"Completing a project" is not the same thing as ending the project management process. Simply finishing doesn't ensure that the organization benefits from the project's outcome. For example, after completing a year-long project to establish a new quality management process for your organization, you want to make sure that what you set out to do was actually achieved. Your objective wasn't to simply deliver a process – but rather, to deliver the process that addresses the specific business need you intended to meet. This is the real measure of success. To make the most of the benefits that the project can deliver, however, you also need to check to see if further improvements will deliver still greater benefit. You also need to ensure that the lessons learned during the project are not forgotten. You can more effectively design and execute future projects when you take advantage of lessons learned through the experience of previous projects. So how can you properly measure a project's success, and work toward continuous improvement? This is where the process of Post-Implementation Review (PIR) is helpful. It helps you answer the following key questions:
The PIR ProcessThe key to a successful PIR is recognizing that the time spent on the project is just a small part of an ongoing timeline. For people and organizations that will be working on similar projects in the future, it makes sense to learn as many lessons as possible, so that mistakes are not repeated in future projects. And for organizations benefiting from the project, it makes sense to ensure that all desired benefits have been realized, and to understand what additional benefits can be achieved. When to ReviewA good time to start thinking about the Post Implementation Review is when members of the project team remember the most – shortly after the project has been delivered, and when most of the problems have been ironed out. Start to list ideas and observations while they are still fresh in people's minds. However, to adequately assess the quality of the implementation and complete this process, you'll need to wait long enough for the changes caused by the project to truly take effect.
There will probably be a period of adjustment before you can finally review the solution as it was intended to operate: you'll likely need to overcome some of the usual resistance to change, hold people's hands while they operate new systems, and eliminate technical problems that didn't emerge when deliverables were tested. You should therefore typically allow a few weeks, or even a few months, before doing the full PIR. Where possible, allow for at least one, full, successful cycle of business before reviewing lessons learned. What to ReviewHere are some tips for conducting the PIR:
When conducting the review, include the following activities:
How to ReviewAs you perform the post-implementation review, certain methods and practices will help you obtain the best possible information:
As you plan your PIR, be aware of the costs and benefits of the review process itself. Interviewing stakeholders and customers, testing the solution, and documenting the results are time-consuming activities. Make sure the time and resources dedicated to the review are consistent with the project scope and its output, and that the potential benefits of conducting the review are worth the effort put in.
A Post-Implementation Review (PIR) is conducted after completing a project. Its purpose is to evaluate whether project objectives were met, to determine how effectively the project was run, to learn lessons for the future, and to ensure that the organization gets the greatest possible benefit from the project. After a long project, the last thing many project teams want to do is relive the process and look for ways to improve. However, a forward-looking review can discover many tips and strategies for improvement. By conducting a thorough and timely PIR, you'll identify key lessons learned – and you can then apply those lessons to the planning and management of future projects. |