Lessons learned? Asked by my boss to compile a list of lessons learned

I have been asked by my boss to compile a list of lessons learned. I really do not know what he wants and he does not know what he wants. Some customers have asked if we are tracking lessons learned and he asked me to pick it up. Any thoughts on an approach for this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Lessons learned?

Sean:

It's somewhat common for organizations to do a 'WWR/WWW' analysis at the end of a project etc. WWR = 'What Went Right', WWW = 'What Went Wrong'. It's done fairly close to the end while all memories are fresh......

There are other things you can use SWOT for example. These are often documented in some kind of Book of Knowledge, a design handbook, or similar

Re: Lessons learned?

Sean Kelley said:

I have been asked by my boss to compile a list of lessons learned. I really do not know what he wants and he does not know what he wants. Some customers have asked if we are tracking lessons learned and he asked me to pick it up. Any thoughts on an approach for this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Upon completion of a project, program, task, whatever...ask the question: "If we had to do this all over again, what could we do differently?" The answers to this question are the "Lessons Learned."

Stijloor.

Re: Lessons learned?

A good place to start is your corrective action system. It is not the only source of this info, but it is a rich one,and a great place to start. What did people find, and how was it fixed? Was it applicable to any other product? Was it then applied to those other products? A key usage of this list is when you are doing APQP on a new product. Bring up the list, and see if any of the items are applicable to the new processes/parts/etc.

Re: Lessons learned?

bobdoering said:

A good place to start is your corrective action system. It is not the only source of this info, but it is a rich one,and a great place to start. What did people find, and how was it fixed? Was it applicable to any other product? Was it then applied to those other products? A key usage of this list is when you are doing APQP on a new product. Bring up the list, and see if any of the items are applicable to the new processes/parts/etc.

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Yes! The data from "lessons learned" is used in FMEA, Control Plans, Inspection Plans, right on down to things as peripheral as the method an organization uses to package its goods and what carrier it uses to transport them.

The entire key here is to create a "book" - the database of these lessons which is available and organized in such a manner the data contained is easily accessible for reference when a situation similar to the one where the lessons were learned arises. In addition to the book, the organization needs a SYSTEM to continually update the book and refer to it when making plans for the next process.

The hard part about this (or maybe the easy part) is the absence of a universal prescription for gathering the lessons learned, recording them, and referring to them. Each organization and its personnel present a unique case, which may call for a unique process for lessons learned, keeping only the basics:

1. identify a true "lesson"
2. record the lesson
3. store
4. manage
5. retrieve
6. evaluate
7. repeat

Re: Lessons learned?

Wes Bucey said:

The entire key here is to create a "book" - the database of these lessons which is available and organized in such a manner the data contained is easily accessible for reference when a situation similar to the one where the lessons were learned arises. In addition to the book, the organization needs a SYSTEM to continually update the book and refer to it when making plans for the next process.

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I believe some of the better quality/business systems (such as MQ1) utilize their linking ability to build the lessons learned rather handily. That is not to say the book...or card file for that matter...would not suffice. But, searches and such are a tad more efficient in a good database.

Re: Lessons learned?

Military is one of the best at this. Google "after action review"

Re: Lessons learned?

AKA - 'postmortem'....

Re: Lessons learned?

Time for another "pearl!"
All lessons are not from bad outcomes.
More often, it's the GOOD ones that you want to repeat!

Re: Lessons learned?

Wes Bucey said:

All lessons are not from bad outcomes.
More often, it's the GOOD ones that you want to repeat!

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Yes, funny though how there is a lot more documentation for misery. Most of the time nobody can remember how they got a good outcome. Kind of like you can make good parts once for a PPAP, but after that it seems impossible...