Project retrospective

Think about what you want to get from the meeting, and be intentional with the tone. Are you celebrating your success already, or was it actually quite a stressful experience? Do you have lots of actions outstanding, or was your project plan executed precisely?

The project retro itself is quite simple, so make sure anyone invited has all the right context. It’s good to bring in elements of your Discovery report and problem statement to remind yourselves of the journey.

It’s important to create a safe space for discussion that encourages open and honest feedback.

The first thing on your agenda should be to understand success. What measures, feedback, and impact data do you have that makes you proud? Note these down and get the perspective of everyone in the room.

Next, gather what you could have done better as a project team. How reactive were your stakeholders? What was working with any third parties like? Be open, honest, and constructive with your observations - you're looking to improve ways of working, not blame for any perceived shortcomings.

Now you’ve defined what you’d like to improve on as a team, outline what you’ll do differently, whether that's in the project phase or working together again in general.

This could be as simple as “We’ll have more regular project meetings - weekly instead of fortnightly.” or “We’ll use a different print provider next time to reduce costs.”

Focus on outcome-oriented actions. The input you gather here should be useful to your stakeholders and your teams when going into the next project.

Even though you’re at the end of the project, there might be some outstanding actions to complete. These could be additional phases of work, ongoing communications, or any BAU activities that your solution generates.

Make sure you’re clear on who's doing what and when, and follow up with additional project support or delegation if needed.