Project Post Mortem Training Retrospective: Closure, Lessons Learned & Application

project post mortem retrospective

How to improve before, during and after projects

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“We hired LSA to design and deliver a Project Post Mortem and Retrospective for 65 key people on a critical project with a very tight turnaround. The objective was to get agreement on the key actions that we should implement going forward to ensure that the rest of our project was a success.

It was not an easy task with so many skeptical people with different agendas, styles, experiences, and perspectives.  LSA got to the heart of the issues in a constructive and unbiased manner that exceeded my expectations.”
Darrell Gallagher | Head of Studio | Crystal Dynamics

“LSA recently designed and delivered a project post mortem for a highly strategic project with a group of 25 team members from engineering, design, marketing, product management, sales, manufacturing, purchasing, business development, research, and finance. The pre-workshop diagnostic, interviews, and experiential session greatly exceeded our expectations.

We were able to honestly and effectively get everything out on the table, agree upon key lessons, and create a targeted action plan that made sense for our unique situation, team, and culture. The whole process made a very complex and potentially political situation a big success. We could not have done the retrospective without LSA.”
Eric Vernon | Director of Operations | Dolby Laboratories

Project Post Mortem and Retrospective Description
Research suggests that up to 75% of projects fail to meet original expectations or success criteria.  In our minds, that failure rate is unacceptable.

Our experience, backed up by research conducted by the Wharton School, Cornell, and the University of Colorado, shows that spending a little bit of time to take stock before, throughout, and at the end of a project can pay big dividends by increasing the ability to correctly identify reasons for future outcomes by almost one-third.

Our customized LSA Project Post Mortem, which is often combined with our Principles of Project Management Workshop and a customized Project Best Practices Diagnostic, is based upon multi-industry project management best practices and research.  The pinpoint results provide targeted recommendations for success by helping project leaders and teams to:

  • Kick-off projects with the confidence that they are set up to succeed
  • Agree upon the current situation and clarify project status
  • Feel heard and come to closure as individuals and as a project team
  • Apply project best practices to determine key takeaways and targeted areas of improvement
  • Identify and manage project risks before, during, and after projects
  • Recalibrate, determine areas of focus, and identify specific next steps
  • Implement proven solutions that will work for your specific project, culture, and situation

Whether project team specific or including a 360 degree project stakeholder view, this proven project post mortem evaluates three key project success areas and 27 key performance indicators:

I.  Project Definition: Laying out the foundation for a successful project.

II.  Project Planning: Organizing and planning in a way to succeed the first time.

  • Project Risk Management Planning
  • Project Risk Identification
  • Project Plan
  • Project Support
  • Project Schedule
  • Project Resources
  • Project Balance of Cost, Quality, and Time

 III.  Project Execution: Executing the plan effectively and efficiently.

Target Audience
Anyone who is managing a project, sponsoring a project, starting a project, or completing a project.  Valuable tool for project kickoff, project check-ins, and project post-mortem.

To speak with an LSA Expert and learn about the Project Post Mortem Management Training and Consulting customization and Project Retrospective delivery options onsite at your company, please contact us.

Related Information

The project management training program was fantastic. It could not have gone any better.  It was extremely helpful to me as a manager to be strategic during a time of explosive growth and change. It was fully customized to our industry and our needs, everyone came out of it with a solid direction of next steps.  We are excited to take the next steps with LSA Global and to implement the project management best practices in a way that works for our unique culture.

Karen M. Inzilla
Director, Sales Operations

Blackhawk Network

We recently designed and implemented two high value Project Management Workshops with LSA. The goal was to improve the fundamental project management skills for less experienced project managers and team members and to prepare our experienced project managers to become PMP certified. The programs were very well received and additional sessions have been requested. Both facilitators were excellent, building strong rapport with our scientists and taking time to encourage & answer questions. Based upon the results and the feedback around the company, the next workshops are already full. I highly recommend LSA to any company looking to take their project management skills to the next level.

Stacey Porter
Senior Manager Learning & Development

Roche

LSA’s Project Management facilitator is one of the best I have ever worked with. His efforts and work in teaching complex and intensive Project Management principles across all levels and backgrounds within our organization have been of the highest value.

Leslie Guzman
Learning and Development

Roche

We have found LSA to be highly responsive to meeting our unique project management training program needs. Their passion for high levels of customer satisfaction and quality align very closely with our core values.  

Kudos to LSA Global for the program that they provided my team. It was exactly what I wanted, and your team did a great job of engaging our group and providing the solid Project Management skills that we need.

Laura McHugh
Director

Gilead-Sciences-Logo-LSA-Global

LSA recently designed and delivered a project post mortem for a highly strategic project with a group of 25 team members from engineering, design, marketing, product management, sales, manufacturing, purchasing, business development, research, and finance. The pre-workshop diagnostic, interviews, and experiential session greatly exceeded our expectations.

We were able to honestly and effectively get everything out on the table, agree upon key lessons, and create a targeted action plan that made sense for our unique situation, team, and culture. The whole process made a very complex and potentially political situation a big success. We could not have done the retrospective without LSA.

Eric Vernon
Director of Operations

dolby-client-logo-technology-LSA-Global

We turned to LSA Global to help us take our project risk management practices to the next level. As we continue to grow and our projects are increasing significantly in complexity, it is imperative that we incorporate risk management best practices deeper into our Delivery and Project Management methodologies to continue to increase productivity, efficiency, and client satisfaction. I am really happy with the results and would recommend LSA to anyone looking to take project risk management to the next level.

Scott Wassmer
US Director of Production

AKQA

Thanks for a great and valuable session. The Project Management expertise and methodology that you brought to the table was perfectly targeted to our needs and our company. You definitely helped us launch an important step in driving best practice company standards around project management. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to improve project management skills and methodologies.

Bill Thayer
VP Field Operations

Bloomenergy

We hired LSA to design and deliver a Project Post Mortem for sixty five key people on a mission critical project with a very tight turnaround. LSA’s ability to identify the key trends, leverage points, and next steps was remarkable.

They really got to the heart of the issues in a constructive and unbiased manner that exceeded our expectations.

It was not an easy task with so many skeptical people with different agendas, styles, experience, and perspectives.  But they nailed it.  Thank you!

Darrell Gallagher
Head of Studio

Crystal Dynamics

LSA’s Customized Project Management workshop exceeded our expectations. The facilitator was a true expert in both the content and our industry. They really understood our priorities and helped us learn not only the best practices in Project Management, but how to apply them to our specific environment. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to create the foundation for successful projects and project teams.

Dave Musolf
Director Program Management

Palm

LSA’s ability to do an effective project postmortem and then help us to use those insights to define and plan our next strategic project were invaluable.  Their practical approach and built-for-purpose project kickoff and definition methodology have definitely taken our project definition, project planning, and project management skills to the next level.

I bet they helped us to move 4 times faster than we would have without their help.

Elizabeth Smith, PMP
Senior Project & Portfolio Manager

LSA Global Applegate Consumer Product Client

LSA did a great job. The project management solution was really well done from both a content and approach perspective. Overall a very positive experience that provided a lot of value. They really understood the art and science of project management and the specifics of our industry.

Laxmi Peri
VP Technology & Product Development

Thoratec

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