What are the best practices for conducting a post-project review?

I always recommend building a “next time” list of key things to do differently or in addition that were missed during the project being reviewed.

When conducting a post-project review, begin by precisely defining its purpose and scope. Move beyond the routine analysis of what went right or wrong. Instead, focus on uncovering valuable insights, not just for the current project but for future endeavors as well. Consider the broader implications for your team, organization, and industry. By framing the review as a strategic learning opportunity rather than a mere assessment, you'll encourage deeper reflection and innovation, ensuring that each project contributes to continuous improvement and growth.

Key to a successful Post-Project Review (PPR) is starting with clear KPIs aligned with project objectives. This ensures focused, measurable outcomes. Equally vital is assessing team dynamics: How effectively did the team collaborate? Did Agile methodologies enhance flexibility and responsiveness? Using a blend of surveys and interactive workshops can offer diverse insights into these aspects, enriching the review process. Ultimately, documenting these findings not only helps in recognizing achievements but also paves the way for continual improvement in future projects.

Working on the timing is even more important than defining the purpose and scope. A post-project review (PPR) should occur within a week of delivery. Otherwise, knowledge begins to dissipate among the team members, and recalling all the information, if they didn't take notes, becomes increasingly challenging.

After completing any project, PPR is vital. This allows us to acknowledge successes, analyze challenges, and evaluate our project management processes. By gleaning insights from this reflection, we can fine-tune our strategies for upcoming projects.

when performing a PPR I review the received responses (Highlighting those out of range), and have them analyzed, and matched to our expectations. the following steps will definitely vary according to the situation.

In my experience, participants must have the full vision and objective, in addition to futuristic probabilities. accordingly, we should have brainstorming sessions in preparation for the real brief, so the team has the feeling of ownership of its own set objective and believes in the rationale behind each and every step, this would guarantee the maximum level of quality and integrity.

How can you prepare participants in order to have a productive and constructive PPR? ?Communicate PPR purpose, format, and goals clearly. ?Encourage participants to reflect on both positives and areas for improvement. ?Provide guidelines for preparing constructive feedback. ?Establish easy-to-use feedback channels. ?Stress the importance of honest, respectful feedback. ?Share relevant conference data and materials. Explain the facilitation plan and encourage active participation. ?Document PPR findings for future reference. ?Outline follow-up actions based on feedback. ?Show appreciation and acknowledge participant contributions.

Make a list of pain points that needed to be addressed during the project and collate those with Solutions given during the project .This should be a reference for the next project if similar situation plus add these in the checklist.

To prepare participants for an event, workshop, or meeting, effective communication is key. Provide clear details about the event's purpose, agenda, date, time, and location. Share materials, resources, and any prerequisites. Outline the objectives and any pre-event tasks. Communicate logistics, such as venue and parking information, and any technology or tools required. Encourage questions and clarifications and set expectations for engagement. If relevant, provide participant profiles and establish a feedback mechanism. Offer a support contact, and send a reminder closer to the event, asking for confirmation. Thorough preparation enhances engagement and ensures a successful outcome.

Lots of great points here! I would add that by cultivating a culture of constant improvement, I've experienced greater engagement. When everyone knows in advance that their contribution to Post Project Reviews are an integral part of the project management process more detailed information is kept along the way. Leveraging digital tools in the process that can report on wins, delays & risks, in real time, are more efficient than relying on memory after the fact.

It’s not easy to have all the participants to take time and share their thoughts, especially the customers. The way to achieve it is to let customers feel and believe you’re their long term partner and try to help them succeed.

To conduct an effective Performance and Progress Review (PPR): 1. Prepare: Gather relevant data and documents. 2. Set the Stage: Schedule a private, distraction-free meeting. 3. Self-Review: Encourage self-assessment. 4. Collect Feedback: Gather input from peers and supervisors. 5. Discussion: Discuss self-assessment, feedback, and performance metrics. 6. Goal Setting: Collaboratively set SMART goals. 7. Development Plan: Create a plan to address areas for improvement and achieve goals. 8. Action Items: Document responsibilities and timelines. 9. Documentation: Keep records for reference. 10. Feedback and Follow-Up: Provide regular feedback and check progress.

There are four key questions to answer in any PPR: - What did we expect? - What are the outcomes? - What went well and why? - What can we improve and how? By answering these questions, the issues related to the complete project will be investigated and you will understand how to improve the weak points anf focus on strengths.

After preparing the participants and getting them ready, you will need to provide a facilitator or external person to conduct the PPR to have a better transparency and outcome from the project. You may use and of these techniques: - Workshops - Interviews - Focus groups Or any other techniques that would be helpful based on stakeholders.

let all project participants to share the main lessons, how to develop it, take their feedback seriously then analyze. for example, one company doing lab testing business and they have an issue with sampling collection schedule due to many numbers of clients normally they are doing contract and it renewed yearly. and the value is very less moreover service consuming too much time , all team members are contributed in many insights how to improve the next contract after PPR , we discover that we can make portal to engage the client to book his service time by himself and we discuss the plan of back support to save the time reviewing the scope to improve the service will save time and money too PPR is responsibility of all people, leader

To analyze the results effectively, involve the right team members who were part of the project. Focus on data and metrics, assess successes and challenges, and encourage discussions on team dynamics and client feedback. Summarize key takeaways and insights, and implement changes based on the findings to improve future project outcomes. The key is to set specific, actionable goals to ensure that the lessons learned are applied effectively in your future strategies and processes, contributing to continuous improvement.

1. Identify Lessons Learned: Identify and document key lessons learned from the project. Highlight both positive experiences and challenges faced. These lessons can inform future projects and contribute to organizational learning. 2. Share Findings: Prepare a comprehensive post-project review report that summarizes the findings, recommendations, and lessons learned. Share the report with relevant stakeholders, including project team members, sponsors, and decision-makers.

Analyzing results involves collecting, cleaning, and organizing data. For quantitative data, use statistical techniques; for qualitative data, employ content analysis. Compare data across groups or time periods and visualize it with charts and graphs. Benchmarking can provide context. Detect anomalies and perform root cause analysis if challenges arise. Interpret the results to draw insights, and identify actionable recommendations. Share findings with stakeholders and use insights for continuous improvement and informed decision-making. This structured approach ensures data translates into valuable insights.

Data Review: Examine the collected data, feedback, and observations from the PPR to identify trends, recurring issues, and notable successes. Root Cause Analysis: Determine the underlying causes of any problems or challenges encountered during the project. Benchmarking: Compare project outcomes to initial objectives and industry standards to assess performance. Prioritization: Prioritize the identified areas for improvement or lessons learned based on their significance and potential impact.

When it comes to reporting and following up, both have actually huge weight to any activity, because new projects or expansions could be a result of a well-structured move\activity. At the same time if talking about the current activity it provides insightful quantitative data for futuristic movements. One more quality in reporting is being understood and directed to each and every stakeholder.

A lot of people consider this a “tick box” exercise, demonstrate commitment through follow-up until closure. Such reviews can be very helpful to build continuous improvement culture.

Keep detailed notes of the discussion, and record action items and recommendations for improvement. Ensure that action items are tracked, monitored, and implemented in future projects.

Sharing the report is important, but commonly these reports are then "left on the shelf". The real value of a PPR is using the outputs to effectively plan future projects to improve the odds of success.

All participants should have and take the opportunity to submit detailed feedback in writing with the opportunity as well to address comments shared. The report should include summaries of key limitations as well in order to set the overall context for eventual findings.

Based on my past experience, parties tend to shy away from sharing their 'past mistakes' in a project. I opine that Client (or PM within a company setting) will need to drive this process by building trust at the onset of the project. When the time come, organise the session in a small group involving key stakeholders only - those who were involved actively in the project from the start and mature enough to handle the conversation on this topic.

It is extremely important for the team to understand that a post—project review is about fine-tuning and amplifying process, not about the individuals involved in said process. So, if corrections need to be made in order to make the process better, for future projects, learned the current post process review, the lessons learned are not about the individuals involved but is about the entire project process; completed for client success moving forward.

It is also important to have a clear overview of what the success factors were established to be - and perhaps how these have evolved. Measuring against metrics is key for factual and meaningful post project reviews. Data collected should also be formally collected and stored in a shared database to ensure it is utilised in the future.

?? What do you think about selling on your existing relationships with negative & positive sides as BusinessDevelopment ? Positive Sides ? Trust and Credibility: Leveraging existing relationships builds on trust and credibility, making the process smoother and effective. ? Lower Cost of Acquisition: It's a cost-effective strategy, requiring fewer resources than acquiring new customers through marketing. ?? Repeat Business and Referrals Negative Sides ? Limited Reach: Relying solely on existing relationships may limit your potential customer base, particularly ? Complacency and Stagnation: Overreliance on existing relationships can lead to complacency and hinder business growth and innovation. ? Competitive Disadvantage

Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Post project reviews helps us learn, adapt and evolve as individuals and as an organization. But some avoid it to avoid criticism. Don’t avoid it but prepare for it.