Begin the project retrospective mind map template by assessing the performance and identify the budget and requirements against deliverables, risks, and quality.
Evaluate the successes, reasons, and processes and think of what went well and what you'd like to repeat on future projects.
Afterwards, think of what could have gone better and identify the areas that need improvement. Consider the challenges, reasons, and processes you can make to prevent all these from happening on the next project.
Once you measured the highs and lows, reconsider the changes you can make, which may include project planning, redefining requirements, technical processes, etc.
The project review analyses the results achieved to date and defines whether or not the project has met the targets set. With this in mind, clearly define the next objectives that will support you in accomplishing the project and add the participants that will contribute to it.
Name of the project
Type in the name of the project that is under review, and press Enter.
Scope
Excludes
Add an aspect or area of the project which is excluded from this review.
Includes
Add an aspect or area of the project which is included in this review.
What we will change
Review the analysis of performance, what went well and what could have gone better and summarise the changes that you will make as a result of this review.
Think about changes to:
- Project planning, resourcing, and management
- Risk assessment and control
- Information available to team members
- Requirements management
- Technical processes
- Change control
- Testing
Follow-up
Follow up
When will the implementation of the change be followed up?
Add a follow-up date or meeting.
When
When will the change be implemented?
Add a target date for completion.
Who
Person
Who will implement the change?
Identify the person(s) responsible for implementing this change.
Objectives
Objective
The objectives of the review should be explained to participants and kept in mind during the review.
Add an objective after reviewing your project.
Participants
Participant
Who should take part in the project review?
Consider:
- Customer representatives
- User representatives
- Project managers
- Team members
- Quality Assurance staff
Add a participant.
What could have gone better
Add an area that could have gone better, and which could be improved in future projects.
What changes could be made to processes and methods to avoid default in future projects?
Think about:
- Project management and planning
- Risk assessments
- Project communication
- Requirements management
- Technical processes
- Change control
- Testing
What role did processes play?
- Did processes and methods play a part in the project?
- Did they fail to identify or cope with problem situations?
- Or did problems arise by not following normal processes?
Were there any predictors?
- Were there any warning signs that the project would not go well?
- Were there any early signs of trouble which were missed?
- Were there any early signs of trouble, but no action was taken?
- Were there any early signs of trouble, but the wrong action was taken?
Add some notes about the reasons behind the project.
Was it due to:
- Inadequate skills or knowledge?
- Insufficient planning or risk assessment?
- Lack of information or incorrect information?
- Inadequate processes or tools?
- Incorrect use of processes or tools?
- Bad luck (coincidental problems)?
- Other reasons?
Problems
Problem
Add some notes about what went wrong with the project.
Was it:
- Late?
- Over budget?
- Not doing the right thing?
- Unreliable or faulty?
- The source of more problems later?
What went well
Area
Add an area that performed well, that the team was proud of and that you would like to repeat on future projects.
Change
What changes could be made to processes and methods to ensure that the success of the project can be repeated in future projects?
Think about:
- Project management and planning
- Risk assessments
- Project communication
- Requirements management
- Processes that you had to vary on this occasion
- Change control
- Testing
Processes
Process
What role did processes play?
- What role did agreed processes and methods play in the success of the project?
- Did they help in achieving a good outcome?
- Or did you succeed by bending processes and rules?
Predictors
Predictor
Add indicators that will show how the project will go.
- Were there any advance signs that the project would go well?
- Which usual signs of trouble were absent?
- Were there early warning signs which were picked up and successfully dealt with?
Reasons
Reason
Add some notes about the reasons for the success of the project.
Was it due to:
- Skills and knowledge?
- Good planning?
- Good information?
- Good processes and tools?
- Good luck (no surprise problems)?
- Other reasons?
Successes
Success
Add some notes about what went well with the project.
Was it:
- On time?
- On a budget?
- Meeting requirements perfectly?
- Reliable and well-executed?
- Strategic and well-integrated?
Performance
Quality
Add some information about the quality performance of your project.
- Did you have a quality plan for your project?
- Did you use formalized processes or methods during the project?
- Did you verify designs against requirements?
- Did you validate deliverables against designs and requirements?
- What proportion of defects could have been foreseen and designed out earlier?
- What was the overall impact of rework or redesign on the project?
Risks
Risk
Add some information about the risk performance of your project.
- Did you keep a log of potential risks?
- Did you take action to control risks?
- How many of the identified risks actually occurred? Were you able to control their impact?
- How many problems arose which had not been identified as risks? Could some of these have been predicted?
Changes
Impact
Add some information about the impact of change in your project.
- Did you keep a log of changes?
- Did you use a change control method in your project?
- What were the origins of changes in your project? Did they come from the customer, from clarified specifications, or from unexpected issues?
- Did you have to make changes to the original scope to meet other constraints?
Deliverables
Output
Add some information about the performance of deliverables.
- Did the project plan define deliverables?
- Were the deliverables completed on time?
- Did you have defined acceptance criteria?
- What was the initial acceptance rate?
- Was further work needed to bring deliverables up to the required level? What impact did this have on the project?
Requirements
Requirement
Add some information about performance against requirements.
- Did you have a set of requirements at the start of the project?
- How clear were these requirements?
- How well were you able to meet these requirements?
- Did the requirements change during the project?
- Was there any impact from changing requirements?
- Were changing requirements identified as a project risk?
Timescales
Timescale
Add some information about the timescale performance of the project.
- Did you have a plan with dated milestones?
- Did you achieve the milestone dates?
- Did you need to make changes to keep to the plan?
- What were the reasons for running late or ahead?
Budget
Financial
Add some information about the financial performance of the project.
- Did you have a planned budget?
- How close to the budget was it?
- Did you need to make some changes to keep it within budget?
- What were the reasons for going under or over budget?
Communications
Information
Add some information about the performance of the communication of the project.
- Did you have a communications plan?
- Did all project stakeholders know enough about the project at the right times?
- Could the project participants find the information they needed, in the expected places?
- Did the project stakeholders provide all the information and feedback needed?
