Part 6: Closing out a project
How is a project closed out and how can the next one be prepared for? Including the importance of post-project reviews and evalulations.
At the end of a project, there is still one last critical thing you must do that many people typically overlook. This is the project close-out.
The close-out is a process that finalizes all deliverable associated with the project. It consists of communicating and reflecting with your team, going through some final tasks, creating documentation and preparing your documents for storage.
The wrap-up is a part of a close-out and includes providing a final recording of lessons learned, summary and analyses of your project (written in your project diary).
The close-out is an important aspect of your project and reviews critical information that will help your future projects succeed.
Closer look at close-outs
Close-outs are typically phasic and not one, single event. There should be a close-out for each milestone or phase of your project and these close-outs should be planned as early as possible.
A close-out consists of:
- Verified acceptance of final project deliverables
- Post-project assessments and lessons learned from you, your team, stakeholders and project supporters
- Post-project review and evaluation
- Did I do everything I proposed?
- Was the schedule met?
- How was risk anticipation and mitigation?
- What could be done to improve?
- What could have been done to make things faster, cheaper, and better?
- Recognizing and celebrating outstanding work
- Remember to thank everyone who needs to be thanked
- Complete and archive all final records or documentations
- Ensure transfer of knowledge
All this information is documented and stored. This step is done to ensure that you and other interested parties can refer to it if needed.
Learning activity 11: Close-out
Instructions: Complete a close-out for a project you’ve completed recently or a phase of a project you’ve completed recently. The steps include:
- Making sure all stakeholders have accepted the final project deliverables (e.g., did you and your supervisor approve of the final draft?)
- Assessments of lessons learned from you, your team and other stake holders (e.g., writing down what lessons you may have learned from any mishaps or mistakes that might have happened – suggestions for future improvements)
- Review and evaluating yourself on the following questions:
- Did I do everything I proposed?
- Was the schedule met?
- How was risk anticipation and mitigation?
- What could be done to improve?
- What could have been done to make things faster, cheaper and better?
- Recognizing and celebrating outstanding work
- Completing all necessary documentation and storing them properly in an archive
- Ensuring the transfer of knowledge (e.g., making sure all your documents can be accessible and understandable)
Go to your Workbook and write your answers.