The Lessons Learned and the Storyteller

The lessons learned from an activity, project or any entrepreneurship are the documented information that reflects the positive and negative experiences of that activity, project or entrepreneurship and includes recommendations to improve future performance in new developments. So it is about preventing a person or organization from repeating the same mistakes and taking advantage of the successes achieved. 

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the process of Lessons Learned from a project includes five steps: Identify the findings, Document them, Analyze them, Record them and Take Advantage of them. 

The first step: Identifying the findings, means discovering and capturing the facts, figures, comments, and recommendations of the project under study, which could be valuable for future projects. This requires that the lessons learned sessions be Prepared and Oriented or Conducted. 

Preparing the lessons learned session means identifying the participants, including the Facilitator, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities, writing the basic rules of the process and developing the agenda. Additionally, the selected Facilitator must provide a summary of the project to the participants (scope of the project, key facts, and figures, etc.) to help them be better prepared for the sessions. 

Guiding or conducting the lessons learned session means focusing on identifying the successes and failures of a project and obtaining recommendations to improve performance in future projects. Here the Facilitator is the key figure, because he or she is in charge of ensuring that all relevant issues are included in the debate and that the process of lessons learned is fluid, in line with the basic rules, promoting among the attendees the criticism to the facts and findings that are identified, avoiding signaling people. 

Under this scheme, the Facilitator acts as a guiding and pivoting element of the session, in which the listed facts and figures of the project lead to the participants being able to identify the potential findings. 

Now, let’s imagine that the lessons learned sessions instead of starting with the guidelines given by a guiding leader begin with a fluent narrative (the Story), presented by the Facilitator or someone selected to do that (the Storyteller), which describes in a pleasant way what happened in the project from the beginning, starting with the start-up meeting of the project and from there tells the story about how was the relationship with the client at all levels: management, administration, planning and execution, continuing the narration with those key events that could have impacted the course of the project and how we reacted to them at that time, at all levels. Here the Storyteller could open the "Story" by promoting the audience participation in the narrative, asking for example, what other experience or relevant event happened to us? Who were the featured characters? and what was the positive thing that they did to solve the event, including also, in a positive way (without signaling people) how we could have failed and how these events were also closed. 

Nick Morgan, author of "Power Cues", points out the following: "The facts and figures and all the rational things that we believe are important in the business world, do not really stick in our minds at all." 

In addition, activating our memory with memories of the project's experiences facilitates the visualization of the events under the situations experienced, which favors the detection of findings that could otherwise be omitted. The incidents experienced move people internally more than the evaluation of the facts and the figures that are shown on a blackboard. Consequently, saying an incident can be worth more than reporting facts and figures. Here is the importance of telling the story of the project.

Then, for an activity that is based on the review of past events like as the lessons learned sessions, it would be useful to use any tool that allows the events reappear as smoothly as possible. Thus, the implementation of the figure of the Storyteller at the beginning of these sessions, who would tell the summarized history of the project under evaluation, acquires strength in comparison with the traditional procedure of identifying findings from a list of facts or figures. However, it should be noted that this summary history of the project must be effective (focused on key events) and should motivate the participants of the lessons learned session. So, the following question arises: How to make a summary story of the project effective and motivating? 

Carolyn O'Hara in her article "How to tell a great story" (Harvard Business Review - July 30, 2014's edition) wrote the following: 

"Stories create sticky memories by adding emotions to things that have happened". 

"We tell our co-workers and friend stories to persuade someone to support our project". 

When we listen to a story, our mentality changes drastically. Not only are activated the language processing parts, but also those areas that would be used if you were in the story yourself. Thus, "stories create sensory experiences" (The Psychology of Stories: The Storytelling Formula Our Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017). 

"When you listen to shocking stories, the brain can really make you develop thoughts, opinions, and ideas that align with the person telling the story. When we tell stories that have really influenced our way of thinking, we can also achieve the same effect on our audience, influencing them. The brains of the narrator and the listener can really synchronize" (The Psychology of Stories: The Storytelling Formula Our Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017).

Then, a motivating story could be based on the following: 

• It must be chronological. It contains a beginning and end. 

• It must say who we are, not only what we do because human relationships require reciprocity and authenticity. 

• It must explain how the shared purpose will be fulfilled and also explain the roles needed to fulfill it. 

• It must ensure that the figures and events that occurred are explicitly translated into clear, simple and visual messages. 

The objective is to say something that provokes the emotional response of the audience.

" I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."_ Maya Angelou.

Spanish version available at:

https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/08/las-lecciones-aprendidas-y-el-narrador.html

Application of some principles of Quantum Theory to Project Management

If we aim for effectiveness, we must acknowledge the observer effect and also consider that there can be multiple incompatible solutions to any problem.

Understanding the unpredictable.

Integrating Quantum Theory principles into Project Management is still evolving and needs further research and testing. Nevertheless, due to the innovative and significant nature of this approach and its considerable potential, it deserves to be evaluated.

It is widely recognized that Quantum Theory fundamentally deals with uncertainty, which is a critical factor in the deviations that can arise during project execution. This leads to essential questions for the Project Manager or Planner when confronted with a deviation that jeopardizes the schedule and budget: How could this have been prevented? What actions should be taken now?

Answering this question, some experts in the field have referenced the principles of quantum mechanics related to uncertainty, specifically Superposition and Complementarity.

Quantum Superposition suggests that, in any process, a defined state does not exist; instead, multiple overlapping states coexist simultaneously. The definition of any state is determined only when the process is intervened. This means that the outcome influences the state before the intervention, and the origin and consequence of any action are interconnected and interact with each other.  Here, an example of intervening is observing the process (as evidence of the "observer effect", see the outcome of adding observation to the "Double-Slit Experiment" on a light beam).

Quantum Complementarity suggests that conflicting interpretations can actually be complementary. This means that for a specific phenomenon, different explanations may seem exclusive or interchangeable, but upon closer inspection, they are not mutually exclusive; rather, they coexist or complement each other.

How can the quantum principles of Superposition and Complementarity be considered in Project Management?

Superposition is a principle that highlights the "observer effect," which states that the act of observing or intervening can impact the outcome. This means that even the best-laid plans can be altered by interference, leading to blurred actions. To manage this situation, it would be relevant to gather information from unobservable sources and intervene with minimal disturbance to the ongoing process. Knowing when and how to intervene is crucial, considering the observer effect. When it comes to intervention, the timing will depend on the situation, and the observer effect should be considered. The intervention should focus on controlling the unavoidable damage caused by the intervention and evaluating the results without disrupting the ongoing process.

On the other hand, the application of Complementarity involves accepting that there can be multiple incompatible solutions. Instead of enforcing a single planned solution, it's advisable to promote and allow for multiple possible solutions.

Extending the principles of quantum mechanics, which aim to understand the behavior of subatomic particles, to the human scale of everyday life may seem inadequate and perhaps even far-fetched, but the actual implications are still unknown. Therefore, considering these concepts with due caution will allow us to broaden our perspective on how to address deviations in projects.

Spanish version available at:

https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/11/aplicacion-de-principios-de-la-mecanica.html

Lesson Learned and Cognitive Biases

The lessons learned activity is of utmost importance for any organization and its projects, as it is the natural feedback of an organization and gives the basis of its know-how. However, this activity, like all activities involving executing staff, is exposed to the egos and fears of its participants, regardless of their role in the organization, which could lead to biased approaches that undermine the success of the lessons learned performance that must be objective being assertive.

It is a fact that the precepts and judgments about past events are modeled by our egos, beliefs, prejudices, expectations, interests, desires and fears. This is known as cognitive bias. So it is very important to be aware of it since the lessons learned activity by definition is the review of past events and detection in them of the causes of failures and successes.

How to avoid wrong identification of success/failure causes.

Firstly, it is positive to recognize our natural exposure to cognitive biases in order to implement preventive actions.

Listed below are some of the biases that are likely to be present during the identification and weighting of success or failure causes:

Bandwagon effect: The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. The probability of one person adopting a belief increases based on the number of people who hold that belief. Related to groupthink.

Blind spot bias: The tendency to not recognize our own biases.

Choice-supportive bias: The tendency to remember one's choices as better than they actually were. Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.

Focusing effect:  Prediction bias occurring when people place too much importance on one aspect of an event; causes error in accurately predicting the utility of a future outcome.

Outcome bias: The tendency to judge a decision by its eventual outcome instead of based on the quality of the decision at the time it was made.

Attentional bias: Neglect of relevant data when making judgments of a correlation or association. 

When we assign much or little importance to the information we have, biases affect the quality of our decision or selection. As a result, tactics that allow us to minimize or avoid biases would be very useful.

Tactics to minimize the biases during lessons learned exercise:

TACTIC	BiasEs to be avoided
Identify at least three motivating elements for each cause of success or failure.	Confirmation bias. Choice-supportive bias. Outcome bias.
Monitoring the selected causes of success or failure.	Bandwagon effect. Attentional bias. Outcome bias.
Promote the questioning of the success and failure causes.	Bandwagon effect.
Take an outside view and/or advice.	Blind spot bias.
Look for other options to the selected causes (what else could have happened?)	Choice-supportive bias. Confirmation bias.
Once the causes were identified, identify possible biases in their selection.	All
Training employees to detect situations in which biases are likely to occur.	All
Implement a checklist to rule out biases.	All

It is advisable that the project management be aware of the Bias Risk in the implementation of the lessons learned sessions and therefore, some preventive actions could be taken using the project management tools, in addition to request the expert advice and apply common sense.



Spanish version available at:
https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/07/la-actividad-de-lecciones-aprendidas-de.html