Lessons Learned Overview
Lessons Learned Overview
Lessons Learned Overview
EMDC Assimilation
Lessons Learned Process and eApplication
March 2010
This material is not to be reproduced without the permission of ExxonMobil Development Co Project Execution Project Best Practices
Table of Contents
Todays Objectives:
Why knowledge transfer is important
The Lessons Learned Process
Lessons Learned Quality
Lessons Learned eApplication Features
Where to find the Lessons Learned Computer
Based Training (CBT) Modules and Access
Request eForm
The fundamental principle of any Lessons Learned (LL) effort is the concept of learning
by collective experience. Knowledge gained by one individual can be widely distributed
and shared to others.
In its simplest form a Lesson Learned can be thought of as answering the questions:
What went well, and why? or What went wrong, and why?
Consistently applying Lessons Learned can provide great benefits in cost, efficiency and
effectiveness to a Company.
The lessons learned process is a continuous process that is applied throughout the life
of a project.
As project work is conducted, teams identify
lessons learned for potential capture and
sharing
Lessons are reviewed/vetted for:
Apply Project Factual, relevant and technically correct
Work information
Root cause identification
Potential impact (positive or negative)
Apply Lessons for Compliance with MPI policy and other
Store &
Share
Continuous Capture guidelines
Improvement Actions needed to correct deficiencies or
enhance procedures are assigned
Once vetted and approved, lessons are stored
Update and shared for application to future projects
(Processes, Procedures, Vet and Project plans.
Guidelines)
A role-based workflow within the new LL
eApplication is the primary support for the LL
process
Guidelines the Lessons Learned Coordinator (LLC) should use to check the quality of a lesson.
Is the lesson factual and technically correct and did the author describe the event (what
happened) in sufficient detail? The Lesson Learned Description should:
o Include a summary of actual past situations, events, or results
o Focus on visible and indisputable facts, not causal theories or implications
Has the root cause (how and why it happened) been identified accurately? The Root Cause
should:
o Focus on the relationship between causes and the results given in the Lesson Learned
Description.
Was the impact well defined and were all impacts included? The Description of Impact(s) should
be:
o Testable or verifiable
o Stated with three parts - if this happened (the situation), then this will occur (rule),
resulting in this (metric)
Did the author provide a recommendation for improvement? The Recommended Action should:
o Suggest a process or decision that needs to be considered
o Suggest a manager who might champion the recommended action
Is the lesson written clearly and can it be understood by people outside of the Project Team? The
author should:
o Provide background information to clarify understanding
o Use common language, avoiding jargon and region or contractor/vendor specific terms
o Spell out uncommon acronyms or abbreviations
Its been a busy work week and you are trying to balance all your deadlines.
You have an offsite meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Friday morning your manager comes to you with a last minute task. You are
now in rush mode, because you really need to leave the office by 11:30 to
get across town for your meeting.
Youre on your way to the meeting and now stuck in lunch time traffic. You
decide to call ahead to the meeting facilitator to inform him that you are
running late due to bad traffic. As you scroll your blackberry phone list, you
are unaware that the cars in front of you have stopped. The next thing you
hear is crashyou are now part of a traffic accident and will never make it
to your meeting.
The Lessons Learned eApplication is a tool to capture, store, and browse lessons in real-
time complying with EMCAPS 14.1.
Benefits of LL eApplication include:
Access from any computer, anywhere in the world.
User-friendly interface that allows for real-time capture of lessons.
Template-based data entry that ensures consistent lesson format.
Role-based workflow for streamlined lesson capture, vetting, and action tracking.
Capability to attach supporting material (map, diagrams, images, etc).
Search and reporting capabilities that allow users to:
Search approved lessons using multiple parameters.
Compile potentially significant lessons for application on a new project
through a Register feature.
Export capability to Excel.
Ability to forward a Lesson via Internet email.
Automatic email notifications to support workflow activity.
Copy & Paste capabilities from Office programs.
Metadata alternative to enter consecutive lessons in the same project.
Access security and other information management considerations.
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