Lessons Learned Register

The lessons learned register is used to record challenges, problems, good practices, and other informa- tion that can be passed along to the organization and to other projects to avoid repeating mistakes and to improve organizational and project processes and procedures. Lessons learned can be project oriented or product oriented. They can include information on risks, issues, procurements, quality defects, and any areas of poor or outstanding performance. A lessons learned register includes:

• Identifier
• Category
• Trigger
• Lesson
• Responsible party
• Comments

The lessons learned register is an output from process 4.4 Manage Project Knowledge in the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition. It is a dynamic document that is updated throughout the project.

Tailoring Tips

Consider the following tips to help tailor the lessons learned register to meet your needs:

• You can add information on the person identifying the lesson, especially if the person identifying the lesson and the person accountable for implementing it are different.
• Information on the next implementation opportunity and the expected implementation date can be used to ensure that the information isn’t just recorded, but it is acted on as well.
• You can add a checkbox to indicate whether the lesson impacts an organizational system, policy or practice, or whether it can be implemented without the need to escalate up through the organization.

Alignment

The lessons learned register should be aligned and consistent with the following documents:

• Change management plan
• Change log
• Issue log
• Decision log
• Lessons learned summary