I need to understand what exactly We mean by 'Lesson Learned' in the context of Problem Solving. How far this is different from Corrective action or Preventive action?
Thanks.

You had titled the thread appropriately and therefore similar discussions appeared in the 'Similar Discussion Threads' box below. Just scroll down the page for these threads. Some good discussions there!

Think of it as compiling a list of things that went right, and things that went wrong. Things that you can use in the future when faced with similar projects.

Lessons learnt could be a part of the Corrective Actions - refer this article on CA and PA from SANAS (http://www.sanas.co.za/gen-pdfs/CAPA%20Comms%20info%20brochure%202008.pdf) - South African National Accreditation System.

Although the 2 do/can interlink, the clue is in the title. The Corrective Action effectively resolves the issue and ensures the root cause is addressed to avoid the non-conformance re-occurring.

I think I am right in the following: A lesson learnt would not necessarily be something that had to be corrected, as Steel Maiden put so well. If, for example, on one project running from our UK office we discover a new client feedback process that is more effective than the existing one, this could be reported and communicated to every office for implementation (as a lesson learnt from the project).

If scope for improvement is noticed how is it reported and recorded in your company? For us it is through our Lessons Learnt, audits and project reviews to name a few methods.

I need to understand what exactly We mean by 'Lesson Learned' in the context of Problem Solving. How far this is different from Corrective action or Preventive action?
Thanks.



Something undesirable happens
An effort is made to understand why it happened
The knowledge gained in understanding the cause (and successfully correcting the problem) is a "lesson learned" that can be applied to similar current processes and can be used as a preventive method in the future.

Learning lessons involves using new experiential knowledge to reduce waste.

Lessons learned does not imply action at all. You need to use the lessons learned to formulate the CA and PA to fix the problem and to avoid it from happening again. Some people are so slow, they learn the same lessons over and over again :)