Lessons learned report template for project management

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5 things you need to know about lessons learned reports

Document the lessons learned throughout a project’s life cycle with this template designed for project management.

Laila Robinson

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There is always something to learn from very project, regardless of if the project was a success or a failure. However, unless you document the lessons learned, it can be difficult for your project team to know what they did right or the areas where they need to improve.

Here are the 5 most important things to know about lessons learned––and how to write a lessons learned report using this free template.

1. What are lessons learned in project management?

In this case, lessons learned are the knowledge gained, both positive and negative, through project experiences.

A lessons learned report is a project document that contains all the experiences and knowledge gained throughout a project’s lifecycle. Lessons learned can be documented at different time frames, including during and after project completion. Therefore, this report should be set up at the start of a project to include the project goals and success metrics.

A lessons learned report aims to help project managers and their teams identify the root causes of problems or wins of their past projects. This report serves as a historical document as well to learn how to avoid these problems or set themselves up for success again on future projects.

For example, suppose you’re working on a project titled “Launch Alpha version of product”. With a lessons learned report, you would want to record both positives and negatives of that project and record that in a shared doc. Having a template to do this makes it easier to have all your lessons learned documented in the same format.

Lessons learned report template example

This template was built in Coda, the all-in-one-doc that brings words, data, and teams together.

Play with this template below! And then

Make a copy

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to save your edits. Learn more about how to use this template to document a lessons learned report below.

Using the previous example, “Launch Alpha version of product,” a lesson learned would be how the Alpha Launch went. With this template you can highlight what went well, what didn’t go well, and who was assigned to this project.

Lessons example

Lessons example

Alpha Launch

We did not have the best Road Map for launch and many tasks were rushed in the final sprint of the project

Alpha Launch

Project

Release alpha version of product

What went well?

Successful launch with user feedback and on call bug fixing by ENG team

What did not go well?

We did not have the best Road Map for launch and many tasks were rushed in the final sprint of the project

Date Added

10/5/21

Assigned To

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Then, you can see the lesson learned for this project along with previous projects’ lessons with the Lessons learned register.

Lessons learned register example

Lessons learned register example

Lesson Name

Lesson Name

What went well?

What went well?

What did not go well?

What did not go well?

Date Added

Date Added

Project

Project

Assigned To

Assigned To

Lesson Name

Lesson Name

What went well?

What went well?

What did not go well?

What did not go well?

Date Added

Date Added

Project

Project

Assigned To

Assigned To

Weekly team syncs

Provided further information on team’s progress, which allowed everyone in the organization a general understanding of the project’s progress

Did not have full attendance

other company wide events interrupted team cadence

10/27/21

Launch Monetization Ecosystem

Alpha Launch

Successful launch with user feedback and on call bug fixing by ENG team

We did not have the best Road Map for launch and many tasks were rushed in the final sprint of the project

10/5/21

Release alpha version of product

Pre Meeting Rehearsal

Great practice round, allowed us to iron any wrinkles for the meeting

None

12/15/21

Board Meeting

There are no rows in this table

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2. The benefits of a lessons learned report.

There are many reasons why creating a lessons learned report can benefit you, your stakeholders, your team members, and ultimately your organization.

Identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Conducting a lessons learned report can empower your team to reflect on where they succeeded and where they have room to improve. A lessons learned report may include who documented the lesson which can be helpful to identify strengths and weaknesses for future task assignments.

Demonstrating growth to stakeholders.

Like Steve Jobs said, “you can only connect the dots looking backward.”

With a lessons learned report, you can track your current project progress, wins, and losses, and compare that to past projects to demonstrate growth, changes, and results to your stakeholders.

Documentation improves communication and accessibility.

By using this lessons learned template to record lessons learned for all projects, teams can create a central repository of what has historically worked and what hasn’t for each project. This increases accessibility for other teams and improves communication to circulate lessons learned so mistakes are not repeated and strategies to win are reused.

Bettering future decision-making processes.

Imagine how inefficient it would be to repeatedly face the same challenges or problems. Avoiding past mistakes is a great benefit of a lessons learned report.

Additionally, you can make better decisions for future projects by looking at previous lessons learned. A proper lessons learned report will help you identify the best strategies for a project and helps you streamline your project workflow to follow those processes.

3. How to document lessons learned.

There is no formal or one specific method to gather lessons learned. Lessons learned can be identified at any point in time, but below are a few examples to get you started.

Lessons learned meeting

A lessons learned meeting can occur at any time during the project, not just at the end, as documenting lessons learned should be a part of your team’s routine. This meeting is a structured meeting that should follow a similar agenda every time.

During a lessons learned meeting, allow for an open discussion where your team can discuss project learnings, and provide feedback on what worked, what did not work, and where there are inefficiencies. Having a discussion-based meeting can also help improve communication and foster team collaboration. Finally, end this meeting by documenting the lessons learned in a centralized and visible report, using a lessons learned template like this one.

1-on-1s

1-on-1s are another way to collect lessons learned, and in some situations, these personal meetings allow you to gather more meaningful insights. In team settings, your team members may not always feel comfortable sharing challenges or admitting mistakes but meeting with individuals 1 on 1 can help discover these lessons learned. Holding 1-on-1s to gather feedback shows your team members that you value their opinions.

Project feedback survey

An alternative to lessons learned meetings and 1-on-1s is project feedback surveys. Similar to the previous methods of documenting lessons learned, project feedback surveys should occur throughout the project lifecycle as well as at the end.

The benefit of project feedback surveys is that you can choose to make them anonymous, allowing individuals to share their feedback and insights more candidly. However, the downside is that team members may not share as many valuable insights as they would during a personal and live conversation.

4. You can get started quickly with this lessons learned report template.

Now that you know the most important things to know about lessons learned reports, you can use this template to document lessons in the same format every time.

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Step 1: Check previous lessons learned documents.

Start by examining previous lessons learned from projects similar to the one you are about to begin. From these reports, you’ll be able to flag potential problems, identify your team member’s strengths and weaknesses to assign tasks accordingly, and see what you can do right to make the project successful.

Step 2: Add new projects and create goals.

Start with the

Projects & goals⁠

page and add a new project that your team is taking on by clicking the Add Project button. In the

Projects⁠

table, you can add details for your project like Project name, Description, Start date, and End date. The Duration of the project will be calculated based on the timeline of your project.

At this stage, you determine your project success metrics. You can set project goals by clicking the Add goal button. In the

Project goals⁠

table, you can add goals that you may want to achieve for each of your projects. Add details like the Goal name, Description, Date to be achieved, POC, and mark whether it was Achieved. This will help you keep track of the overall progress of the project.

Step 3: Document lessons learned from the team.

Once your project has begun, collecting

Lessons⁠

should become a team ritual. The method to collect lessons learned may differ from team to team, but all your team members should have their input documented in the report. This template is flexible and allows you to do just that.

On the

Lessons learned⁠

page, there is a form to fill out a positive and negative outcome of each lesson and its associated project. Collecting positive feedback will motivate your team members and make them more confident when tackling other projects. Negative feedback is beneficial, too, to help you identify what is causing hindrances to project deliverables.

Step 4: Analyze project feedback.

Gold undergoes a thorough refining process before becoming an extremely valuable material. Similarly, for your report to be useful, you need to analyze the documented lessons learned and identify any recommendations beneficial for future projects.

Your findings can be helpful for other members of your organization too.

Step 5: Treat this template as a lessons-learned register.

This lessons learned report template can serve as a

Lessons learned register⁠

for cross-functional teams and projects. By using this lessons learned template for all of your reports, you can refer back to this doc as your single source of truth. Use the

Lessons learned register⁠

for each project to keep a historical record of lessons learned.

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Start with:

Projects & goals⁠

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👉 Get started with this lessons learned template.

Copy this template

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5. Examples of lessons learned reports made in Coda.

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Project Closeout Template:⁠

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Happy We Met Toolkit, Lessons Learned:⁠

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Gusto's GusTools Playbook, Post Mortem Write-up:⁠

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Weekly Coffee Chat⁠

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If you’re interested in more Coda templates:

Check out Coda's gallery

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Lessons learned FAQ’s

What are some examples of lessons learned in project management?

Project schedule: Set realistic deadlines and schedules.

Need for support: Assign tasks to individuals most qualified to tackle them.

Lack of training: Provide project members with the necessary education to carry out assignments successfully.

Poor communication: Consider hiring a facilitator to help with the meeting sessions.

What should be included in lessons learned documentation?

Your lessons learned documentation should include the project name, project goals, positive and negative learnings, and POC. Use this

free lessons learned template⁠

for a simple and easy to use documentation format.

What is a lessons learned register?

A lessons learned register is a document of knowledge gained through project experiences, that eventually becomes a repository that can be used for future projects. Use this template for an example of a

lessons learned register⁠

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Coda is an all-in-one doc for your team’s unique processes — the rituals that help you succeed. Teams that use Coda get rid of hundreds of documents, spreadsheets, and even bespoke apps, to work quickly and clearly in one place. This template is a Coda doc. Click around to explore.

A few of the 25,000+ teams that 🏃‍♀️ on Coda.

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