Case Study: Failing to learn from the past, guarantees failure today.
The Situation:
During a regular review, APRA commented on inconsistencies in post implementation reviews and recommended enhancing project methodology. Although the project management methodology included guidelines for a Post Implementation Review (PIR) it was treated as optional with little funding or political will.
Project managers and sponsors were keen to move on before blame was attributed and every new project was seen as unique.
A call went out for volunteers to join a working group drawing together interested project and Project Management Office (PMO) managers from across business units and IT groups. All had stories to tell about project success, failure and review reports gathering dust.
Lessons were being learned by individuals but projects repeated mistakes. The problem was not how to do a PIR but how to make them happen, get people talking and the organisation learning from them. Repeating mistakes costs more than money.
A call went out for volunteers to join a working group drawing together interested project and Project Management Office (PMO) managers from across business units and IT groups. All had stories to tell about project success, failure and review reports gathering dust.
Our Solution:
A robust Post Implementation Review (PIR) process to capture lessons learnt was published and adopted by the working group I had facilitated. I introduced a central repository for PIRs, included highlights in a monthly e-newsletter, helped conduct PIRs and held breakfast project management networking sessions where project managers talked openly about their projects and their learning.
The Results:
They surpassed the Regulator’s requirements and provided a new networking opportunity for contract and permanent project managers.