Project Post-Mortems: Turning Challenges into Champions

As the year winds down and the Christmas rush chaos (hopefully) starts to ease, many businesses turn their minds to reviewing business performance and planning next year’s goals.

It is important to regularly review overall business performance. However, businesses sometimes overlook the power of a project-specific mid- or after-action reviews.

Recently, a head contractor client told me a story about an after-action review that identified an unusual strategy that had helped her business recover a project from a perilous situation. I asked what the key learning was, and her answer surprised me. Can you guess what she said?

She said that following the review, the project team realised that the major turnaround strategy was pausing all site works for a weekly Friday lunch BBQ. The cost of a few dozen sausages, hot dog buns and cans of Coke saved her business a tonne of money and angst. It was an opportunity to gather the trade subcontractors in a neutral, casual environment. Project and site information could be communicated, and a forum was created for subcontractors to air grievances and foreshadow coming challenges. Suddenly, hostility was reduced, and everyone started pulling in the same direction. The project recovered the program and finished on time.

The contractor would never have realised this without an after-action review, and now they have made the Friday BBQ a tradition on all of their sites.

Throwing a few snags on the barbie might not be the answer to your project problems, but this story highlights that a project review can reveal surprisingly effective risk management strategies.

Be a “January Joiner”

For longer-term projects or projects that didn’t make the “after-action review list” due to the day-to-day challenges of getting things done, the beginning of the calendar year can be a logical time to examine individual projects in depth. The construction and mining services industries are typically a little quieter, meaning project and contract management teams have more mental and calendar space to devote to a thorough review.

If your project team is considering this, I want to suggest some questions to guide the after-action review. These questions will help you determine what you want to do again next time and what you definitely want to avoid.

NEGOTIATION

• Was it hard to get the contract signed? Were some contracts easier to finalise than others, and if so, why?
• Did the negotiation process slow down the project unnecessarily? If yes, how could it be streamlined?
• Were there any clauses that caused headaches during the negotiation phase, that we didn’t use in practice? Can these be removed from future contracts?

EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT

• Were the contract terms clear and effective in managing expectations?
• Did everyone understand the structure of the contract and know where to find key project information (e.g., party representative contact details, payment submission process, scope of services and exclusions)?
• Did any clauses or provisions cause confusion or delay? How could they be improved?

CHANGE AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

• How well did the team handle variations or changes to the contract?
• Was the change management process practical? Can we streamline it, for example by providing everyone with contract management templates (variation claims, payment claims, notice of delay)?
• Were there any disputes or disagreements? How were they resolved?

OVERALL CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

• Were the tools and systems used for project management effective?
• Are we using project management software that complicates management unnecessarily? Can we pare it back and just use existing software tools (e.g., 365 products)?
• What should we carry forward as a best practice for future projects?

Reflecting on past projects through after-action reviews isn’t just about identifying mistakes. It’s about celebrating wins, building stronger teams, and creating a roadmap for continuous improvement. By asking the right questions and committing to open and honest discussions, we can turn every contract challenge into a learning opportunity and each success into a repeatable strategy. Have you uncovered an unexpected contract win via an after-action review? Hit reply and tell me, I’d love to hear about it.

SoundLegal End of Year Break

I’ll be slowing down my work hours from 13 December 2024 to 10 January 2025, so I can enjoy the summer break with my family. Get in touch now if you have a contract project that you’d like to get into my January list.

Book in for a free 15 minute consultation

About Gemma

I help construction, engineering and consulting businesses create and negotiate clear contracts so they can make more profit and achieve great project outcomes.

I founded SoundLegal to help SMEs in the engineering, construction, consulting and light industrial sectors manage their risk to support business growth, by finding practical, common sense solutions to contractual and other legal challenges.

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