The same project failure happened again. How do we check whether lessons worked?
Unverified effectiveness of improvementsCompare the new event with the earlier lesson and the change that was supposed to prevent it. Check whether the change was implemented, used, and appropriate to the actual cause. Update the control or the diagnosis based on evidence rather than producing another identical lesson.
What to do now
- Trace the recurring event to the prior improvement
- Check implementation and actual use
- Reassess whether the change addresses the cause
- Assign and verify a revised improvement
When to escalate
Repeated failure creates a material delivery or organizational risk.
The sponsor and accepting business or service owner
Example
A repeated supplier delay reveals that the planning checklist was created but never used at project initiation.
Mistake to avoid
Assuming a lesson failed when its proposed action was never implemented.
Prevent a repeat
Verify that transferred obligations and important lesson actions are completed after the project closes.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Documents
- Tasks
- Approvals
Keep the closure decision and final evidence with the project and transfer accepted residual actions to named ongoing owners. See the platform
Related cases
- We wrote lessons learned, but nobody reuses them. How do we change that?Lessons disconnected from future decisions
- Our lessons have owners, but actions still disappear. How do we follow through?Unmonitored improvement commitments
- How do we verify that an approved change solved the original problem?Change effectiveness verification
- How can we tell whether stakeholder engagement is working?Activity-focused engagement measures