The project manager is responsible for ensuring that the project’s lessons learned are captured, documented, and stored in the lessons learned register. The lessons learned register is a project document that records the knowledge gained from the project activities and processes, and that can be used in the current project and entered into the lessons learned repository for future projects12. The project manager should take ownership of documenting the occurrence that the SME identified, as it is part of the project manager’s role to facilitate the lessons learned process and to encourage the project team and other stakeholders to share their experiences and feedback. The project manager should also verify the accuracy and completeness of the information, and ensure that it is relevant and useful for the project and the organization. The project manager should update the lessons learned register throughout the project, not only at the end, as this allows the project team to learn and improve continuously. This is part of the Manage Project Knowledge process, which aims to use existing knowledge and create new knowledge to achieve the project objectives and contribute to organizational learning13. The other options are not the best choices because they do not reflect the project manager’s accountability and leadership for the lessons learned process. Assigning the documenting task to a project team member (option A) may delegate the project manager’s responsibility and reduce the project manager’s involvement and oversight of the lessons learned process. Asking the SME to document and capture the occurrence (option B) may shift the burden to the SME and discourage the SME from sharing more information and insights. Requesting the SME to wait until the project closure phase (option C) may delay the documentation and dissemination of the valuable knowledge and prevent the project team from applying it in the current project. References:
Project Management Professional (PMP) Reference Materials:
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), Sixth Edition, Chapter 4: Project Integration Management, pp. 71-123
Lessons learned - Project Management Institute
Project Knowledge Management According to the PMBOK
Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) Reference Materials:
Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Chapter 6: Traceability and Monitoring, pp. 97-98
Lessons learned - Project Management Institute
