Action Items

Transform insights from lessons learned into actionable tasks with clear ownership, deadlines, and tracking.

Overview

Lessons are only valuable if they drive change. Action items are the bridge between identifying a problem and actually fixing it. Cothon's action item system ensures that insights from past bids translate into tangible improvements for future bids.

What Are Action Items?

Action items are specific, assignable tasks that emerge from lessons learned. They answer the question: "What exactly will we do differently next time?"

Characteristics of Good Action Items

Specific - Clear scope and deliverable

• Bad: "Improve communication"
• Good: "Create daily standup template with agenda and blocker tracking"

Assignable - One person is responsible

• Bad: "The team should..."
• Good: "Assigned to: Sarah Chen (Proposal Manager)"

Measurable - You know when it's done

• Bad: "Better proposal templates"
• Good: "Update 5 proposal templates with new risk mitigation section"

Time-bound - Clear deadline

• Bad: "Soon"
• Good: "Due: April 15, 2026"

Actionable - Starts with a verb

• Bad: "Proposal quality"
• Good: "Implement 3-stage review process for proposals over 50 pages"

Creating Action Items

From the Lesson Creation Form

When creating a lesson, you can add action items directly:

From an Existing Lesson

Add action items to lessons after they're published:

1. Open the lesson detail page
2. Scroll to the Action Items section
3. Click + Add Action Item
4. Fill in the form and click Create

From the Action Items Dashboard

Create standalone action items:

1. Navigate to Lessons Learned → Action Items tab
2. Click + New Action Item
3. Optionally link to a lesson
4. Fill in details and assign

During Team Meetings

Capture action items in real-time during debrief meetings:

1. Project the lesson creation form on screen
2. As the team discusses "what should we do differently," add action items
3. Assign owners on the spot with their agreement
4. Set deadlines based on team discussion

Action Item Fields

Task Description (Required)

Clear description of what needs to be done.

Format: Start with an action verb

Examples:

• "Update cloud migration proposal template with phased delivery section"
• "Schedule training session on probing client pain points in Q&A"
• "Create risk mitigation library with 10 common scenarios and quantified mitigation strategies"
• "Implement daily standup process for proposals over 50 pages"

Length: 10-200 characters (concise but complete)

Detailed Notes (Optional)

Additional context, instructions, or background:

Include:

• Why this action item is important
• Specific requirements or constraints
• Links to related resources
• Success criteria

Example:

"This template should include: (1) phase breakdown with milestones, (2) rollback procedures for each phase, (3) go/no-go decision criteria, (4) sample timeline. Reference the ISED cloud migration win (Lesson #47) as the model. Final template should be approved by Solutions Architect before deployment."

Assigned To (Required)

The person responsible for completing this action item.

Selection:

• Choose from team members with dropdown
• Only one person can be assigned (avoid diffusion of responsibility)
• Assignee receives notification upon creation

Best practice: Get the person's agreement before assigning them. Forced assignments reduce completion rates.

Due Date (Required)

When should this be completed?

Setting deadlines:

• Be realistic but create urgency
• Align with upcoming bid opportunities if relevant
• Consider the person's workload

Common timeframes:

Deadline extensions: Assignees can request deadline extensions with justification. The lesson author or action item creator approves extensions.

Priority (Required)

How urgent is this action item?

High Priority:

• Blocks next bid
• Addresses critical failure mode
• Regulatory or compliance issue
• Quick win with high impact

Medium Priority:

• Improves process but not blocking
• Moderate impact on future bids
• Standard process enhancement

Low Priority:

• Nice-to-have improvement
• Long-term optimization
• Low frequency issue

Default: Medium (can be changed anytime)

Status (Auto-tracked)

Action items move through these statuses:

Status workflow:

Category (Auto-inherited)

Action items inherit the category from their parent lesson (Win, Loss, Process, Technical). This helps filter action items by theme.

Linked Lesson (Optional but Recommended)

Connect the action item to the lesson that inspired it.

Benefits:

• Provides context for why the task exists
• Enables traceability from insight to implementation
• Shows impact when the action item is completed

Multiple lessons: One action item can be linked to multiple lessons if it addresses a recurring theme.

Managing Action Items

Action Items Dashboard

Access: Lessons Learned → Action Items tab

Views:

My Action Items: Tasks assigned to you

Team Action Items: All action items for your team or department

All Action Items: Every action item you have access to

Completed: Finished tasks (for reference and reporting)

Filtering Action Items

By Status:

• Open
• In Progress
• Blocked
• Complete
• Verified

By Priority:

• High
• Medium
• Low

By Assignee:

• Me
• Specific team member
• Unassigned

By Due Date:

• Overdue
• Due this week
• Due this month
• Due this quarter
• No deadline

By Category:

• Win-related
• Loss-related
• Process-related
• Technical-related

By Lesson:

• From specific lesson
• From lessons with specific tags
• From lessons about specific department

Sorting Action Items

By Due Date: Upcoming deadlines first (default)

By Priority: High priority first

By Created Date: Newest first

By Status: Open/In Progress first (hides completed)

By Assignee: Alphabetical by person

Bulk Operations

Select multiple action items for batch updates:

Bulk status change: Mark multiple items as "In Progress" or "Complete"

Bulk reassignment: Reassign multiple tasks to a different person (e.g., when someone leaves)

Bulk priority adjustment: Reprioritize multiple tasks at once

Bulk deadline extension: Push out deadlines for multiple related tasks

Updating Action Items

As the Assignee

Changing status:

1. Open the action item
2. Click the Status dropdown
3. Select the new status
4. Optionally add a comment explaining the change

Adding progress notes:

1. Scroll to the Activity section
2. Click Add Note
3. Describe what you've done or any blockers
4. Notes are visible to the lesson author and team

Marking complete:

1. Change status to Complete
2. Add a note describing what was done
3. Optionally upload deliverables (updated templates, documents, etc.)
4. Lesson author is notified to verify completion

Requesting deadline extension:

1. Click Request Extension
2. Provide justification
3. Propose new deadline
4. Action item creator is notified to approve/deny

As the Action Item Creator

Verifying completion:

1. Review assignee's completion notes and deliverables
2. Confirm the action was completed satisfactorily
3. Change status from Complete to Verified
4. Add a comment thanking the assignee

Handling extension requests:

1. Review the justification
2. Approve (sets new deadline) or Deny (keeps original deadline)
3. Add a comment explaining your decision

Cancelling action items:

1. Change status to Cancelled
2. Add a note explaining why (e.g., "Addressed by different initiative," "No longer relevant")

Notifications

For Assignees

You receive notifications when:

• You're assigned a new action item
• An action item you own is approaching its deadline (7 days, 3 days, 1 day)
• An action item you own becomes overdue
• Someone comments on your action item
• Your extension request is approved or denied

For Action Item Creators

You receive notifications when:

• Assignee changes status to "Blocked" or "Complete"
• Assignee requests deadline extension
• Your action item becomes overdue
• Someone comments on the action item

For Team Leads

You receive notifications when:

• New action items are created in your department
• Action items on your team are overdue
• Team action items are marked complete
• Weekly digest of team action item status

Notification Preferences

Configure notification settings in Settings → Notifications → Lessons Learned:

Frequency:

• Real-time (immediate)
• Daily digest (morning summary)
• Weekly summary (Monday morning)

Channels:

• In-app notifications
• Email
• Mobile push (if Cothon mobile app is installed)

Filters:

• Only high-priority action items
• Only action items I'm assigned to
• Only action items from specific categories

Action Item Reports

Individual Reports

My Action Items Summary:

• Total assigned to me
• Open vs. complete
• Overdue count
• Average time to completion

Access: Profile dropdown → My Action Items

Team Reports

Team Action Item Dashboard:

• Total action items by status
• Completion rate by team member
• Overdue action items by priority
• Average time from creation to completion

Access: Lessons Learned → Action Items → Team Report

Organizational Reports

Lessons Implementation Report:

• Total action items created from lessons
• Completion rate overall
• Most common action item types
• Impact of completed action items on win rates (if measurable)

Access: Analytics → Lessons Learned Impact

Executive Summary:

• High-priority action items (status)
• Overdue critical items
• Recent completions with business impact
• Trends in action item volume and completion rates

Access: Analytics → Executive Dashboard

Best Practices

Create Action Items Immediately

Don't wait: Capture action items while insights are fresh, ideally during the lesson creation process itself.

Make it routine: Build action item creation into your standard debrief meeting agenda.

Assign to One Person

Avoid "team" assignments: "The team will..." leads to diffusion of responsibility. Assign to a specific person who can coordinate others if needed.

Get buy-in: Don't surprise people with assignments. Assign in meetings where they can agree to the task and deadline.

Set Realistic Deadlines

Balance urgency with feasibility: Too tight → tasks won't get done Too loose → tasks are forgotten

Typical guideline:

• Simple tasks (< 2 hours): 1 week
• Medium tasks (2-8 hours): 2-3 weeks
• Complex tasks (8+ hours): 1-2 months

Make Tasks Specific

Bad: "Improve proposal quality" Good: "Add executive summary template with 5-section structure to proposal toolkit"

Bad: "Better communication" Good: "Implement daily 15-minute standups for all proposals > 50 pages, starting with next bid"

Link to Lessons

Always link action items to their source lesson: This provides context and helps measure which lessons drive the most change.

Review Regularly

Weekly team meeting: Review action item status, blockers, upcoming deadlines

Monthly retrospective: Celebrate completed action items, discuss patterns in blockers

Quarterly review: Measure completion rates, identify trends, recognize top contributors

Celebrate Completions

Recognize implementers: When action items are completed, publicly acknowledge the assignee's work in team meetings or newsletters.

Show impact: When a completed action item helps win a bid or avoid a mistake, document that connection and share the success story.

Update as You Go

Don't wait until the deadline: Update status to "In Progress" when you start, add notes as you work, flag blockers immediately.

Benefits:

• Keeps the team informed
• Surfaces blockers earlier
• Prevents "oh no it's due tomorrow" surprises

Close the Loop

Verify completion: Don't just accept "Complete" status—review the deliverable and confirm quality.

Update the lesson: When an action item is verified, add a note to the source lesson documenting that the improvement was implemented.

Measure impact: If possible, track whether the completed action item achieved its goal (e.g., "Reduced proposal prep time by 15%").

Common Pitfalls

Too Many Action Items

Problem: Creating 10+ action items from a single lesson overwhelms assignees and reduces completion rates.

Solution: Focus on 2-4 high-impact actions per lesson. If you have more, prioritize and spread across multiple lessons or phases.

Vague Task Descriptions

Problem: "Update templates" is too vague—which templates? What updates?

Solution: Specify exactly what needs to be done: "Add phased delivery section to cloud migration proposal template, including rollback procedures and go/no-go criteria."

No Follow-Through

Problem: Action items are created but never reviewed, leading to 20% completion rates.

Solution: Make action item review a standing agenda item in weekly team meetings. Track completion metrics and hold people accountable.

Unrealistic Deadlines

Problem: Setting aggressive deadlines to "create urgency" but they're ignored because everyone knows they're not achievable.

Solution: Be realistic. It's better to have a 1-month deadline that's met than a 1-week deadline that's perpetually extended.

Assigning to "The Team"

Problem: "The team should implement daily standups" → no one feels personally responsible.

Solution: Assign to one person (e.g., Bid Manager) who owns implementation, even if it involves coordinating others.

Creating but Not Tracking

Problem: Hundreds of action items created, most lost in the backlog, no visibility into what's actually being done.

Solution: Use the dashboard views, set up notifications, review status regularly. Quality over quantity.

No Link to Lessons

Problem: Action items created standalone without context about why they're important.

Solution: Always link to the source lesson. This provides rationale and helps measure which lessons drive change.

Integration with Workflow

During Debrief Meetings

Agenda item: After discussing "What should we do differently?", immediately create action items.

Real-time capture: Project the lesson creation form and add action items as the team suggests them. Assign owners before the meeting ends.

Follow-up: Send meeting notes with action item summary to all attendees.

During Sprint Planning

Review action items: Include relevant lessons learned action items in your sprint/cycle planning.

Balance with project work: Ensure team members have capacity for both project work and action item follow-through.

During 1-on-1s

Check-in on action items: Managers should review action item status during regular 1-on-1s with team members.

Discuss blockers: Use 1-on-1 time to unblock issues and provide resources.

Recognize progress: Acknowledge completed action items and their impact.

During Bid Kickoffs

Review relevant lessons: When starting a new bid, review lessons from similar opportunities and their action items.

Check if implemented: Verify that relevant action items were completed before the new bid started.

Apply learnings: Explicitly incorporate completed improvements into the new bid approach.

Examples

Example 1: Template Update Action Item

From Lesson: "Win: Phased Cloud Migration Approach Secured $2.4M ISED Contract"

Action Item:

• Task: Update cloud migration proposal template to include phased delivery section
• Details: Add new section after methodology covering: (1) phase breakdown with milestones, (2) rollback procedures for each phase, (3) go/no-go decision criteria, (4) sample 9-month timeline. Use ISED win (Lesson #47) as reference. Final template needs Solutions Architect approval.
• Assigned To: Proposal Manager (Sarah Chen)
• Due Date: April 15, 2026 (2 weeks)
• Priority: High
• Status: Open → In Progress (April 3) → Complete (April 12) → Verified (April 13)

Outcome: Template updated, reviewed, and deployed. Used successfully on next cloud migration bid.

Example 2: Process Implementation Action Item

From Lesson: "Process: Daily Standups Reduced Proposal Revisions by 40%"

Action Item:

• Task: Implement daily standup process for all proposals over 50 pages
• Details: Create standup template (agenda, roles, timing). Train team on facilitation. Add to proposal development playbook as mandatory step. Schedule standups at bid kickoff for qualifying proposals.
• Assigned To: Bid Manager (James Liu)
• Due Date: May 1, 2026 (3 weeks)
• Priority: Medium
• Status: Open → In Progress (April 10) → Blocked (April 15, "Need approval on Zoom meeting license for remote standups") → In Progress (April 18, "Approval received") → Complete (April 28) → Verified (May 2)

Outcome: Process implemented, first use on DND cybersecurity bid. Reduced revisions from 5 to 3 cycles as predicted.

Example 3: Training Action Item

From Lesson: "Loss: Missed Hidden Requirements in Q&A Signals"

Action Item:

• Task: Schedule training session: "Probing for Client Pain Points in Q&A"
• Details: 60-minute session covering: techniques for asking follow-up questions, identifying hidden concerns from client questions, case studies from recent bids. Invite all bid managers, PMs, and solutions architects. Record for future reference.
• Assigned To: Senior Bid Manager (Maria Rodriguez)
• Due Date: Next monthly team meeting (April 25, 2026)
• Priority: Medium
• Status: Open → In Progress (April 8) → Complete (April 25, "Training completed, 18 attendees, recording saved to knowledge base") → Verified (April 26)

Outcome: Training delivered, well-received. Team applied techniques on next Q&A session and uncovered risk aversion concern that shaped the proposal.

Example 4: Tool/Resource Creation Action Item

From Lesson: "Loss: Underestimated Integration Complexity on Healthcare RFP"

Action Item:

• Task: Create integration project estimating guidelines with mainframe complexity multipliers
• Details: Document complexity multipliers for different legacy system types: microservices (1x), 2000s-era APIs (1.5x), 1990s client-server (2x), mainframes (3x). Include case studies and actual vs. estimated data from past 3 years. Add to estimating toolkit.
• Assigned To: Estimating Lead (Tom Park)
• Due Date: April 30, 2026 (1 week)
• Priority: High
• Status: Open → In Progress (April 24) → Complete (April 30) → Verified (May 2)

Outcome: Guidelines created and added to toolkit. Used on next healthcare integration bid, resulting in more realistic (and credible) timeline estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Now that you understand action items:

• Review Analytics - See which lessons generate the most action items
• Configure Review Gates - Add approval steps before action items are created
• Explore Risk Predictions - See how completed action items reduce predicted risks