Project Closing

MGT 3302, Introduction to Project Management 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Describe the components of a basic project schedule.

2. Discuss project management as a series of activities and tasks.

3. Explain how the project triple constraint is used to manage a project.

4. Develop a project plan. 4.1 Prepare a polished version of a simple project plan.

5. Analyze factors impacting control of project costs.

6. Summarize project management techniques.

6.1 Describe project closing techniques.

7. Examine project teams.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

1 Unit VIII Course Project

2 Unit VIII Course Project

3 Unit VIII Course Project

4.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 9, pp. 304–317 Unit VIII Course Project

5 Unit VIII Course Project

6.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 9, pp. 304–317 Unit VIII Course Project

7 Unit VIII Course Project

Required Unit Resources Chapter 9: Closing the Project, pp. 304–317

Unit Lesson In this unit, we discuss the activities needed to occur once we terminate a project. The termination could be because we successfully completed all of the work and handed the deliverables to the customer, or there could be reasons why we need to terminate the project early. Project Closing All planned projects should have an endpoint. Having an absolute end is a part of the definition of what a project is. Once all of the work activities have been completed and the deliverables have been accepted, then it is time to close out the project. Many times, the project manager (PM) will not do the closing activities. The

UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE

Project Closeout

MGT 3302, Introduction to Project Management 2

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organization may not require closing activities, or closing activities may not be considered a necessity. In some cases, the PM is ready to move on to the next project. However, the importance of closing project activities cannot be understated. What are some of the activities needed when closing a project? While the project deliverables should have been delivered and accepted, in some cases, final project reports have not been created. These final reports may or may not be considered as being a part of the final deliverables. For example, deliverable reports might include results of testing or quality reports. Reports that are a part of project closing might include a report of project changes, a communication log, a risk assessment matrix, or lessons learned. These types of reports would need to be organized and archived with all of the project information for future reference. A part of closing activities would include making final payments to vendors and suppliers. Also, any monies owed to the organization would need to be collected. This is referred to as an accounting closeout. Team members would need to be recognized and thanked for their hard work. The organization may require a post- project evaluation. And again, much of this information will need to be documented and added to the archived project information. Accounting Closeout Based on the contracts we have with the customer, final payments would need to be collected. Also, the PM would need to verify that invoices for materials, subcontractors, and contractors have all been paid. Once all of the monies have been paid or collected, then the accounting closeout can happen. Most likely, the organization will want an analysis of the actual cost versus budgeted cost. Team Recognition For many organizations, there will be some sort of a closeout party. This is to celebrate project success and to reward team members for their hard work. It may be something informal like a bowling party or more formal with speakers. Also, in many cases, the PM will be required to do a performance evaluation of all of the team members. Post-Project Evaluation There is valuable knowledge to learn based on project performance. Most of the time, organizations do not want to repeat the same mistakes over and over. The goal is to get better and better so projects will be successful. The PM would have a meeting with the team and then with individual team members to get impressions of project performance. In a team meeting, the following items might be discussed.

1. Technical performance: This item is not about how any specific technology worked; rather, it refers to the technical aspects of the project. In other words, how accurate was the scope of the project? Were there any changes to the scope? If so, what was the impact on the project?

2. Budget performance: In sum, how did the estimated budget compare to the actual budget? Were there any cost overruns? If so, what was the cause? How can we prevent this in the future?

3. Schedule performance: How accurate was the original schedule? Did changes have to be made? Were estimated activity durations correct?

4. Project control: Was there enough detail in the project plan? Was there too much detail? 5. Project risk: Were all of the project risks identified? Were there any unanticipated risks? Were the

responses adequate? Was the risk assessment matrix a helpful tool? 6. Customer satisfaction: Was the customer involved in the processes of the project? Were any

customer concerns anticipated? Were there any events that affected customer satisfaction? 7. Supplier and vendor relationships: Did the suppliers or vendors deliver as promised? 8. Team and stakeholder relationships: Were there any sources of conflict on the team? Were the

stakeholders involved in the processes of the project? 9. Communication: Were the team, stakeholders, and leadership kept apprised of any issues that

occurred? Did the team members feel comfortable approaching the PM with any concerns?

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10. Problem management: Were the team members encouraged to anticipate any problems? If there were any problems, were they dealt with quickly and efficiently?

11. Lessons learned: What could have been done differently? 12. Recommendations: Based on all of this information, do we have some new best practices for future

projects? The discussion of these items should be put into a project performance report. Depending on the organization, this information may be dispersed to leadership and/or added to the archives for future reference. Lessons Learned Lessons learned are an important part of the knowledge that a PM gathers during project closure. This knowledge is valuable for future projects and whether they are successful. This information will likely go into the archive along with the project information; however, it should not be placed there and just forgotten. Lessons learned need to be shared for other PMs to benefit. Archival of Project Documents It is very frustrating when a PM tries to find information about a previous project, and they cannot find it. It just makes sense that if an organization plans to have other, similar projects that the organization should hold on to that information in a repository. Yes, the PM could contact the PM for that previous project, but what if the PM does not work for the company anymore? It just makes sense to retain all of the information for future use. Customer Feedback One may think that just delivering what the customer asked for is enough to determine customer satisfaction. We may even think that, if we deliver on time and within budget, the customer will be happy. But, that is not always the case. Not only do we want to deliver on expected benefits, but we need to get feedback from the customer. For example, what if the customer's impression was that we were very unorganized in our project planning? What if there were a lot of delays in delivery of materials or machinery that led the customer to believe that we do not have good relationships with our suppliers or vendors? These types of impressions might lead to a customer choosing a different organization next time. Therefore, the PM needs to know this information to correct for future projects. But, what if we terminated our project before it was completed? Yes, this does happen. In some cases, something will happen and will cause us to either fully stop the project or put the project on hold. What if it was determined that some idea for a new technology was not economically feasible? We might have to put the project on hold pending future research or changes in economic condition. What if there were some issue that caused an organization to be low on capital? Larger projects might have to be put on hold until a future date. What if there was a potential merger? The organization might put a freeze on all hiring and capital expenditure until decisions were made regarding the merger. What if a customer decides that we will not deliver what they are asking for? They might terminate the project. Even though a project is moved to a future date or is terminated, we still have to take measures to close out the project. It does not make sense to do a lot of project planning and then just throw that information away only to have to redo it again next year. That planning could serve as an initial project template for the new project plan. What if the project no longer supports our organization's strategic plan? A good example of this is having planned projects for our remote facilities and then discovering that we need to close one of those facilities. Any projects based on that facility will need to be closed. Also, what if we have a 3-year technology project but we know the technology will advance in 2 years?

MGT 3302, Introduction to Project Management 4

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Summary This unit wraps up our unit lessons. After completing this course, you should have a much clearer understanding of how to plan and manage a project. Hopefully, you realize it is not a simple endeavor. It can be quite complex with a lot of moving parts. Being able to successfully manage a project involves both academic knowledge and experience. This course serves as the foundation for being able to manage a project throughout its life cycle. But, the more experience you get, the better you will be at project management.

Reference Gido, J., Clements, J. P., & Baker, R. (2018). Successful project management (7th ed.). Boston, MA:

Cengage Learning.

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The video below discusses how to determine lessons learned at the closing of a project. Project Management Videos. (2013, September 30). How to capture lessons learned at the end of a project

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/DBUqW_ek4hI Transcript for How to Capture Lessons Learned at the End of a Project video The following video walks you through the process and reasons for closing a project. Project Management Videos. (2015, June 21). How and why to close a project - Project management training

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/aakuB-BtdlQ Transcript for How and Why to Close a Project - Project Management Training video

Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. In each chapter, there are questions to “Reinforce Your Learning” found in the left margin on some of the pages. For example, in Chapter 9, questions are found on pp. 306, 307, 308, 310, 311, 312, and 314. Answer the questions to check your knowledge. The answers may be found starting on page 487.