I was facilitating a Remodelers Advantage Roundtable peer group meeting recently. A member, Regis McQuaide, owner of Master Remodelers in Pittsburgh, contrasted doing a “job autopsy” with doing a “job biopsy.”
Like the terms imply, an “autopsy” is done after the project is over. It is about looking back to find the lessons that might help the company do better on future projects. Regis suggested that a “biopsy” done regularly during the job could help ensure the health of the job, the success of the job, because the insights gained in real time would allow the company to make small changes sooner. The “biopsy” would certainly include reviewing job costing (actual costs relative to budget/estimated costs).
What a simple way to term a repeating practice that is
likely to make your projects more healthy (profitable with happy clients, in
other words) than they would be otherwise!