Project Closure

May 5th, 2015

Recap: Managing versus Leading a Project Managing—coping with complexity

Formulate plans and objectives Monitor results Take corrective action Expedite activities Solve technical problems Serve as peacemaker Make tradeoffs among time, costs, and project scope

Leading—coping with change Recognize the need to change to keep the project on track Initiate change Provide direction and motivation Innovate and adapt as necessary Integrate assigned resources

Recap: Network of Stakeholders

FIGURE 10.1

Recap: Management by Wandering Around

Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) Involves managers spending the majority of their time in

face-to-face interactions with employees building cooperative relationships.

Characteristics of Effective Project Managers Initiate contact with key players. Anticipate potential problems. Provide encouragement. Reinforce the objectives and vision of the project. Intervene to resolve conflicts and prevent stalemates.

Leading by Example

FIGURE 10.4

Ethics and Project Management Ethical Dilemmas

Situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct is right or wrong:

Code of conduct Professional standards and personal integrity

Trust Ethic => Trust

Character (Does he want the right thing?) Competence (Does he know the right thing to

do?)

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Contradictions of Project Management

Innovate and maintain stability. See the big picture while getting

your hands dirty. Encourage individuals but stress

the team. Hands-off/Hands-on. Flexible but firm. Team versus organizational

loyalties.

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Qualities of an Effective Project Manager1. Systems thinker

2. Personal integrity

3. Proactive

4. High emotional intelligence (EQ).

5. General business perspective

6. Effective time management

7. Skillful politician

8. Optimist

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Today’s topic

Project Closure

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References

PMBOK Managing Iterative Software Development

Projects by Kurt Bittner, Ian Spence CMMI RUP

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Project Lifecycle

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Deliverables

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Why Project Closure?

Without a formal closure process, project teams can fail to recognize the end, and then the project can drag on—sometimes at great expense

Closure must be done both on project completion and cancelation

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What does project closure?

Outcomes match the stated goals of the project (when completion is achieved)

Customers and stakeholders are happy with the results

Critical knowledge is captured The team feels a sense of completion Project resources are released for new

projects

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Team

One of the highest benefits from project closure is releasing the teamFormalPost mortem

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Types of project Closure

Normal Premature Perpetual Failed project Changed priority

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The Project Closure Phase

The last phase of the Project Life Cycle Determined by the completion of all

Project Objectives and acceptance of the end product by the customer

The outputs from Project Closure Phase is input to execute the next projects with much more efficiency and control

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Project Closure

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PMBOK – Closing Process Group Includes the processes to

Formally terminate all activities of a project or project phase

Hand over the project to maintenance teams The project can be either completed or

canceled

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Closing Process Group Contains two processes:

Project Closure: This is the process necessary to finalize all activities across all of the Process Groups to formally close the project or a project phase.

Contract Closure: This is the process necessary for completing and settling each contract, including the resolution of any open items, and closing each contract applicable to the project or a project phase.

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Project Closure Procedures

Administrative Project Closure includes: Integrated activities to collect project recordsAnalyze project success or failureGather lessons learnedArchive project for future use

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Project Closure Procedures

includes:Product Verification - Work completed

correctly and satisfactoryAdministrative Closure – Updating contract

records to reflect final state and prepare them for archiving

Input for the Contract Closure Process

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Project Closure Inputs

Project Management Plan Contract documentation Enterprise environmental factors Organizational process assets Work performance information Deliverables

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Inputs: Contract Documentation Used to perform the contract closure

process Includes

The contract itselfChanges to the contract Other documentation (such as the technical

approach, product description, or deliverable acceptance criteria and procedures).

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Inputs: Enterprise environmental factors Organizational or company culture and

structure Governmental or industry standards Infrastructure Existing human resources Personnel administration Company work authorization system Marketplace info, stakeholder risk

tolerance… 26

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Inputs: Organizational process assets Organization’s processes and procedures

for conducting workStandardized guidelines, work instructions,

proposal evaluation criteria, and performance measurement criteria, templates…

Organizational corporate knowledge base for storing and retrieving informationProcess measurement database, project files,

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Inputs: Work performance information Schedule progress Deliverables that have been completed

and those not completed Schedule activities that have started and

those that have been finished Extent to which quality standards are

being met Costs authorized and incurred … 28

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Project Closure Outputs

Administrative Closure Procedure Contract Closure Procedure Final Product, service or result Organizational process assets (updates)

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Outputs: Administrative Closure Procedure All procedures and roles involved in

administrative closure Procedures for transfer to production

Action and activities for stakeholder approvalConfirmation of goals achievement (sponsor,

client, stakeholders, etc)Actions for satisfying all exit criteria

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Outputs: Contract Closure Procedure A step-by-step methodology addressing:

Terms and conditions of the contracts and any required completion or exit criteria for contract closure

Activities and responsibilities of the project ALL team members involved in the contract closure process

Actions performed to formally close all contracts associated with the completed project 31

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Output: Final Product, Service or Result Formal acceptance and handover of the

final product, service, or result that the project was authorized to produce

The acceptance includes receipt of a formal statement that the terms of the contract have been met

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Output: Organizational Process Assets Formal Acceptance Documentation Project Files Project Closure Documents Historical Information

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Close Process Tools

Project Management Methodology Project Management Information System Expert Judgment

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Before Tailoring Project Closure

Understand Iteration Closure Phase Closure … and then Project Closure

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Iteration Closure

Iteration is concluded by the iteration acceptance review, where the formal result of the iteration is agreed upon and recorded

This involves considering the results of the iteration and analyzing their impact on the project as a whole

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Iteration Closure: Measurement and Analysis Absolute progress Risk exposure Estimate to complete Effort profile Cost profile Effort Expended Find/fix rate (tolerance) Defect trends (tolerance)

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Iteration Closure: Acceptance Review Results Risks Objectives Requirements Adherence to Plan Lessons Learned Rework, external changes, feedback from

demo, other deliverables…38

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Iteration Grades

Exceptional Passed Passed at risk Unfinished Failed Abandoned

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Iteration recommendations

For Unfinished, Failed or Abandoned we can have the following recommendations:Re-planDe-scopeExtendTry againCancel

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Acting on Iteration assessment results Never confuse the map with the journey Adopt an attitude that continuous planning

is good Mature your process alongside your team Be prepared to cut your losses Be honest

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Phase Assessment

Differences from iteration assessments:Judge the project, not a single iterationAlways decide whether to continue or cancel

the projectFocus on the delivered value rather than on

performanceAssess project against the business case

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Phase Assessment topics Progress Risk Scope Baseline Performance Plans Business Case

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Phase Assessment approaches

Formal Phase Assessment Extend Iteration Assessment

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Concluding a Phase

Passed Passed at risk Failed

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Project conclusions

Approved Temporary approved Extended Paused Postponed Canceled

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Project Assessments

Performed not only at project closure Cover for:

Handle exceptions raised by the iteration assessments

Phase assessments are too far apartProvide review points for the overall project

(might include non-software subprojects)

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Assessment objectives [1]

Confirm that the need for the project has not changed

Satisfy the stakeholders of the quality of the products delivered by the project

Confirm that the business case is still viable

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Assessment objectives [2]

Authorize the continuation or cancellation of the project

Assess the benefits that the project has delivered

Assess the overall effectiveness of the project

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Transition planning

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1. Has the product been implemented and is it producing the expected benefits?

2. Have all deliverables been completed and implemented? If not, has accountability for outstanding items been assigned?

3. Have new workflows and procedures been documented, tested and implemented?

4. Have all outstanding issues been resolved or assigned owners?

5. Have hardware, software and other components been installed?

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6. Are system, functional, performance and user acceptance testing complete? Have serious bugs been fixed and a process implemented to deal with smaller bugs and/or new bugs that might surface during regular operations?

7. Is training of all staff (users, support, help desk) complete?

8. Is all required system and user documentation complete and available?

9. Has any old hardware, software, licenses been decommissioned?

10. Do you have the formal approval of the project from the Sponsor? 52

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Project Closure Example

In RUP we have the following activities:Update Project Close-Out Plan and Schedule

ActivitiesSchedule Final Configuration AuditsConduct a Project Post-Mortem ReviewComplete Acceptance Action ItemsClose Out the Project

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Tasks

Release of the resources Closure of any financial issues (labour,

contract etc. ) Collection and Completion of All Project

Records and Archiving them Recording Lessons Learned Debriefing Celebrate your success as a TEAM!!!

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Documents Collect final time sheets, expense reports, and team

status reports. Close or complete remaining tasks in the project

schedule. Collect final cost and schedule metrics. Make final payments to vendors and contractors, and

close out contracts. Review and update the issues log, highlight remaining

issues, and decide how these issues are to be addressed.

Prepare a plan for handling ongoing product support. Prepare a final project status report.

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Project Library Project planning documents Status reports Design documents Test cases and test results Issues and resolutions Risk documentation Change requests Presentations Important communications (both those sent and those

received) Time and expense reports Contracts and invoices

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Project Closure Report Prepared by the Project Manager and

presented to the Project Sponsor for sign-off

Document to be released at the beginning of the project closure (after execution is completed)

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Project Closure Report Contains:

A list of completion criteriaConfirmation that each completion criterion

has been metA list of outstanding business activities,

risks and issuesA set of closure actionsA request for project closure approval

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Post Implementation Review [1] The last record of the project Assess the projects level of success Identify lessons learnt and make

recommendations for future projects to enhance their likelihood of success

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Post Implementation Review [2] Done by reviewing the project's

performance against the original plans and conformance against the original processes outlined for the project.

May be completed by either the Project Manager or (ideally) an independent resource which offers an unbiased opinion of the project's success

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Document what you've learned [1] Survey team members about what

worked and what didn't Personal Feedback is important closure

for team members Call a meeting with your sponsor and

executive stakeholders to capture their thoughts

Complete customer satisfaction survey

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Document what you've learned Ask consultants and vendors for

objective feedback, both about your organization and about the project's execution

Provide a summary of your results to team members, either as a presentation at a meeting or as a formal document

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Resources Staff and non-staff resources will be

released and reallocated If your project team used a project

management office you probably have to make arrangements for return

When you organize the shutdown process for the project office, review the original setup procedures

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Recognize and reward

Provide each team member with a performance evaluation:Highlight contributions the member made. Identify skills the member updated. Recommend new roles the member might

be ready for. Celebrate! (team dinner, team outing,

gift certificates, or other rewards)

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Conclusion Formal project closure ensures that your

team has: met its objectives, satisfied the customer, captured important knowledge, and been rewarded for their efforts.

With the door closed securely behind you, you can move on to your next project with Confidence.