Lessons Learned

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Purpose

This guidance sets out a consistent and proportionate approach for capturing, analysing and applying lessons learned from your contracts.

Effective lessons learned processes help to:

Improve future contract and supplier management
Strengthen commercial capability
Reduce the risk of repeat failures
Support continuous improvement and value for money
Enhance transparency, accountability and public trust

All those involved with the bid and/or contract, both in your Organisation and the bidder Organisations, should be asked for feedback. This could include a variety of roles e.g. contract managers, procurement officers, logistics, estate managers, etc.

Scope

This guidance applies to:

Medium/high value contracts (as defined by organisational or sectoral thresholds)
Medium/high risk or complex contracts, including:
- Novel or first-of-type arrangements
- Strategic or critical services
- Long-term or high-dependency suppliers
- Contracts subject to significant change, dispute or performance challenge

Lessons learned should be captured at key points across the contract lifecycle, not only at contract end.

Quickfire Guide

Principles

Lessons learned activity should be:

Proportionate – scaled to contract value, risk and complexity
Timely – captured while information and insight are still fresh
Evidence-based – grounded in facts, data and documented experience
Blame-free – focused on learning, not fault
Action-oriented – resulting in clear improvements and changes
Shared – disseminated appropriately to benefit the wider organisation and sector

When to Capture Lessons Learned

Lessons learned should be captured at planned points and trigger events, including:

Planned Points

End of mobilisation / transition phase
Annual or major performance reviews
Key contract milestones
Contract closure or exit

Trigger Events

Significant performance failure or service disruption
Major contract variation or scope change
Commercial dispute or escalation
Supplier financial distress or ownership change
External audit, assurance or ministerial interest

Roles and Responsibilities

Below is an example of some of the roles who may be responsible for capturing lessons learned at the relevant stage of a contract.

The roles you include should be proportionate and relevant to your contract and Organisation:

Senior Responsible Owner (SRO)

Ensures lessons learned activity is undertaken
Champions a learning culture
Approves final lessons learned outputs

Contract Manager

Leads the lessons learned process
Coordinates input from stakeholders
Ensures findings are documented and shared

Commercial / Procurement Teams

Provide structured challenge and commercial insight
Ensure learning feeds into future procurement exercises
Maintain organisational lessons learned repositories

Suppliers

Contribute openly and constructively
Share their own lessons and improvement actions
Participate in joint reviews where appropriate

How to Capture Lessons Learned

Preparation

Before undertaking a lessons learned review:

Define the scope (what period, phase or issue is being reviewed)
Identify participants (contract team, users, finance, legal, supplier)
Gather evidence, such as:
- Performance reports and KPIs
- Risk and issue logs
- Change control records
- Financial and commercial data
- Audit or assurance findings

Structured Review Approach

Use a standard structure to ensure consistency and comparability. Reviews should typically consider:

Contract Strategy and Design

Were objectives, outcomes and success measures clear?
Was the risk allocation appropriate?
Were assumptions realistic?

Mobilisation and Transition

Was mobilisation adequately planned and resourced?
Were roles, responsibilities and governance clear?
Were dependencies understood and managed?

Supplier Performance and Relationship

How effective was supplier performance management?
Were issues identified and addressed early?
Was the relationship collaborative but appropriately robust?

Commercial and Financial Management

Were pricing, incentives and payment mechanisms effective?
How well were variations and change managed?
Were value for money and affordability maintained?

Risk, Resilience and Assurance

Were risks identified, mitigated and monitored effectively?
How resilient was the service and supply chain?
Did governance and assurance arrangements work as intended?

Skills and Capability

Did the contract team have the right skills and capacity?
Was support accessed when required?

Quickfire Guide

Recording Lessons Learned

Each lesson should be recorded clearly and consistently, including:

What happened (fact-based description)
Why it happened (root cause)
Impact (cost, performance, reputation, service users)
What worked well (to be repeated)
What could be improved (to be changed)
Action required (specific and measurable)

You should try to avoid using vague statements; lessons should be specific and transferable.

There is a Lessons Learned Template available for you to use, which can be found at the bottom of this page.

There are also two populated examples of the Lesson Learned Template, to demonstrate how the template can be used. These can also be found at the bottom of the page.

Turning Lessons into Action

Lessons learned only add value if they result in real change.

Action Planning

Assign ownership for each improvement action
Set timescales and success measures
Link actions to existing improvement or capability plans

Integration into Business-as-Usual

Lessons should inform:

Future procurement strategies and business cases
Contract management plans and templates
Risk management and assurance approaches
Training and capability development
Standard terms, conditions and commercial models

Sharing and Knowledge Management

Internal Sharing

Store lessons learned in a central, searchable repository
Share summaries with procurement, commercial and assurance teams
Use anonymised case studies where appropriate

Cross-Organisation and Sector Learning

For significant contracts, consider:

Sharing learning through sector forums or Centres of Expertise
Contributing to Scottish Government or public sector guidance updates
Supporting peer learning across organisations

Governance and Assurance

Lessons learned activity should be visible within governance structures
Completion and follow-up actions should be monitored

Care and Support Services

For Care and Support Services, please read the Care and Support Services Lessons Learned Guidance, which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Checklist

Key Success Factors

Effective lessons learned processes depend on:

Senior leadership support
A culture of openness and improvement
Consistent methodology and documentation
Clear accountability for action
Ongoing reinforcement, not one-off exercises

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