Post Implementation Review Report Template

Run the review once the system is in normal use. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests 6 to 18 months after it starts operating¹, adjusted to when its benefits were due. Too early, and benefits still on the way go uncounted. Too late, and the organization's knowledge of the project may be lost.

With a vendor contract, aim to finish a few weeks before the notice deadline, so there's time to negotiate.

Have someone outside the project lead the review, such as internal audit or a finance partner, with the project team supplying data. GAO notes that a review's success will largely depend on the credibility and competence¹ of the people who conduct it.

Don't confuse a PIR with the lessons-learned session at handover, which asks how the project was run; a lessons learned template covers that. A PIR asks whether the result is worth its cost, and what that teaches about choosing systems.

List every promise the business case made, in its own words and units. The UK government's project delivery guide, the Teal Book, says the current performance level for each benefit should be established before work starts². It also asks for a named owner for each benefit.

Missing a baseline, or the whole business case? Rebuild the numbers from what survives: the proposal, the approval email, the vendor's pitch deck or old reports. Mark each rebuilt figure, since it is weaker evidence than an approved forecast.

Measure each result exactly as the promise was measured: same units, same period, same data source. The workflows you tested before launch are a good place to start; your UAT test plan lists them.

Where the business case priced a benefit, price the result the same way, so the gap is in dollars. Say 40 technicians were promised 12 fewer minutes of driving a day and got 4. Over 250 working days, at a $58 loaded hourly cost (pay, benefits and payroll taxes), the 8-minute gap is worth $77,333 a year.

If the business case didn't price a promise, don't invent a price; report the gap in its own units. Note what else changed, such as prices, volumes or staffing. The Teal Book warns that for some benefits, it can be hard to separate the effects of changes from other external factors².

Label each benefit as cash or capacity. Hours saved become money only when a cost stops, such as overtime, or when the time goes to paying work.

For each shortfall, check first whether the feature behind the benefit is being used. Go by the system's own records, not logins: for the technicians above, count the trips actually planned in its route planner.

A feature that works but gets skipped is an adoption problem, fixed with training, a changed process or a manager checking the step. One used as designed that still falls short is a capability problem for the vendor. Each leads to a different ask.

How the rollout was managed matters. Prosci, which sells change management training, asked more than 2,600 change practitioners to rate their projects. Of those who rated their change management excellent, 88% met or exceeded objectives³, against 13% of those who rated it poor.

Rank the fixes by the dollars each would recover, and fund the top one or two. When the fix is getting people to stop skipping a step, a process change and adoption kit plans the relaunch.

Pull four terms from the contract: what you committed to buy, the unit price, the renewal date and the notice period. Subtract the notice period from the renewal date. A contract renewing July 1 with 60 days' notice has a notice deadline of May 2.

Next, compare what you pay for with what's in use. GAO names two checks for the right number of software licenses: tracking the licenses in use and regularly comparing them with purchase records⁴. In a 2024 report, none of the nine agencies GAO reviewed in depth had fully determined whether their five most widely used licenses were over- or under-purchased.

Price unused seats at your contract rate, and plan to cut them at renewal, since some contracts allow reductions only then. HubSpot's customer terms, for instance, say you can't downgrade your subscription during its current term⁵. A contract summary puts these terms and dates on one page.

Lead with the verdict and state it plainly, even when it's unflattering. The review informs the next decision; it isn't there to defend the original purchase.

1. 1

   Verdict

   The share of promised value delivered, in dollars, and the decision due by the deadline.

2. 2

   Promised versus delivered

   One row per promise, measured the same way, with each number's source.

3. 3

   Causes

   Adoption or capability for each gap, with the usage data that shows which.

4. 4

   Fixes

   One or two, each with an owner, a cost, a date and the dollars it recovers.

5. 5

   Contract and ask

   Annual cost, unused seats at the contract rate and the specific change you'll request.

6. 6

   Next review

   The date you'll measure again, once the fixes have had time to work.

Short on time? The tool at the top of this page reads your business case, contract terms and usage numbers, then drafts the review with its arithmetic shown.