From Agile to Traditional: Which Lessons Learned Approach Works Best? by Sterling Tomas

  From Agile to Traditional: Which Lessons Learned Approach Works Best?

• by STERLING TOMAS

Lessons Learned Conducted After Each Project Phase vs Sprint Retrospectives

Lessons learned are essential for project success, and they provide an opportunity for continuous improvement. Project managers have two common approaches to conducting lessons learned: after each project phase and during sprint retrospectives.

Lessons learned after each project phase is a review process conducted to identify the areas where the project team performed well and those that need improvement before they move to the next phase. This approach helps the project team learn from the previous phase and apply the lessons learned in the next phase. Lessons learned after each project phase can lead to faster decision-making, as issues are identified, resolved, and incorporated into the next phase.

One of the benefits of conducting lessons learned after each project phase is that it provides an opportunity to assess the overall project progress, enabling project teams to identify areas that are falling behind schedule or need additional resources. This approach also ensures that the lessons learned are integrated into the project, preventing the repetition of the same mistakes.

However, the approach can be time-consuming and can affect the speed of the project. Sometimes, the team can spend too much time looking back and reflecting on the past, slowing down the project's progress. There can also be a lack of follow-up or action on the lessons learned.

Sprint Retrospectives

Sprint retrospectives, on the other hand, are a regular review process that happens at the end of each sprint in the agile development process. The purpose of sprint retrospectives is to evaluate the team's performance and identify areas of improvement for the next sprint. This approach helps the project team to adapt and improve their performance continuously.

One of the benefits of conducting sprint retrospectives is that they help the team to identify and resolve issues quickly, improving the team's productivity. Additionally, the team can demonstrate their work and get feedback from stakeholders, improving transparency and communication.

However, the sprint retrospective approach may not provide enough time for in-depth reflection, and the team may only identify the most pressing issues. This approach may also only be useful if the team is already following the agile methodology, as it is an essential part of the approach.

PM Scrum Joke

"Why did the project manager cross the road? To get to the sprint retrospective on the other side, and reflect on all the ways he could have avoided traffic delays in the previous sprint.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the lessons learned after each project phase and sprint retrospective approaches have their benefits and drawbacks. While lessons learned after each project phase allow for in-depth reflection and better decision-making, sprint retrospectives enable teams to identify and resolve issues quickly. The approach that is best for a specific project will depend on the project's goals, constraints, and the team's practices and preferences.

Project managers need to choose the approach that works best for their project and consistently reflect on areas of success and improvement. The key to a successful project is to ensure that the lessons learned are incorporated into the project's progress and applied in future phases.

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