Template
Lessons learned meeting template
At the end of a project: what to do again, what never to do again, and where those lessons will be kept so the next project finds them.
The agenda, with a time for each part
- What we set out to do, and what happened8 min
- Did we finish what we said, when we said, for what we said?
- What went well12 min
- What should the next project copy exactly?
- What went badly15 min
- Where did we lose the most time?
- What did we know early and act on late?
- What we would do differently12 min
- If we started again on Monday, what would we change first?
- Where the lessons go8 min
- Who needs to read this, and where will they find it?
- Thanks5 min
- Whose work made the difference?
How the notes read afterwards
A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.
What happened. Delivered five weeks late, on budget.
Went badly. The supplier's data arrived in the wrong format twice; three weeks lost.
Differently. Ask for a sample file before the contract is signed.
Where it goes. The checklist for starting a project. Noah adds it this week.
Running it well
- Hold it within two weeks of finishing. After that, people remember the ending and forget the middle.
- A lesson nobody can find is a lesson lost. Decide where it lives before you leave the room.
Ways to change it
When to skip it. When the same team has held retrospectives all the way through. Collect those into one page instead.
Questions
What is a lessons learned meeting?
A meeting at the end of a project where the team records what went well, what went badly, and what the next project should do differently.
What is the difference between a retrospective and lessons learned?
A retrospective happens every few weeks and changes how the same team works next. Lessons learned happens once, at the end, and is written for other teams.
What happens in the room
Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.
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