best project managers are both very detail-oriented and also very politically and emotionally savvy. They have to work effectively with the numbers as well as with the people. Good project managers need to be able to harness the strengths of their team while they navigate the corporate halls to garner support from senior management, secure resources, adapt to change and keep the project moving forward at reasonable speed. A very challenging role as you can tell from so many project post mortems that point to a lack of effective project leadership as the cause of failure…

When you are either appointing a project manager or considering taking on the role yourself, here is a list of ten attributes of effective project managers based upon over 20 years of project post mortem research. Effective project managers know how to:

1. Create Project Clarity. 
   Effective project managers communicate and commit to clear project goals, roles and processes from the very beginning so project sponsors, team members, stakeholders and company leaders are on the same page.  You will know you are headed in the right direction when everyone agrees with the business case, goals, success metrics, scope, deliverables, roles and project plan.


2. Manage Project Change.
   Effective project managers evaluate requested changes in scope so they can advise stakeholders on the risks and benefits of extending the project beyond the original plan.  You know you are headed in the right direction when the project team is effectively balancing cost, quality, and time success criteria in the eyes of their key stakeholders.


3. Build a High Performance Project Team.
   Effective project managers select team members according to the skills, competencies, working styles and attitudes needed for individual and collective success.  Project success is dramatically affected by the relationships within the team and the ability to function as a cohesive unit.  It is the project leader’s job to create the project team environment required for team members learn to effectively work together to solve problems even in the face of conflict.


4. Hold People Accountable.
   Effective project managers hold themselves, the team and each team member accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities so the project can be a success.  You know you are headed in the right direction when all stakeholders believe that accountability was important and key deadlines and deliverables were met or appropriately revised to meet changed circumstances.  


5. Manage and Mitigate Project Risk.
   Effective project managers anticipate and plan for risk so they can anticipate and deal with situations that threaten the success of the project.  They utilize a clear and disciplined approach to identify, control, and reduce potential business and project problems upfront with a clear process to handle unexpected issues.  They brainstorm, identify, and prioritize potential and actual risks with key stakeholders, based upon past projects, a risk profile, and proportionate to the project schedule and project budget.


6. Utilize Scenario Planning.
   Effective project managers work with team members to come up with contingency scenarios to implement when things go awry so that they have a clear game plan when circumstances change.


7. Set and Manage Expectations.
   Effective project managers set and manage expectations with stakeholders and with team members in terms of timing, scope, quality and budget early and often.  You know you are headed in the right direction when project assumptions, costs, quality, and time parameters are being continuously reviewed and balanced to ensure that the project is on target.  


8. Ensure Appropriate Project Resources.
    Effective project managers maneuver at the highest corporate levels to secure adequate resources and support to ensure project success.  Bad project managers make unrealistic or inadequate assumptions about people’s availability or capability vis-à-vis the project visibility, importance, goals, scope, complexity or timeline.


9. Align with Key Stakeholders.
   Effective project managers keep all key stakeholders engaged throughout the process.  They identify and partner with all internal and external project stakeholders and know what “each one cares about and why.” Bad project managers are unclear who the internal and external project stakeholders are and what they care most about.


10. Communicate Up, Down and Sideways.
    Effective project managers keep in touch with upper management to advise of progress, stay close to team members who need to keep on track and maintain focus on the project at hand, and are tuned in across functions so the organization as a whole is well informed of the project’s progress and the importance of the project’s success to the business. They ensure the right people get the right information at the right time regarding their responsibilities, coordination with others, project status, and decisions.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Project Post Mortem: When the Work is Done, What Next

The project is over and already the team is beginning to disperse. Many of the project team members are ready to move on to their next assignment. But don’t let them go until you have that critical final meeting to debrief what worked and what didn’t. 

You need to evaluate the various stages of the project and ask the difficult questions. Were you in sync as a project team or were you sometimes working at cross purposes? Was the goal of the project clearly articulated and individual roles and responsibilities specifically delineated? Were you able to stay on budget and deliver on time? How flexible were you when asked to change project direction or scope by senior management? All in all, would you consider the project a success?

What we find when we facilitate project post mortems is that the success or failure of a project most often depends upon the strength of the team. Effective teams have what it takes to manage projects successfully. Sure there are unexpected circumstances that derail projects like the sudden loss of funding or a misdiagnosed risk but most obstacles to project success can be overcome if the team is a high performing one.

One of the most significant factors in a project team’s success is their level of effective communication. When the communication is unclear, spotty or ineffective, the team falls apart and so do their projects. Based upon twenty years running project post mortems, two-thirds of project team members listed ineffective communication as the number one obstacle to success. Expectations were unclear, roles were fuzzy, conflicts went unresolved, information was not shared, trust was lacking, silos were built and collaboration suffered. The picture is not a pretty one and you can see how, without their oars in sync and pulling in the same direction, the project boat would flounder and make little headway.

The second greatest barrier to success listed has been the lack of forming and kicking off the project team. At the very beginning of the project you should plan to go slow to, later, be able to go fast. Project team members need to participate in understanding the underlying business case and defining the specific goals and success metrics of the project.  Project team members need to get to know one another’s strengths, desires and weaknesses.  Project team members need to clearly establish lines of accountability and to agree upon how to solve problems and make decisions.

The bottom line? Over and over in project post mortems it becomes clear how important it is to build the foundation of a project team that communicates well, agrees on a common goal and knows how to get there. 

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

How to Best Learn from a Big Project Failure

What can you learn from a failed project? Lots.

Sometimes the most valuable aspect of a project is what you can learn from its failure. This may not be a “happy place” for the project leader but, done right, a well-designed project post mortem can help you and your key project stakeholders reduce and overcome problems on the next, and perhaps even more critical, project. 

The key to an effective project post mortem is being rigorous about asking the hard and relevant questions that will highlight exactly what went well, what went wrong and how can we do it better next time. The objective, of course, is to learn what happened and why in a way that makes sense for your business strategy and unique organizational culture. You and your team want to be smarter next time so you can bring in projects faster, smoother, better and with each and every milestone met.

Here are some guidelines for an effective project post mortem session:

1. Start at the beginning. 
What was the original business case, context and purpose of the project? So that the conversation stays on target, restate the project goals and objectives. Set the stage for some uncomfortable discussions but be clear on the reason for the post mortem exercise—avoiding the pain of making the same mistakes again.

2. Appreciate what went well.
It can be tempting, especially for engineering teams, to focus on all of the problems and mistakes.  This is a mistake.  Even brutally failed projects provide something of value in terms of what went well, what was learned, what barriers were broken and what new team members were added.  Take the time to appreciate and celebrate the bright spots—no  matter how small they may be—or  be at risk for dis-engaging your project team members.

3. Agree upon the facts – where and how badly did you fail?
Make a prioritized and agreed-upon list of the key objectives, deliverables and targets you missed.   It is difficult to identify opportunities for improvement until everyone agrees upon where and how badly you failed. 

4. Then talk about why you failed at achieving those project targets. 
Here is where you can garner some of the most value from a formal project review. Dig deep to uncover root causes in the areas of project definition, project planning, project execution and project change control. For example, if Jim and his team did not meet their delivery target, find out why. Did they not have the resources they needed in time? Did the scope change unexpectedly?  Were project constraints underestimated?  Did the project sponsor not pull their weight?  Was the plan or schedule not clear? Was the team leader up to the task?  Did Jim fail to communicate the timing to his crew?  You get the idea…have the tough and transparent discussions to uncover what happened so that you do not repeat the same mistakes.

5. Then move to the critical few lessons learned. 
What could have been done differently that would actually be implementable in your unique organizational culture? What needs to change next time that is possible? It could be as simple as sharing the schedule on SharePoint across the entire team so everyone knows their deadlines. Or Jim may need either access to more skilled employees or better leadership, communication and decision making skills. Each goal missed should have clear plans to change behaviors or planning so that the team learns how to do it better next time.

6. Finalize the session with barriers to success going forward. 
Assuming that you have agreement on what to continue doing, what to stop doing and what to start doing to better ensure project success, it is now time to rank potential barriers to success and a clear plan to overcome them.  Use this time to identify and implement only the critical few changes that have a chance for success in your unique performance environment.

It may be tempting to avoid the pain of reviewing a highly strategic, visible, political or complex project that failed. But keep the project post mortem in the context of getting better, faster, cheaper and smarter in the future.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Why Project Post Mortems Should Not Cover Up Mistakes

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.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

What Project Leaders Can Learn from Corporate Crisis Management

Maybe you didn’t even see it coming. That is often the nature of a corporate crisis. They come without warning and leaders typically have to act quickly with limited information to effectively manage the fallout. A sudden corporate disaster requires a fast and well-executed public response with clear and meaningful actions.

Just think about the challenges of a few of the better publicized corporate debacles of the last decade: the AIG bonus scandal, Walmart’s factory fire in Bangladesh, Abercrombie and Fitch CEO’s offensive comments, and Target’s data breach, to name just a few. Some organizations emerged in pretty good shape; for others, the damage is long-lasting and perhaps will never be overcome. All struggle with identifying the most effective way to handle a corporate crisis and to rescue credibility and reputation.

The strategy for recovering from a corporate crisis is not unlike handling the repercussions of a visible or important project gone sour. Here are some tips from crisis management experts that can be applied to a project post mortem to make sense of a failed project and manage better the next time:

• Assess
Take the time to look at the big picture and get a sense of what went wrong. Consult with a respected person who can be objective. Talk as well with all stakeholders to get their feedback. Share the input with your project team. Figure out together where you slipped up. Was it in the project definition stage around goals, business case, success metrics, sponsors, stakeholders, roles, resources or communication?  Was it in the project planning stage where you were over-optimistic or not detailed enough in the areas of risk management, planning, scheduling, or resourcing? Was it in the project execution phase in the areas of project kickoff, problem solving, conflict resolution, continuous improvement, rewards and recognition, meetings, accountability, trust, communication, change management or measurement?  

• Plan 
Create a smart plan for improvement. Coming clean early on and proposing a fix-it plan that aligns with your company values is the only strategy that really works. AIG tried to sidestep the issue, Walmart put in place a weaker safety plan than the European accord, and A&F hoped the negative comments would be forgotten. None of these strategies worked very well. Only Target’s strategy of transparency seems to have been the right move. Experts say the same thing whether for crisis management or for repair of the team after a failed project: acknowledge, assess, plan and act.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate
To recoup your credibility and reputation, communicate your plan to all stakeholders and follow through on the changes needed. Be accountable going forward. Answer questions openly and honestly. If you hide, suspicions will be raised about your sincerity. Let people know what you know, what you do not know and when you will be able to fill in the gaps.

The advantage of a project post mortem over crisis management is that:

1. You have more time to reflect with your team and think through what you might have done better and 
2. You have more control over making the improvements next time. 

Whether handling corporate crises or healing the wounds of a failed project, the steps to recovery are similar: gather input, set up a strategy for improvement, stay on message and follow through on your commitments.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

3 Conflict Management Tips for High Performing Project Teams

The usual tip from project post mortems for successful projects is to assemble a team that is collaborative, communicates well with one another, and agrees upon the project goals and objectives. Sounds good, right? Our two decades of experience managing projects leads us to agree…but just to a point. We believe you can sometimes have too much of a good thing. Our contention? When the team thinks so much alike that they suffer from group think and do not allow conflict, project performance can suffer.

The negative effects of so-called group think are that innovation is stifled as dissenters are silenced by peer pressure, as complacency rules, and as your top talent flees because their differing perspectives are not seriously considered. None of these results are good for project success. In fact, when there is not the kind of open communication and discussion where healthy conflict is encouraged, it becomes harder for anyone to question the progress of the project and eventually for anyone to really care about the outcome.

For projects to succeed, you need a team that is open to challenging questions, considers all points of view, welcomes new ideas, responds well to change as needed, and encourages the learning and growth of the project team. In other words, you want a project team that does not avoid conflict but knows how to effectively manage it. 

Here are tips on handling conflict in a way that strengthens, not weakens, the project team:

1. Encourage differing opinions. 
Every project team meeting should have a time and space where questions about, and challenges to, the established project path are encouraged. How else are you going to be able to foresee problems and put out fires before they ignite?

2. Agree on what final success looks like.
As points of disagreement arise, make sure everyone keeps in mind the end picture of project success. All project team members should have the same goal. It’s just the path to get there that may be in dispute.

3. Decide which disagreements matter.
Not all points of contention are worth discussing. The only ones that matter are those that drive toward project goals. Don’t worry or waste time on small conflicts. They will be ironed out in due time as you handle the more significant issues and the project moves forward.

The bottom line? Not all conflict is bad. Sometimes conflict, even on the same team, can be a healthy reflection of a group that is open to questions, innovation and learning.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Project Post Mortem: When To Say NO

When you look back and evaluate how well your team dealt with a difficult project, consider this: what if you had said “no” more often? Would things have gone more efficiently or more smoothly?  A recent client lamented during their project post mortem session that a simple “NO” 6 weeks into the project would have saved them two years, $18 million and at least five careers.

There’s never enough time to satisfy every internal and external project stakeholder.  There is never enough time to “do everything.” So what do you do? You prioritize. This makes sense. You want to get the urgent/important tasks taken care of first. But what if you had taken an additional step and crossed some items off the list entirely? What if you had ignored those tasks that did not reach a reasonable level of importance, implementability or relevance?

Think carefully about what you would have gained in time, resources and team morale if you had done some triage upfront and eliminated extraneous steps and requirements. Just because they were on your project plan doesn’t mean they deserve equal time and attention. Before you slavishly struggle to complete every single one of the tasks on your list, make sure there’s a darn good reason not to ignore it. Make sure you know when a “no” would make your life easier, your efforts more productive, and the project a greater success.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

3 Critical Ingredients for Success When Your Project Team Is All Over the Map

When your project team is virtual, spread across the globe geographically and culturally diverse, you need to be very thoughtful about who you invite to join the team. Over and above the specific talents of the team members you need to carry out the project successfully, it takes a special array of skills to work well remotely, especially when various cultures are involved. 

Effective remote team members need to be especially:

1. Adept at communication. They should be able to express themselves clearly, simply and speedily. Clarity matters when different languages are spoken on the team; simplicity matters so the main points are not muddled by unnecessary details; speed matters when you must work efficiently across time zones.
   
2. Independent and comfortable with ambiguity. Because they are isolated from others on the team, they cannot easily or quickly get questions answered or issues solved; they need to be able to operate and problem-solve on their own.
   
3. Skilled at building relationships virtually. Since team members cannot meet at the proverbial water fountain, they need to make their connections via phone and email. The team, even though virtual, should have an identity and a feeling of working together toward a common goal. This requires being able to engage others with ease.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Reframing Project Failure So You Can Quickly Learn and Improve

Failing on an important and visible project hurts—it can hurt a lot—but not all failure is bad. In fact, failure is an integral part of the learning and development process. You learn by adjusting to each little glitch and incorporating those lessons into your project definition, planning, organizing and controlling for future projects. The key is to reframe the way you think about failure and the steps you take to adjust to it.

Perhaps no better proving ground of the value of failure is in an effective project post mortem. Done well, project post mortems inform important ways to improve future projects by evaluating key aspects of the immediate past project’s successes and failures. Done right, any failures are accepted and examined as a team with the understanding that failures, big or small, good or bad, are inevitable.

Here are some positive ways to reframe project failure:

• Think ahead.  Anticipate and plan for various scenarios based upon your current business strategy, organizational culture and project team dynamics.  The future is uncertain but the more we can predict it, the less we will experience unexpected failures.
  
• Include the Team.  Engage project team members as problem solvers by acknowledging and uncovering obstacles you can anticipate and how their ideas and actions can help overcome them.
  
• Strive to Learn.  Encourage the idea of being smart about failures so lessons learned are passed along in what should be a culture of continuous learning.  Make sure that your level of innovation, risk taking and learning mindset matches the project sponsor’s risk tolerance.
  

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

How to Successfully Transition Once the Project is Over

The project was all consuming. You never had a moment to imagine what it would feel like when it ended. Now it has. You just completed the project post mortem meeting and the team has dispersed. But what you didn’t cover was what do you do now?

Here are a few tips on how to transition from a major achievement back to your job as usual:

• Take time to reflect on what is ahead. You will likely have a huge pile of work that accumulated while you were focused on the more important project. Understand you will feel a bit of a let- down. Rather than be overwhelmed by the backlog, make a list of priorities. What is most urgent and important?
  
• Expect a shift in pace. This is your chance to treat yourself a bit more gently. The project kept you going non-stop. Remember how to take a break, get some exercise, enjoy time with friends and family, and get some balance back in your life.
  
• Look to the future.  Use the less frenetic pace to consider what you want to tackle next. You have proven your ability to deliver. Now is your opportunity to choose the next big challenge.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

What Your Project Team Can Learn from Weight Watchers

According to CBS News, over 40 million Americans spend up to $2 billion a year on weight loss programs.  That is big dollars for an industry with minimal scientific research to back the efficacy or safety of their programs.

Weight Watchers seems to be the exception.  Their study, one of the most rigorous of a commercial weight loss program, showed that half of all dieters who reached their goal weight through Weight Watchers were still at least 5% lighter after five years.  According to doctors, that is a big deal in the world of weight loss.

One of the attributes that jumped out to our project post mortem experts was Weight Watchers’ ability to help others set and achieve difficult and elusive goals.  Their proven methodology includes four attributes that can be easily applied to your next project:

1. Visibility and Accountability.  Sharing goals with people who care raises the performance pressure and odds for success. Don’t keep your goals a secret. The more public your plan, the more realistic and accountable you will be.
2. Set Clear and Achievable Actions.  Establishing an implementable step-by-step plan for action is a necessity. What will it take to realistically achieve your project goals? Be clear and specific about both success and failure so there is no waffling when things get tough – and they will get tough.
3. Garner Supporters. Make sure you have backing from the key internal and external stakeholders who matter most. Identify and recruit effective project sponsors, champions, influencers and advocates who can provide the advice, air cover and resources you need to succeed.
4. Set Clear Milestones and Celebrate Them Along the Way. Some projects reach too far into the future to create the important feeling that you are making positive progress. Be sure to set, measure and celebrate important benchmarks along the way to know that you are on the right path while keeping you and the team engaged.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

4 Lessons from an Overly Committed Project Manager

Have you ever found yourself so personally and professionally invested in a failing project that you were not willing to read the writing on the wall? 

It’s so hard to let go of a project that has taken so much of your time and energy and to which you were totally committed. But things change. There are times when it is less costly to let go and move in another direction. 

It is sometimes difficult to cut off a project midstream. And yet it is important to realistically assess whether to continue or to recognize that the project value has been lost. Here are four tips:

1. Create Upfront Guidelines: It is best if you can create guidelines for when to fish or cut bait at the beginning as you design the project.
2. Ask the Tough Questions: If that’s not been done, you need to ask difficult questions and be truthful in your answers. Is there a financial upside? Can our competitors do it better? Is there still a market need? 
3. Get Objective Insights:  If you’re having trouble facing the truth, involve some objective outsiders.
4. Run a Project Post Mortem:  And finally, if you decide to call it quits, you, your team and your company will benefit from a project post mortem to identify what you learned along the way that can be applied to the next project that comes along.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Project Failure Should Be the First Step to Project Success

This project post mortem article has been moved to: http://lsaglobal.com/blog/project-failure-should-be-the-first-step-to-project-success/

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

What to Do When Project Parameters Shift – STOP!

This project post mortem post has been moved to: http://lsaglobal.com/blog/number-one-project-management-skill-stop/

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

The Value of a Project Review

Even if your project was far more successful than the botched-up chemistry experiment above, there is much to be learned from a project post mortem.

Do not dismiss your project team until you have convened and reviewed what went right and what went wrong. Otherwise you are liable to repeat the same mistakes and reinvent the wheel. This is your chance to evaluate and improve.

Encourage all project team participants to weigh in during the project post mortem. What challenges (e.g., lack of resources, wavering executive support, timing issues, conflict on the team) did they encounter? Were they fully resolved? The focus should be on improving future projects, not pointing fingers. What best practices should be an integral part of upcoming projects? What problems can you avoid next time?

Consider that you as project team leader might not be the best to solicit open, honest feedback. Perhaps it would be advisable to hire an objective third party to design and facilitate the discussion. Remember, this is your unique opportunity to realistically assess the success of the project and learn from any missteps so that the next project goes more smoothly.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/

Don’t Leave the Success of Your Project Up to Chance – 3 Underappreciated Roles to Consider

Your project is too important to leave its success up to chance. Remember what you learned at the last project post mortem? That if only you had spent a little more time up front in project definition and planning, you could have avoided those unfortunate missteps.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of setting out a clear project plan is defining the role(s) each team member will play. The most common role is that of Project Manager. This is the person who is ultimately responsible for project success…who must confirm the business case and metrics for success, build a timeline, set stakeholder expectations and hold team members accountable for delivering a quality job on time and on budget. Most important projects have a clear project manager assigned to them.

Regardless of the type and even the scope of the project however, you will most likely need to assign the following underutilized responsibilities to ensure project success:

1. Facilitator
   This role manages stakeholder expectations by providing the two-way communication link between project team members and project stakeholders…keeping everyone apprised of progress and problems.
   
   
2. Job Specialists
   These are the people who have the special skills needed to accomplish specific project goals. They should be very clear on what is expected of them, when their contributions are needed and why they are an important member of the team.
   
   
3. Scribe
   Someone on the team needs to keep track of meetings, agendas, decisions made, action steps agreed upon, etc. This person provides critical transparency and accountability among project team members.
   

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/project-post-mortem-training-consulting/