{"id":2707,"date":"2025-11-08T21:07:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T21:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unternehmensberatung-jarosch.com\/?p=2707"},"modified":"2025-11-08T21:17:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T21:17:32","slug":"lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unternehmensberatung-jarosch.com\/en\/lessons-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Lessons Learned<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A blog by Dr. Uwe-Klaus Jarosch, November 2025<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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In the blog \u201cKnowledge \u2013 Management,<\/a>\u201d I attempted to provide an explanation for knowledge in companies.<\/p>

This knowledge, these instructions for action, are subject to change. This also means that knowledge \u2013 unless it concerns the fundamental laws of nature \u2013 becomes outdated.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Look at the knowledge that loses its value in its old form due to technical developments and must be replaced by new rules as an example.
Take a work instruction for operating a lathe. If you are working on a \u201cconventional,\u201d mechanically controlled lathe, you have to follow completely different instructions than if you are operating a CNC-controlled lathe.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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An organization (i.e., a company, a government agency, or even my private household) must keep its knowledge and rules up to date. Otherwise, the rules can no longer be applied in a meaningful way. This applies to all forms of knowledge, from management systems and standards to current instructions in today’s projects.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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One sign is when rules are suspended or circumvented because they are no longer appropriate. In this case, supervisors and process managers should respond and check whether the rules still make sense.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Another sign that a rule needs to be changed is when errors occur in the process or as a process result.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Another way to keep knowledge up to date is by a lessons learned process.<\/p>

Lessons learned is a tool for continuous improvement.<\/p>

Regularly, ideally at short intervals, recent events are critically analyzed:<\/p>

  • What went well but has not yet been codified?<\/li>
  • What went wrong according to the existing process and should be improved?<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    The result of this analysis should consist of three parts:<\/p>

    1. What were the boundary conditions under which the problem occurred?<\/li>
    2. What were the causes that led to this problem?<\/li>
    3. What are the successful solutions that should be applied again elsewhere and on other occasions? What were unsuccessful attempts at solutions that do not need to be considered in the future?<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Lessons Learned shall become effective in future<\/strong>.<\/p>

      Experiences should be recorded in order to derive instructions for action.<\/p>

      Mistakes happen. But they should not be repeated<\/strong>.<\/p>

      Lessons learned means learning from failures.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      This learning only has a lasting effect if<\/p>

      • the lessons learned are available and distributed<\/strong>. What is not known and accessible will not be applied.<\/li>
      • this knowledge accumulation<\/strong> must be a company process with a responsible driver. Therefore, an advocate<\/strong>, a sponsor<\/strong>, is needed. This can be an LL representative in management or the experts responsible for a technical topic (Center of Competence).<\/li>
      • The effort required to carry out the analysis properly requires a budget<\/strong>.<\/li>
      • And it requires authorization<\/strong> within the company to turn the new findings into a valid rule.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        Professions that deal with life and death cultivate intensive lessons learned.<\/p>

        • After every military operation, every special police operation, and every critical medical procedure, the latest events and steps are discussed critically.<\/li>
        • New findings and possible improvements are immediately incorporated into future procedures.<\/li>
        • In these teams, they are bindingly agreed upon.<\/li>
        • Everyone in the team is informed of the decisions and must follow them.<\/li><\/ul>

          Development teams in agile development processes also conduct regular reviews to adapt the next steps and procedures to current requirements.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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          In larger organizations, lessons learned are often difficult.<\/p>

          • The effort involved in regularly critically questioning one’s own working methods is avoided. When it does take place, it is often only to the point of collecting problems.<\/li>
          • What are the consequences? Who needs to be involved in the solution? In which cases should the solution be binding, and in which cases should it be an option?
            Where are the new findings recorded and authorized?<\/li><\/ul>
            • Is it even the intention and practice of the company to prescribe working methods to other working groups, departments, or plants? (Keyword: standardization)<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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              Another point of contention is the type of filing system.<\/p>

              Should lessons learned be entered into systems\u2014in the sense of a database?<\/p>

              Or should lessons learned be linked to individuals who are informed and drive the use of the new findings?

              From my perspective, Lessons Learned must be a combination of storage in an organized data pool AND the timely information flow to all people who shall use these LL.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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              Conclusions:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

              • Lessons learned is a process within the company that must be organized and supported.<\/li>
              • The goal of standardization is supported by LL; the greater the standardization, the more important and comprehensive LL becomes.<\/li>
              • The more success or even life and limb depend on everytime learning, the more intensively LL is pursued.<\/li>
              • The larger the circle of LL users is to be, the more difficult the implementation. It requires management support and authorization of the new rules.<\/li>
              • Simply naming problems (writing on the wailing wall) is not LL.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                Stay curious<\/p>\n

                Uwe Jarosch<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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