Cognitive Technologies Group's Lessons Learned End of Project Review Tool Captures ACS Project Knowledge

August 14, 2003 — Cognitive Technologies Group, LLC has just completed an End of Project Review for ACS, using the Lessons Learned End of Project Review Survey tool. This online tool was used to survey a project team of approximately 300 active members. Over 180 team members responded to the survey, which was open to them for 2 weeks. The online survey, which requires a password, includes 45 questions covering 10 critical factor areas critical to project success.

Question format includes both multiple choice responses with a scale of 1-5 that enables benchmarking to other projects, and open-ended text entry to gather comments about specific lessons learned. The project team intended to use the tool to identify the strengths and opportunities for improvement while their recently-completed project phase while is still fresh in their minds. Questions with the highest scores included the accuracy of estimates, the degree to which the individual's work quality was deemed important, how well the team worked together, and the extent to which the organization provided the necessary staff at the appropriate time. Findings that yielded lessons learned included the need for more involvement in schedule development, the development of more comprehensive contingency plans, more proactive management of scope, and a more formalized risk identification process. The survey also yielded hundreds of comments about the best and worst project processes with suggestions for improvement of ineffective processes and for the re-use of effective processes.

Notes Bruce McGraw, project control officer, "While the findings are not surprising, they yielded hard, quantifiable data and open, honest comments about the project. Respondents were forthright with us because the tool made it easy to respond and ensured that their responses would not be attributed directly to them. What we liked best was that statistics and findings were available nearly immediately, which was much easier that hand coding paper survey responses would have been." Implementing the Lessons Learned End of Project Review Survey is economical, costing only $7 per respondent plus a project set up fee. For more information contact Cognitive Technologies Group at 770.977.5204.

About Cognitive Technologies Group
In business since 1987, Cognitive Technologies Group delivers high performance project services by leveraging our consistent people focus and practical knowledge to achieve predictable results and business success. For more information, call 770.551.8205 or visit www.cognitive-technologies.com.