[OR] [MLRe] [E2] [C13] Improving Lessons Learned of OR Implement Phase for Malaysian Life Reinsurance Group Berhad

Improving Lessons Learned

Testing is useful only if it changes something. This chapter covers Stage 5, the last stage of the Implement phase: Improve Lessons Learned at Malaysian Life Reinsurance Group Berhad (MLRe).

What is "Improve Lessons Learned"?

It is the discipline of capturing what scenario tests, real incidents, and near misses reveal, and turning those findings into lasting improvements. A lesson is not "learned" until something has changed and the change has been checked.

What should MLRe be learning?

• Whether impact tolerances were met, and what drove the result.
• Where dependencies, workarounds or plans did not work as expected.
• How decisions, escalation and communication performed under pressure.
• What worked well and should be preserved.

Continuous learning

Lessons should come from many sources: scenario tests, actual incidents at MLRe, incidents at suppliers, public events affecting other financial institutions, regulatory developments and audit findings.

How to Improve and Communicate Lessons Learned

1. Analyse and consolidate lessons learned

Collect findings from post-exercise reports and incident reviews into a single register. Look for themes, such as repeated weaknesses in vendor notification or unclear decision authority. Rank each lesson by impact, urgency, and feasibility.

Entries are examples of the format only.

2. Develop and implement action plans

Prioritise high-impact items, name an owner, set a deadline, and define what "done" looks like. Track actions through the OR Steering Committee. Items that need funding or a tolerance change go to the Board.

3. Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement

Encourage honest reporting, blame-free reviews and open discussion of near misses. Staff who flag problems should be thanked, not penalised. Chapter 15 develops this further.

4. Communicate lessons learned effectively

Tailor the message to the audience: brief, decision-focused papers for the Board; practical changes for service owners; short summaries for all staff. Use several channels, such as committee papers, team briefings and the intranet. Explain the benefit as well as the change.

5. Monitor and evaluate improvement efforts

Track completion rates and ageing of actions. Retest the area to confirm the fix works. Update plans, tolerances and the dependency map where lessons require.

Practical Tips

• Hold the review within a week of an exercise, while memories are fresh.
• Limit each report to a small number of significant actions.
• Report overdue actions to the Board without softening.

Summary

A working lessons-learned loop closes the Implement phase and makes the cycle repeat. The Sustain phase, starting in Chapter 15, focuses on keeping the capability alive through culture, communication, training and assurance.

eBook 2: Implementing Operational Resilience for Malaysian Life Reinsurance
C1	C2	C8	C14

	"Implement" Phase of the Operational Resilience Planning Methodology
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