A Conceptual Framework to Improve Project Team Learning in Major Projects

Abstract

Organizational learning within project teams is a phenomenon that is gaining considerable attention lately by both researchers and professionals. Review and analysis of lessons-learned documents from major projects, indicates that mistakes are repeated and lessons might not be learnt. This leads us to question whether project teams are truly learning the lessons. The purpose of this paper was to present a framework to improve project team learning in major projects. The research used a focus group methodology to investigate issues related to: learning barriers and enablers, individual and group aspects of learning as well as the mechanism of learning itself. The findings were, to say the least, very surprising as they reveal a lack of incentive for learning, lack of documentation of learning, and absence of collaborative learning within project teams.