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Vision and Approach Matter

• Best practices differ, often greatly, depending on which strategic vision or approach an organization selects. We found that vision and approach matter far more than whether an organization is private or public.
• A strategic vision is necessary to answer essential implementation decisions, such as the desired outcomes of the program and the target audience for the lessons learned.
• The strategic approach can leverage business process management or corporate learning strategies or a hybrid of both.
• In addition, deliberate choices should be made about how to collect, validate, and disseminate lessons learned.

A Strong Culture of Learning Is Essential

• A strong culture of learning is essential for a lessons-learned program to function effectively and can be fostered through intraorganizational enabling elements, such as securing leader and workforce buy-in; establishing practices, policies, and procedures; and creating and/or connecting existing organizational infrastructure.
• Extraorganizational knowledge sources, including communities of practice and informal networking, can enhance the effectiveness of the lessons-learned program.

Knowledge Management Is a Major Aspect of Such a Program

• The information collected and lessons that have been learned should be made available to the broader organization, which can be done in a variety of ways, including databases, reports, and even public recognition.