Discussion 2

CONTEMPORARY PROJECT MANAGEMENT, 4E
Timothy J. Kloppenborg
Vittal Anantatmula
Kathryn N. Wells

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Finishing the Project & Realizing the Benefits

Chapter 15

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Chapter 15 Core Objectives:
Describe how to determine when a project should be terminated early & the process for terminating a project in normal completion time.
Describe the importance of the project closing activities & how to perform them.
Create & present a transition plan for the project, including a plan for ongoing support and sharing lessons learned.
Capture and share project lessons learned.

Chapter 15 Technical Objectives:
Close your projects administratively using MS Project 2016

Chapter 15 Behavioral Objectives:
Secure customer feedback & acceptance of the project.
Assist senior management in managing talent & managing resources for upcoming projects.

Celebrating Project Success Trinmar
It was only later that I was sheepishly advised by one of my fellow consultants that he had offered to have our company sponsor the celebration, and did not have the chance to tell me in advance. But the true impact of the celebration—reflected in the sincere joy and pride of the project team members as they received the sincere thanks of their CEO—had already proven the value of the event.
Bruce Miller, PMP, managing partner,
Xavier Leadership Center, Xavier University

6

Finishing the Project & Realizing the Benefits
A project moves into the closing stage when its customers accept the project deliverables
A project can close as planned or be terminated early
Complete closing activities

Validate Scope
Formal acceptance of project deliverables
Buyer provides the seller with formal written acceptance
Transition from executing stage to closing stage
Use a project closeout checklist to itemize project activities and/or deliverables
Validate scope – formally accepting the completed project deliverables

Terminate Projects Early
Mutual Agreements
What deliverables or partial deliverables go to the buyer
What compensation goes to the seller
Resolve outstanding issues with negotiated settlement
Terminations for Default
Problems with the project’s cost, schedule, or performance
Lost confidence in the contractor
Terminations for Convenience of Buyer
Buyer faces unexpected difficulties or changing priorities
Customer’s needs change
Often requires a payment to the contractor

Heading Off Early Termination
Find other stakeholders who can provide funds
Look internally to find ways of continuing with the project
PMs make recommendations for early termination if they feel it is warranted
Communicate quickly and honestly

Close Project

Write Transition Plan
Knowledge Management
Create the Closeout Report
Finalize all activities needed to finish the project

Write Transition Plan
Charter/instruction manual for how to use the project deliverables
Provide appropriate documentation to users
Ensure quality problems are avoided
Ensure project deliverables transition into operational role
Ensure maintenance, upgrades, & training take place

Breakout session!
Write a short transition plan to give to your customers, detailing any information they will need to successfully use/implement the deliverables created by your project.

Knowledge Management
Should occur throughout the project life
Most apparent as a project comes to a close
Capture lessons learned
Disseminate and use lessons learned in order to help your organization improve
Pertains to 4th area of the balanced scorecard—growth & innovation

Solicit Customer Feedback

Capture Lessons Learned
At milestones and at the end of project
Identify major project issues
One issue at a time to determine what went wrong & how it might be avoided in future projects.
List significant successes and discuss what caused each

What worked well?
Where might a different method yield better results?

Lessons Learned Example
Project Closing Document

See many lessons learned examples in Exhibit 15.4 on p.507 in textbook

Disseminate and Use Lessons Learned
Key to knowledge management!
Establish method for documenting & sharing lessons learned
Decide how to store lessons for easy access
Code each lesson by type of project, stage in project life cycle, or issue it concerns

Create the Closeout Report
This formal report includes summary of:
Project’s original justification
Ultimate status
Lessons learned
Did the project accomplish what it was originally approved to do?

Closeout Report Template

Post- Project Activities
Reassign Workers
Celebrate Success & Reward Participants
Provide Ongoing Support
Ensure Project Benefits are Realized

Reassign Workers
Update personnel records
Make honest recommendations
Help team members secure next assignments
“Helping good workers secure follow-on work is one of the most important things a project manager must do.”

Celebrate Success and Reward Participants
Challenge
Energize
Limit
Exert
Believe
Recognize
Acknowledge
Transition
Ease Stress
“the project is over; we will limit any additional work on this project.”

Provide Ongoing Support
Ultimate project goal is to provide capable customers, who will…
Use the deliverables you provided
Recommend you for future work
Often requires support after project is complete

Ensure Project Benefits are Realized
How well are customers able to use the deliverables?
Consider use by direct customers and other stakeholders
May require following up with customers weeks or months after project’s end

Using MS Project for Project Closure
Creating Project Progress Reports
Archiving project work

Using MS Project for Project Closure
Creating Project Progress Reports
Creating a customizable canned report
Sharing Report—can be printed or saved as PDF
Export report to MS Excel

See detailed instructions in
textbook, pp.511-512

Using MS Project for Project Closure
Archiving project work
Complete schedule to maximize future usefulness
Applying performance data
Applying approved changes
Ensuring all activities are complete
Archive schedule for use as template or “starter file”
Capture & publish lessons learned

Detailed instructions on textbook p. 514

Success celebrated
Lessons learned recorded
Summary
Projects may be terminated early
Mutual agreement
Default
Convenience of customer
Whether project finishes successfully as planned or not, a variety of closeout procedures is required

Money paid & accounted for
Documentation completed & distributed
Workers reassigned & rewarded

The Power of Lessons Learned
PM IN ACTION
“Successful people learn from Their mistakes AND the mistakes of OTHERS.” —Sir John Templeton

PMBOK Exams
Make sure you are studying from most current (6th) PMBOK edition, since there have been substantial changes made within the Closing Process Group
All closing activities—whether contractual, administrative, or other—now fall under the Close Project or Phase process.
Remember the importance of capturing, storing, & disseminating lessons learned (throughout the project but especially at project’s end). This needs to take place whether or not the project reaches a successful conclusion.
Since the PM often has limited authority, the sponsor should be involved in Close Project.

Casa de Paz Development Project
What would you include in a transition plan?

How would you capture lessons learned?

Who would you share those lesson with and how?