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    "title" : "How to conduct a project reflection |Digital.gov",
    "description": "How to conduct a project reflection",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"How to conduct a project reflection","deck" : "A template for ending projects","summary" : "Use this template, shared at the 2024 Spring Community Summit, to improve your own service delivery.","date" : "2024-07-19T00:00:00Z","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"jessica-marine" : "Jessica Marine"},"topics" : {
        
            "digital-service-delivery" : "Digital service delivery"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection.md",
      
      "filepath" :"resources/how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/resources/how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection.md","slug" : "how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection/","aliases" : {"0" : "/resources/service-delivery-project-reflection/"},"weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003eReflecting on a completed project is important because it enables digital service delivery teams to identify strengths and weaknesses in current methods, allows for targeted improvement, and fosters a culture of excellence within teams. The process of reflecting and learning requires planning and whole-team participation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-five-ws-of-a-project-reflection-what-when-why-who-and-where\"\u003eThe five Ws of a project reflection: What, when, why, who, and where\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"what-is-a-project-reflection\"\u003eWhat is a project reflection?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTeams can use a project reflection as a learning mechanism. Project reflections help to identify strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement, as well as to celebrate achievements and share feedback.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"when-do-you-conduct-a-project-reflection\"\u003eWhen do you conduct a project reflection?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA project reflection generally occurs at the end of a project. Mid-project check-ins may also be appropriate given the length, complexity, or size of a project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"why-do-you-conduct-project-reflections\"\u003eWhy do you conduct project reflections?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReflections are a catalyst for growth. Reflecting on past projects allows us to make better informed decisions on future projects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"who-participates-in-a-project-reflection\"\u003eWho participates in a project reflection?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe participants of a project reflection are project members who will contribute their experience and reflect on what occurred on a project, what outcomes were achieved, and how their contributions impacted the project outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe facilitator of a project reflection is a relatively neutral party who guides the conversation and synthesizes the raw notes into a summary that those outside the project can easily understand.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"where-do-we-conduct-a-project-reflection\"\u003eWhere do we conduct a project reflection?\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA project reflection can happen either in person or online. The goal is to create a safe space to achieve maximum participation and candidness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-to-conduct-a-project-reflection\"\u003eHow to conduct a project reflection\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"prepare\"\u003ePrepare\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFacilitators should schedule one-and-a-half to two hours for a productive reflection session. A two-hour session is highly recommended for sessions with more than six participants, or for teams that encounter challenges throughout a project. Leading up to the session, facilitators will:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrepare the project reflection prompts.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRemind the team of project goals.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDid we achieve our goals? How do we know?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDid the outcomes change? When and why?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat are a few of our biggest achievements?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat are a few of our biggest challenges?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat would we do differently knowing what we know now?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat should we look for to assess our impact in the future?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShare reflection prompts with all participants two to three days ahead of the scheduled session to allow participants to gather their thoughts ahead of time. Project reflection prompts should be a series of questions that allow team members to thoughtfully look back on their former project’s engagements and goals.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDevote the first 10 to 15 minutes of the session to giving the team some space to verbally reflect on the project goals. This includes assessing if team goals were met or if they changed over the course of the engagement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"project-reflection-template\"\u003eProject reflection template\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelper text: Use this template to plan your team’s approach to reflecting on web and digital projects, and gather the information you will need to have a productive retrospective. You can modify the template below (originally developed by 18F) to meet your team’s needs. This template can be adapted to digital or in-person environments. Use your team’s preferred collaboration tools to create different areas for each of the sections within the template.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe conversation this template generates should focus on process, not people. If there is a disagreement about a particular point, take a stance of curiosity, indicate that you wish to discuss that point further, and have a conversation as a team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"box \"\u003e\n  \u003ch3 id=\"project-reflection-for-91project-name93\"\u003eProject reflection for [project name]\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate\u003c/strong\u003e: [start date - end date]\n\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants\u003c/strong\u003e: [team members]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"background\"\u003eBackground\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[Background, including link to project proposal]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring this time, the team should be able to see and access the project information, such as:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDescription of Activity 1 [link as appropriate]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDescription of Activity 2 [link as appropriate]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDescription of Deliverable [link as appropriate]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"project-goals\"\u003eProject goals\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e[copy from project proposal]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"project-prompts\"\u003eProject prompts\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s spend 5 minutes (more or less) responding to each of the prompts. Feel free to mark other people’s responses up with additional feedback:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse a plus sign \u0026ldquo;\u003cstrong\u003e+\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026rdquo; to signal you agree\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse a dollar sign \u0026ldquo;\u003cstrong\u003e$\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026rdquo; to spend time discussing or unpacking as a group\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse a question mark \u0026ldquo;\u003cstrong\u003e?\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026rdquo; if you don’t understand the feedback\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"did-we-achieve-our-goals-how-do-we-know\"\u003eDid we achieve our goals? How do we know?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 to 2 sentences, maximum.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"did-the-outcomes-change-when-and-why\"\u003eDid the outcomes change? When and why?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 to 2 sentences, maximum.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"what-are-a-few-of-our-biggest-achievements\"\u003eWhat are a few of our biggest achievements?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"what-are-a-few-of-the-biggest-challenges-we-faced\"\u003eWhat are a few of the biggest challenges we faced?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"what-would-we-do-differently-if-we-could-go-back-in-time-to-the-start-of-this-project-knowing-what-we-know-now\"\u003eWhat would we do differently if we could go back in time to the start of this project knowing what we know now?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"six-months-from-now-what-should-we-look-for-to-assess-our-impact\"\u003eSix months from now, what should we look for to assess our impact?\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf we were to check in on the project 6 months from now, what would tell us whether or not our work had a lasting impact?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBad sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBad sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBad sign:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"learn-more-about-the-project\"\u003eLearn more about the project\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProject files: [link]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProject GitHub repository: [link]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProject team collaboration channel: [link]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e[other project documentation as appropriate]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch3 id=\"reflect\"\u003eReflect\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce each team member has had time to reflect on their project engagements and goals, facilitators should carry out the following actions for each assigned reflection prompt:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGive the participants five minutes to silently write their thoughts and post them in the collaborative space. If this is in a remote environment, recommend to participants that they go on mute and turn off their cameras during this writing time.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOnce participants are done writing, give another three to five minutes for participants to read their team member’s responses. Then, at the beginning of each response add a:\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlus sign (\u003cstrong\u003e+\u003c/strong\u003e) to signal they agree with another member’s prompt\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDollar sign (\u003cstrong\u003e$\u003c/strong\u003e) to spend time unpacking the thought as a group\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e​Question mark (\u003cstrong\u003e?\u003c/strong\u003e) to indicate they don’t understand the response\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLimit the number of + and $ each participant has to “spend” if it seems they are being used too much.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpend 10 minutes discussing each topic. Start with the topic that has the most + and work backwards from there. Pay attention to who is speaking during each discussion and encourage the quieter voices to weigh in as well.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSave the last 20 minutes of the session for the following:\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFive to 10 minutes to ask, \u0026ldquo;is there anything that you think is critical to cover that we haven’t addressed yet?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFive to 10 minutes to celebrate what went well and reflect on lessons and resources the team could share more broadly, even if they weren’t the highest-voted topics. Otherwise, it can be easy to only focus on the negative during sessions, which can inadvertently leave teams feeling deflated.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne to two minutes to share next steps. Facilitators should highlight how they plan to synthesize key takeaways from the discussion and how this information will be shared.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"synthesize-and-share\"\u003eSynthesize and share\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the reflection process, facilitators should synthesize and summarize the key points from the discussion, aiming for three to five takeaways per prompt. After conducting a thorough analysis of the discussion:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFacilitators should share the key takeaways with the project team (and more broadly, if appropriate) to take these learnings into future projects.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeam participants should take time to revisit the lessons learned from this exercise before embarking on a new project.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
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