From: FirstName LastName [email address]
To: First Last
Cc: First Last, First Last
Subject: Project Review / Lessons Learned
 
 

Project Review / Lessons Learned for: ProjectName (Company, ProjectManager) The following checklist should be used to engage conversation; it is not the ranking of an item that counts, but the information gained from seeing that different parts of the organization rank items quite differently or are totally unaware of how to rank an item. In a large group, votes can be made individually and then tallied later, or a show of hands can be taken for a consensus on each item's ranking as you go along. The assessment can be done in a number of ways and in various settings. The form can be handed to individuals and filled out in private, but this would eliminate the chance for information sharing and conversation. A powerful way to use this tool is to set aside a 3-hour period of time and invite representative members of all factions of your organization to attend. For shorter time-frames, you might edit the form down to just a couple of categories, or reduce the number of items under each heading. Once the form is complete, you will have a good map of your project's and organization's strong and weak points, as well as where there is a need for more communication or education. The assessment form can provide you with fuel for your first retreat and for prioritizing the major areas where goal setting, research, and action items need to begin. This form pertains only to projects; it does not cover product development or organizational issues.  For example, marketing, mission statements, and accounting are outside the scope of this form.   PROJECT REVIEW CHECKLIST           S T R O N G A D E Q U A T E W E A K N / A Comments INCEPTION / FEASABILITY           1. Concise, written proposal with clear statement of work and deliverables    X     The scope was clear. 2. Proposal shared with team     X   No hard-copy; verbal only.  3. Development part of the proposal process       X This was more or less a T&M contracting assignment. 4. Disciplined project estimation       X   START-UP           1. Project plan including budget, schedule, change control, and risks       X   2. Staffing / Training   X     3. Dependencies fulfilled for project start       X   4. Adequacy of equipment and software     X   I do not know the written agreement, but XXX accounts and computer set-up was lacking, which inhibited productivity.  Note: XXX's internet access was excellent. 5. Review of previous lessons learned     X   None CLIENT RELATIONS           1. Client camaraderie and flexibility     X     2. Client's perception of RTE's competence and integrity X         VENDORS           1. Relationships       X   2. Support       X   3. Reliability       X   OTHER DEVELOPMENT TEAMS           1. Level of cooperation X       the XXX team from XXX was great 2. Competence   X       MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL           1. Procedures for orientation of new members     X   There should be a prepared package for reading about internal development and product usage. 2. Procedures for evaluating task status and completion     X   When I provided percentages of completion, I was told just to say "red, yellow, or green" instead.  Also, no one read my schedules.  When I did provide a color, I was chastised for not giving enough information.  It was not until XXX belatedly created a detailed document (that confirmed what XXX and I had been saying all along) that my status was believed. 3. Structure of committees       X   4. Frequency of status/staff meetings X         5. Attendance at meetings   X       6. Procedures for meeting notices and preparation   X       7. Effective meetings     X     8. Team attendance at client meetings   X       9. Staff input into decision-making and planning      X   Before the "reorg" (when XXX was kicked out), my suggestions were considered.  After the reorg, my suggestions were opposed, no matter what they were. 10. Timely and accurate project status reports   ? ?   XXX's were good; I never saw one from anyone else. 11. Status reports copied to team X         12. Isolation of team from client problems     X     13. Timely checkpoints     X     14. Recruitment of new members       X   15. Management's sense of involvement ? ? ?   inconsistent 16. Standards and procedures for general tasks      X     17. Responsiveness, striving for excellence   X     XXX-great; XXX-does not walk the talk STAFF           1. Clarity of reporting relationships   X     XXX did not like it when I treated XXX as my project leader (because that's what he was) 2. Communication among staff members   X       3. Communication between staff and  RTE management   X       4. Communication between staff and client   X     Surprises were commonplace 5. Appropriateness of staff size     X   not enough resources 6. Skill set   X       7. Time available to perform jobs satisfactorily     X   6 weeks were given for architecture and high-level design, but only 2 weeks to detailed design, coding, and unit test! 8. Recognition for a job well-done X         9. RTE's use of consultants/contractors       X   10. Morale     X   after the reorg, stressed and pessimistic 11. Passing the truck test     X   infrequent design meetings with whole development team 12. Responsiveness, striving for excellence   X     Development-good;Architecture&HLD-hack FACILITIES           1. Space for demonstrations, exhibits, and activities   X     lab was great 2. Space and ambience for staff   X     it took a long time to get a quiet office 3. Storage facilities           4. Image facility communicates to clients       X   5. Length of lease agreement       X   BUSINESS DESIGN           1. Early resolution of big issues     X   the ostrich methodology was used (stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away) 2. Client's perception of of RTE's domain knowledge     X     3. Requirements engineering / Analysis    X       4. Access to legacy/batch systems       X   5. Formal sign-off      X   the business requirements were approved, but no other signoffs were done in the project lfie cycle TECHNOLOGY / METHODOLOGY           1. Leading edge methods and procedures X       Java, XML, UML 2. Compliance with industry standards     X   informal, ad-hoc; no design patterns were used 3. Meeting the technical challenges    X       4. Toolset     X   budget was not high enough PROGRAMMING           1. Standards and code reviews      X   ad-hoc 2. SCM/Build/Release process    X     Separate group did this well, but communication was lacking. 3. Suitability of language to end-product X         4. Expected performance understood and methods for proving achievement     X    ill-defined 5. Toolset (coding, unit testing, integration, SCM, etc.) and environment     X    everything I used had to be free 6. Unit testing, integration testing     X   ad-hoc USER DOCUMENTATION           1. Clear, concise       X   SYSTEM TEST           1. Test Plan       X   2. Accounting for stress testing and performance achievement       X   3. Ciriteria for test completion       X   DEPLOYMENT           1. Installation/Acceptance test       X   2. Training       X   3. Cut-over       X   REVIEW PARTICIPANTS         Date 1 Claire Streb         25apr2000 2           3           4           5           6           7           8           9           10           12

FINAL COMMENTS 1. It was difficult for me when XXX did not want XXX to act as a project leader. 2. From the technical and social standpoint, I thoroughly enjoyed this project, but not from a managerial or political perspective.  Perhaps I intimidated a couple of people; perhaps they had difficulty with professional feedback, or the fact that I am female. I worked well with most of the people, in fact the XXX team asked me to work with them two times after that, on separate assignments, I was asked out to lunch a number of times, and I am still exchanging email with some of the people.

 
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