Project Post Mortems

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What is a Project Post-Mortem?

  • A “look-back” from a specific project or course of action
  • Occurs after the fact
  • Documents lessons-learned for use in similar future circumstances
  • Compares expected results with actual results
3 Types of Post-Project Mortems
  • A full, comprehensive project post mortem for the project or action
  • Bundle the project with other similar ones and debrief together
  • No post project review will occur, but it will be a conscious decision rather than just not getting it done

Benefits of a Project Post-Mortem

  • Documents the wisdom gained through experience, and what could be done differently next time
  • Understand why things went well (or not), and why
  • A form of structured feedback
  • Improves communication

How to Conduct a Project Post Mortem

  1. Decide on scope and who should participate
  2. Establish ground rules, and meeting roles
  3. Conduct Gap Analysis
    • Review expected performance or results
    • Document actual performance or results
  4. Document action items arising as a result of the PPM

Questions to Ask at a Project Post-Mortem

  • What are the KPIs for this project?
  • Where the requirements and goals of this project clear at the beginning?
  • Did we achieve the business objective?
  • What went better than expected?
  • What did not go as well as expected?
  • How were specific problems overcome?
  • What changes would be made if we were to do this project over?
  • Which process or methods caused frustration?
  • What specific tools or techniques were useful on this project?
  • Next time we need more/better involvement from…?
  • Does a smaller group need to go offline and evaluate parts of this project further?

Tips for a Successful Project Post Mortem

  • Do it as soon as possible after the conclusion of the project or action
  • Do not assign blame, but rather focus the intent on learning
  • Talk about team performance
  • Keep the discussion focused, and do not allow digression to related issues
  • Look for an 80% solution

3 Things to Remember about Project Post Mortems

  1. Don’t let the project post-mortem become bigger than the project it was meant to assess
  2. Take the time to do it well
  3. Make it a learning exercise – don’t make it about personal blame

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