Prepare Lesson Learned Document

DOE-STD-7501-99

There are a large number of sources of such information. The DOE Corporate Lessons Learned

Lead Office maintains a listing of frequently consulted sources, and these are provided for

reference on the DOE Corporate Lessons Learned System. As valuable new information sources

are identified, they should be forwarded to the Lead Office through the Lessons Learned List Server

so they may be shared DOE wide.

DOE and contractor personnel are active members of numerous professional societies. Each

local lessons learned program should establish mechanisms to encourage these individuals to

share potential lessons learned information that they receive through their professional affiliations.

Prepare Lesson Learned Document

5.2

Lessons learned documents for local use may be tailored as appropriate for local needs. Lessons

learned for Department-wide dissemination and dissemination external to DOE should provide

certain essential information to reduce search time and enhance determination of relevancy. A

template for documenting lessons learned information for complex-wide dissemination is included

in Appendix A. The template data elements are used for entering lessons into the Corporate

Lessons Learned database. Other formats are acceptable, but valuable lessons for future

operations are more easily handled for archiving when the template elements are all included. The

Headquarters Lessons Learned Lead Office is available to work with local lessons learned points of

contact to structure local lessons learned for broader dissemination. The objective of a DOE-wide

format is to provide an abstract of key information and points of contact for additional detail. The

Template Categories are provided to assist users in accessing information relevant to their needs.

Content and Style

5.2.1

Local lessons learned programs should establish guidance on content and style for preparing

lessons learned. A lesson learned written from locally-generated information should contain five

basic elements:

A clear statement of the lesson

A background summary of how the lesson was learned

Benefits of using the lesson and suggestion how the lesson may be used in the future

Contact information for additional detail

Key data fields to aid searchability