| This exploratory qualitative inquiry study describes how Information Technology program participants capture and use lessons learned in order to effectively and efficiently share knowledge among projects within the construct of a program. The 18 study participants represented three program roles: program manager, project manager, and subject matter expert and participated in in-depth interviews to provide their experiences and perceptions of lessons learned practices. Results for this study were organized into five sections: (a) perceptions of the role of lessons learned, (b) practices for capturing and sharing lessons learned, (c) expectations for capturing and sharing lessons learned, (d) perceptions of facilitators and barriers to capturing and sharing lessons learned, and (e) what would the participants do differently. The five themes for capturing and sharing lessons learned are: occasion, process, knowledge management system, setting, program management sharing, and culture. Perceptions of facilitators and barriers to capturing and sharing lessons learned generated an additional five themes, of which two were facilitators: culture that supports lessons learned and personal success, and three were barriers: culture that does not support lessons learned, time, and process and tools. The overarching result from this study is culture. Culture was shown to have the greatest impact on the use of lessons learned to facilitate knowledge sharing for IT program management because it could be a facilitator or a barrier. The main finding related to culture for capturing and sharing lessons learned was institutionalizing lessons learned. This study contributes to the knowledge to the project management profession by providing experiences and perceptions of IT program management participants by program management role. |
