Lessons Learned from System Integration: A Strategic Synopsis

Learning from past experiences remains a key priority for industry and academia alike. Lessons learned are meant to facilitate this process of learning and are a well-known concept in project management, systems engineering, and knowledge management disciplines. However, given their embodied nature and presence in tacit and explicit forms, they are hard to acquire and fully realise through traditional means. This paper investigates lessons learned from system integration projects in the railway sector. System integration is an ongoing industrial challenge that is complex, multifaceted, hard to disentangle, and requires proper learning from prior experiences. By conducting an archival review and content analysis of thirty-seven documents (presented at an independent knowledge network), this paper investigates the frequency of ten key system integration patterns mentioned directly or indirectly at different interactive sessions (attended by a diverse group of stakeholders from multiple organisations). Consequently, the paper outlines five robust lessons learned to address these patterns. The underlying context of these lessons is also described to facilitate the development of appropriate approaches for their realisation. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the presented lessons for policy making and systems performance management.