Project Management Lessons Learned “The Elephant in the Room”
Abstract
A significant challenge for government and business projectdelivery organisations is to ensure that lessons are learned and that mistakes of the past are not repeated.This study has established thatproject, programme and portfolio managementlessons learned methods vary significantly, implementation is inconsistent andfails to deliver results. The study used a prominent inductive, qualitative multiple case study approach representing the phenomenologicalparadigm of realism. Research data was collectedfrom participating organisation’s, open sources and via the freedom of information process. There is a significant amount of literature published onlessons learned, andrefinement of the methods to date has failed to deliver the step change that is required. A decision now exists for the P3M community on whether to accept this direction of travel or assess whether a change in approach can deliver a measurablebenefit that enables investment in a new framework. The study proposes a Leveraging Experience conceptual framework as a viable alternative approach.