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8/12/2017 University of Phoenix: Project Management: The Managerial Process

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Project Closure

Project Closure Types of Project Closure Wrap-up Closure Activities Post-Implementation Evaluation Retrospectives Summary Appendix 14.1: Project Closeout Checklist Appendix 14.2: Euro Conversion

8/12/2017 University of Phoenix: Project Management: The Managerial Process

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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to relive it. —George Santayana, 1863–1952

Every project comes to an end eventually. But how many project participants get excited about closing out a project? The deliverables are complete. Ownership is ready to be transferred. Everyone's focus is what's next— hopefully a new, exciting project. Carefully managing the closure phase is as important as any other phase of the project. Observation tells us that organizations that manage closure and review well prosper. Those who don't tend to have projects that drag on forever and repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Closing out a project includes a daunting number of tasks. In the past and on small projects the project manager was responsible for seeing all tasks and loose ends were completed and signed off. This is no longer true. In today's project-driven organizations that have many projects occurring simultaneously, the responsibility for completing closure tasks has been parsed among the project manager, project teams, project office, an oversight “review committee,” and an independent retrospective facilitator. Many tasks overlap, occur simultaneously, and require coordination and cooperation among these stakeholders.

The three major deliverables for project closure are described below (see Figure 14.1):

1. Wrapping up the project. The major wrap-up task is to ensure the project is approved and accepted by the customer. Other wrap-up activities include closing accounts, paying bills, reassigning equipment and personnel, finding new opportunities for project staff, closing facilities, and the final report. Checklists are used extensively to ensure tasks are not overlooked. In many organizations, the lion's share of closure tasks are largely done by the project office in coordination with the project manager. The final report writing is usually assigned to one project office staff member, who assembles input from all stakeholders. In smaller organizations and projects, these closure activities are left to the project manager and team.

FIGURE 14.1 Project Closure and Review Deliverables

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Evaluation of performance and management of the project. Evaluation includes team, individual team members, and project manager performance. Vendors and the customer may provide external input. Evaluation of the major players provides important information for the future.

3. Retrospectives. Retrospectives of lessons learned are designed to improve performance on current and future projects. Today, most retrospectives are the responsibility of an independent facilitator. The facilitator also provides major input to the closure report that will include lessons learned. These post- project reviews should be held with the team to catch any missing issues or gaps.