13. LESSONS LEARNED & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Project Name: [Your Project Name]
Owner/Lead: [Name]
Created: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Status: [Planning / In Progress / On Hold / Completed]

Overview

This document defines processes for capturing learning, improving processes, and building institutional knowledge. It ensures the team continuously improves and knowledge is preserved.

Connections: Uses Sections 4, 8, 9; Feeds into next project cycle

Architecture Decision Records (ADR) Process

ADR Template

ADR Number: [001]
Title: [Decision Title]
Status: [Proposed / Accepted / Deprecated / Superseded]
Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Deciders: [Names]
Consulted: [Names]
Informed: [Names]

Context

[What is the issue we're seeing that is motivating this decision?]

Decision

[What is the change we're proposing or have agreed to implement?]

Consequences

Positive:

• [Benefit 1]
• [Benefit 2]

Negative:

• [Trade-off 1]
• [Trade-off 2]

Neutral:

• [Impact 1]

Alternatives Considered

1. [Alternative 1]

   • Pros: [List]
   • Cons: [List]
   • Why not chosen: [Reason]

2. [Alternative 2]

   • Pros: [List]
   • Cons: [List]
   • Why not chosen: [Reason]

References

• [Link to related ADR]
• [Link to documentation]
• [Link to discussion]

ADR Log

Location: docs/adr/ directory

API Documentation Standards

Documentation Requirements

Every API endpoint must document:

• Endpoint URL and method
• Request parameters (required/optional)
• Request body schema
• Response schema
• Error responses
• Authentication requirements
• Rate limits
• Example requests/responses

Documentation Tools

• OpenAPI/Swagger for REST APIs
• GraphQL Schema for GraphQL APIs
• Postman Collections for testing
• README files for libraries/APIs

Documentation Location

• API Reference: docs/api/
• Library/API Documentation: docs/api/
• Integration Guides: docs/integrations/

Operations Runbook Template

Runbook Structure

Service: [Service Name]
Owner: [Team/Person]
Last Updated: [Date]

Overview

[Brief description of the service]

Architecture

[High-level architecture diagram or description]

Deployment

Staging:

• Environment: [URL]
• Deployment process: [Steps]
• Rollback process: [Steps]

Production:

• Environment: [URL]
• Deployment process: [Steps]
• Rollback process: [Steps]

Monitoring

• Health Check: [URL]
• Metrics Dashboard: [URL]
• Logs: [Location]
• Alerts: [Configuration]

Common Operations

Restart Service:

1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

Scale Service:

1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]

Troubleshooting:

Emergency Contacts

• On-Call Engineer: [Contact]
• Technical Lead: [Contact]
• Escalation: [Contact]

Lessons Learned Capture Template

Template Structure

Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Sprint/Phase: [Sprint Number or Phase Name]
Facilitator: [Name]
Participants: [Names]

What Went Well

1. [Success 1]

   • Impact: [Description]
   • Replicate: [How to repeat]

2. [Success 2]

   • Impact: [Description]
   • Replicate: [How to repeat]

What Could Be Improved

1. [Improvement 1]

   • Issue: [Description]
   • Impact: [Description]
   • Action: [What to do differently]

2. [Improvement 2]

   • Issue: [Description]
   • Impact: [Description]
   • Action: [What to do differently]

Action Items

Retrospective Process

Sprint Retrospective

Frequency: End of each sprint
Duration: 1 hour
Format: [Start/Stop/Continue / 4Ls / Other]

Agenda:

1. Review sprint goal achievement
2. What went well?
3. What could be improved?
4. Action items for next sprint
5. Update process documentation

Phase Retrospective

Frequency: End of each phase
Duration: 2 hours
Participants: Full team + stakeholders

Agenda:

1. Review phase objectives
2. Lessons learned capture
3. Process improvements
4. Update project documentation
5. Plan next phase improvements

Post-Mortem Process

Trigger: Critical incidents, failures, or significant issues

Timeline:

• Within 48 hours of incident
• 2-hour meeting
• Report within 1 week

Structure:

1. Incident timeline
2. Root cause analysis
3. Impact assessment
4. What went wrong?
5. What went well?
6. Action items to prevent recurrence

Knowledge Base Structure

Documentation Hierarchy

docs/
├── architecture/
│   ├── system-overview.md
│   ├── component-specs.md
│   └── adr/
├── api/
│   ├── rest-api.md
│   ├── graphql-api.md
│   └── library-documentation.md
├── operations/
│   ├── runbooks/
│   ├── troubleshooting/
│   └── incident-response.md
├── development/
│   ├── setup-guide.md
│   ├── coding-standards.md
│   └── testing-guide.md
└── learning/
    ├── lessons-learned/
    ├── retrospectives/
    └── post-mortems/

Knowledge Base Maintenance

Ownership:

• Technical Lead: Architecture docs
• Project Lead: Process docs
• Team: Feature-specific docs

Update Frequency:

• After each sprint
• After major decisions
• After incidents
• Quarterly comprehensive review

Code Documentation Standards

Code Comments

When to Comment:

• Complex algorithms
• Business logic that's not obvious
• Workarounds or temporary solutions
• Public APIs

Comment Style:

• Use clear, concise language
• Explain "why" not "what"
• Keep comments up to date
• Remove obsolete comments

Documentation Comments

For Public APIs:

/**
 * Creates a new user account with the provided information.
 * 
 * @param userData - User registration data
 * @returns Promise resolving to the created user
 * @throws {ValidationError} If user data is invalid
 * @throws {ConflictError} If email already exists
 * 
 * @example
 * const user = await createUser({
 *   email: 'user@example.com',
 *   name: 'John Doe'
 * });
 */

Team Handbook

Culture & Values

[Document team culture, values, and working principles]

Onboarding

New Team Member Checklist:

• Access to repositories and tools
• Read START-HERE.md and QUICK-START.md
• Review architecture documentation
• Setup development environment
• Complete first task
• Attend all ceremonies

Working Agreements

• [Agreement 1]
• [Agreement 2]
• [Agreement 3]

Communication Norms

• Response time expectations
• Meeting etiquette
• Documentation standards
• Code review expectations

Continuous Improvement Backlog

Improvement Categories

Process Improvements:

• [Improvement 1]
• [Improvement 2]

Tool Improvements:

• [Improvement 1]
• [Improvement 2]

Documentation Improvements:

• [Improvement 1]
• [Improvement 2]

Technical Improvements:

• [Improvement 1]
• [Improvement 2]

Prioritization

Priority Criteria:

• Impact on team productivity
• Impact on code quality
• Impact on user experience
• Effort required

Review Frequency: Monthly

Success Criteria

Continuous Improvement Success:

• ADRs created for all major decisions
• Retrospectives conducted regularly
• Lessons learned captured and acted upon
• Documentation kept up to date
• Knowledge base accessible and useful
• Team contributing to improvements

Last Updated: [Date]
Next Review: [Date]
Owner: [Name]