Project Post-Mortem
A Post-Mortem is a crucial step in determining a project's success. I recently conducted a post-mortem on a cricket club project I participated in, and I would like to share this with you. The project was thoroughly evaluated based on its activities and achievements, highlighting the importance of this process in project evaluation.
About the Project
The cricket club, driven by a vision that cricket can
add value to the lives of children, took on a project to host an annual cricket
competition for Primary Schools within a geographical region. The club's
intention was to identify cricket talents and seek sponsorship for children in
need, preparing them for a future in cricket. The project's growth was
propelled by the enthusiasm of schools, parents, and other external
organizations for cricket. Crucially, the project was effectively managed by a
dedicated cricket board that oversees the region to which the cricket was
extended, ensuring its success and providing reassurance about the project's
management.
Contributing Factors Leading to Success
The process, project artifacts, and activities are vital to success. The realization of an objective can occur in the shape of a project (Verhaar et al., 2013, p. 24). The project was realized because Jamaica’s cricket is dying since proficiency has diminished based on our history. As such, the President of the Westmoreland Cricket Association took the initiative to promote cricket from the early stage of a youth's life. The process was to:
- identify and invite schools to participate in the competition
- conduct coaching clinics to build the cricket skills of the young cricketers
- recruit persons to support the initiative
- design the competition on levels
A work breakdown structure (WBS) was used to help with
the planning. The WBS is an important planning tool that links objectives with
resources and activities in a logical framework (Tausworthe, 1979). The WBS showed
a breakdown of the tasks, timelines, and resources needed to execute the
project, and it was used as a communication and planning tool and a
post-evaluation of the project's success.
The project team convened at the end to appraise the
event. The participation of the invitees was great but some downfalls were:
· Sponsorship.
The Jamaica Cricket Association funded the project, but its financial support
was inadequate to cover the full cost, so sponsorship was sought.
· Accountability.
The project team consisted of only volunteers, most with a full-time career. The
availability of resource persons to execute tasks became an issue even though
the project team members were competent to carry out the tasks assigned with
their personal and professional experiences. Some persons accepted added responsibilities.
Contributing Factors for Improvement
Funding was a challenge that could have been better managed in the initial phase. Organizations must be attentive and open to all possible funding sources outside of business revenues, such as dues/fees, sales, foundations, and individuals (Burke & Larmee, 2010). Some processes, artifacts or activities that could be secured in the initial phase to mitigate against project failure are:
- Develop a budget to be reviewed, approved, and communicated to all stakeholders on the planning team and support in the initial phase.
- Undertake fundraising to accumulate funds to support the initiative
During the post-mortem meeting, the main fundraising
goal was to rent the cricket club for future events. This initiative pooled
funding that is now used for this annual event. The successful execution added
influence, increasing the funding coming from the Jamaica Cricket Association
and other international cricket clubs to support the event.
In closing, project managers and team members can
conduct a post-project review to realize their mistakes at the end of a project
and develop a list of lessons learned so that they don't repeat them in the
next project (Greer, 2010). The cricket club conducted the meeting at the end
and realized their mistakes; they took on new initiatives to improve the processes.
Burke, R. E., & Larmee, P. (2010). Fundraising,
Grant Writing, Budgeting, and Project Management. Essentials of Management and
Leadership in Public Health, 139.
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist:
Just enough PM to rock your projects! The project management minimalist: Just
enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.).
Tausworthe, R. C. (1979). The work breakdown structure
in software project management. Journal of Systems and Software, 1, 181-186.
Verhaar, Jan, and Iris Eshel. Project Management : A Professional Approach to Events, Eleven International Publishing, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/waldenu/detail.action?docID=3015790.
Hi Teika,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading through your post about the cricket club project. I can tell that your team put a lot of thought and effort into making the event successful despite some of the challenges you faced. Your use of the Work Breakdown Structure to plan the tasks and resources was smart! As you mentioned, it's a great tool for linking objectives with resources in a way that seems to have contributed to the success of your project (Tausworthe, 1979).
I find it interesting that the funding posed such a challenge, but it's great to see that the team was able to adapt by fundraising and securing support from external organizations. Your reflection on how this could have been managed better in the earlier stages aligns with project management best practices. By developing a clear budget early on and exploring diverse funding sources, these issues could be avoided, as Burke and Larmee (2010) highlighted.
Thanks for your post and for sharing your experience! You did a great job identifying areas of growth!
-Noelle De Silvestri
References
DeleteBurke, R. E., & Larmee, P. (2010). Fundraising, Grant Writing, Budgeting, and Project Management. Essentials of Management and Leadership in Public Health, 139.
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.).
Tausworthe, R. C. (1979). The work breakdown structure in software project management. Journal of Systems and Software, 1, 181-186.
Hi Teika,
ReplyDeleteConducting a post-mortem analysis on a project is essential for fostering continuous improvement and organizational learning. As highlighted in the blog post, the evaluation of the cricket club project not only identified successes but also illuminated areas needing enhancement, such as funding and volunteer accountability. This reflective practice aligns with the findings of Greer (2010), who emphasizes that post-project reviews allow teams to recognize mistakes and develop actionable lessons for future initiatives.
Moreover, the insights gained from a post-mortem can significantly influence future project planning and execution. For instance, the blog post mentions the need for improved funding strategies and better management of volunteer resources. Burke and Larmee (2010) suggest that organizations should remain open to various funding avenues, which can be critical in the initial phases of project development. By integrating feedback from post-mortem evaluations into future projects, teams can refine their approaches, ensuring that they are better equipped to tackle similar challenges. This proactive stance not only mitigates the risk of repeating past mistakes but also enhances the likelihood of achieving project objectives in subsequent endeavors.
References
Burke, R., & Larmee, A. (2010). Project management: A strategic planning approach. Project Management Institute.
Greer, D. (2010). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. Wiley.