Context
ℹ Please remember this document template is just a suggestion; every business and organisation will have different documentation standards and expectations of their business analysts, so only use the templates that will help you drive value in your role. There are no formal “standards” across the Business Analyst profession, and this is merely a starting point to help you get started. We recommend, suggest and implore you to edit, modify, delete, add, substitute and otherwise re-work this to provide value. The commentary/advice highlighted in <italic blue like so> is designed to help you fill out the documentation, and SHOULD BE DELETED BEFORE DISTRIBUTION INTERNALLY!
This document is used to capture the lessons learned from projects, with the intent to inform future projects in a similar nature.
It requires input from other team members and leads to include all the details.
Template
File download (via link or button)
Text copy
Understandably downloading a file off the internet has a myriad of risks, so we provide a text version that you can simply highlight, copy (Ctrl+C) & paste (Ctrl+V) into your application of choice to use further. If using Microsoft Word, you may wish to use the “Merge Formatting” option.
📃 Click the expander below to view the full template.
Project Lessons Learned Report
Document Control
Summary of Document Changes
Version | Date | Author | Reason |
Quality Assurance
Version | Date | Reviewer |
Document Approver
Name | Date | Signature |
Project Summary Information
Project Name | |
Project ID | |
Project Description | |
Project Sponsor | |
Project Manager | |
Branch/Department/Business Unit |
Introduction
Purpose of the document
<The purpose of the Lessons Learned Report is to pass on any lessons that may be usefully applied to other projects at your org. This report was completed following consultation with <the Project Management team, Project Stakeholders and Vendors>.
Intended Audience
The intended audience for this document is the <insert team>, Project Management Office and <org> Stakeholders.
Report Format
For this report, lessons learned are divided into the following categories:
▪ What worked well
▪ Could be done better
▪ General Observations
▪ Key Recommendations/takeaway points
Stakeholders Consulted
Role | Name |
---|---|
<Insert a row for each stakeholder consulted> | |
Summary of Key Lessons Learned
What worked well
<Consider the following areas:
▪ Project Resourcing
▪ Planning and Budgets
▪ Stakeholder Management and Communication
▪ Project Governance
▪ Financial
▪ Vendor Management
▪ Technical Solution
▪ Testing
▪ Change Management
The table format is useful but not mandatory, delete if you prefer to list the lessons learned in a different way>
Area | Things that could be done better |
---|---|
Project Resources – the team | |
Project Scope | |
Project Planning and Budgets | |
Stakeholder Management and Communication | |
Project Governance | |
Market Engagement | |
Tools and Techniques | |
Technical Solution |
What could be done better
<Consider the following areas:
▪ Project Resourcing
▪ Planning and Budgets
▪ Stakeholder Management and Communication
▪ Project Governance
▪ Financial
▪ Vendor Management
▪ Technical Solution
▪ Testing
▪ Change Management>
Area | Things that could be done better |
---|---|
Project Resources – the team | |
Project Scope | |
Project Planning and Budgets | |
Stakeholder Management and Communication | |
Project Governance | |
Market Engagement | |
Tools and Techniques | |
Technical Solution |
General Observations
<Record any General Observations relevant to the Lessons Learned or delete this sub section>
Key Recommendations
<It can be useful to insert a table here>
Abnormal Events
<List or delete this section if not applicable>
Follow On Actions
Follow on Actions | Owner |
---|---|
References
The following documents were referenced and provide background to the project.
Document Name | File location |
---|---|
We create and share this content to help give back to the community, and give aspiring Business Analysts the guidance we wish we had when we started out.
Please remember you can join the conversation or suggest other topics at any time over in the Business Analysis Space Discord. We welcome any feedback on this or any other posts via email or via the Discord. If this content has helped you or you just appreciate the goal, you can help by sharing our site with your networks or consider donating to our hosting costs.
Contributions & authored by:
Stefan Carton
This content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International with full rights to original listed authors & contributors. The opinions expressed within the content above are solely of the respective authors and contributors, and may not reflect the opinions and beliefs of their respective employers/organisations, other writers on this site or website affiliates.
Updated: 2/08/2022