“The years teach us much the days never knew.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the most effective ways to distil the learning from a completed project is to conduct a structured post-mortem review. Way too often project managers fail to harness the group’s energy, knowledge, best ideas and smartest fixes before the group has moved on to the next project. This omission can be incalculably expensive. Taking stock offers teams and organizations the opportunity to name the lessons learned at a project’s close and to ensure that excellent practices are noted, celebrated and shared and that critical shortcomings that hindered success are not repeated.

The post-mortem really starts at the beginning of the project when goals are established. If the goals are met, the post-mortem sets out to understand what occurred in the project’s life that enabled the goals to be met. If the goals are not met, the post-mortem tries to discover what went wrong. More often than not, both things are true: some goals were met and some were not.

One common misconception about post-mortem reviews is that they are only valuable when something has gone badly wrong—kind of an organizational “why did the patient die?” perspective. In addition to losing the learnings from what went right, singular focus on failure puts post mortems in the dog house and consequently casts a black cloud over participants. No one wants to be part of a process that is organizationally synonymous with “boy did you guys screw up.”

Exactly what goes into a post-mortem varies tremendously based on organizational size, culture and process. But even the smallest of organizations or development groups need to have a formal process. A nice friendly chat over a cold beer just doesn’t count. Here’s what I recommend.

The project manager owns this process. It should not be off-loaded. His or her stewardship of the project all the way through to a meaningful post-mortem is essential.

1. Clearly establish goals at the launch of a project. Write them down. They are your north star. Make sure everyone is in agreement with the goals and is working toward the same end.

2. Let the team and project sponsors know that at the project’s completion a formal post-mortem will be held and that everyone’s attendance and contribution will be requested.

3. For most projects, the post-mortem should be done at the final acceptance of the project—as soon as possible to the final sign off.

4. Set the date, reserve sufficient time and invite all the people whose input will enhance the process:

a. If you have completed a significant project, I recommend a one-day off-site. You want enough time to really listen to the people at the table. If the project is of medium size, hold a half-day aside for this work.
b. The guest list: a thorough post-mortem will involve people beyond the project’s developers. Include finance, operations, manufacturing, procurement, appropriate members of your senior executive team.

5. Compile a list of 10 – 15 powerful questions you want your folks to answer prior to the actual post mortem meeting. These questions are intended to provoke deep thinking. Each person should answer his questions independent of his peers. There will be time to share when the group convenes.

Here are some examples of questions that will harvest learning:

• What about this project makes you most proud?
• What was the single most frustrating part of our project?
• What three key things would you do differently next time?
• What was the most professionally satisfying part of our project?
• What worked really well?
• What really didn’t work well?
• If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about our process what would it be?
• Did our stakeholders, senior managers, sponsors, executive team participate effectively? How did they help us? How did they hinder us?
• We spent too much time focused on _________ when we should have been focused on __________.
• The best idea that I (or my team) had that no one listened to was _______________.
• The most obvious warning signs that I (or my team ignored) were______________

6. Nudge until you get people to complete your questionnaire and email their responses to you. This is not optional for your team.

7. Prior to the post-mortem, read through all the responses and compile the themes that emerge.

8.The Post –Mortem itself. I suggest you open the meeting first with a congratulations to the group – whether the project succeeded or not, hard work should be recognized. Then state your intention for the post-mortem. Most important make sure everyone understands this is not a ‘blame game’ opportunity. The object is to juice the learning out of the experience so that the organization and the individuals get stronger. You must help the group ride a fine line between truth telling (which is the critical ingredient!) and finger pointing.

As far as organizing the conversation, I’ve found that this structure works well: Divide the discussion into three distinct areas:

a. What really worked
b. What really didn’t work
c. Key learnings/suggestions for the future

9. And finally, after your post-mortem, write up the findings of your post-mortem for broad distribution to the organization.

So if it looks like conducting a meaningful post-mortem is a bit of work, you’re right! Just when you thought you were finished there’s still this one big task to do. But don’t sweep this job under the bed and hope no one notices. You must turn the soil if you are looking for a richer harvest next time around.

The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist.
They turn to each other and say ‘We did it ourselves.’
~ Zen Saying

Dina Silver, MCC, is the Principal of Pegasus Coaching Group.

I specialize in leadership coaching working with senior executives and their teams to create great leaders and high impact groups. I have enjoyed success working with technically proficient people who need guidance in developing the interpersonal skills that are essential to effective and compelling leadership.

My background in the entertainment industry as a feature film and interactive game producer effectively assists me in helping leaders develop powerful executive presence so that ideas and challenging initiatives are met with keen interest and excitement. In order to lead, people must be excited to follow!

I have enjoyed trusted advisor status with high performance individuals, teams and organizations, coaching in high tech, entertainment, banking, and marketing.

I hold a B.A. in United States History from Princeton University. I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and hold my credentialing through the International Coach Federation. In addition, I am certified in a range of assessment tools including DISC and PIAV, and am an active member of Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF). I am married, have two teenage kids, two fat black cats and live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you are interested in learning more about how my work may be of value to you and your organization, please get in touch. I am happy to offer interested prospects a complimentary and confidential half hour coaching session so you can take me and coaching for a test drive.