How can you avoid closing a project too soon?

Closure is the final process group of the project management life cycle that is responsible for closing the project phase or project. This is where project documentation is archived and project contracts are also closed. The project management plan will detail all the criteria like verifying scope against deliverables will be measure with strict quality process in place. After the acceptance of the project or phase, the project is marked completed.

In my experience, beyond defined closure criteria, it's paramount to embed a rigorous review mechanism. ?? Regularly cross-referencing these criteria ensures alignment with project goals. It's beneficial to conduct iterative reviews with stakeholders to confirm the project's direction. A risk management strategy is essential for addressing unexpected challenges, aiding in a well-timed project conclusion. ?? ?? Maintaining open communication channels facilitates swift adaptations, ensuring no premature project closure. ??

In my experience, while setting initial closure criteria is foundational, it's equally vital to embrace adaptability. ?? Regularly revisit criteria to align with any project shifts or objective changes. ?? Engage a broader spectrum of stakeholders, including vendors or internal departments, to capture diverse perspectives on success. ?? Opt for quantifiable metrics, providing a clearer benchmark for achievements and reducing ambiguities. ?? Document alterations to closure criteria consistently, ensuring all stakeholders remain aligned. ?? Ultimately, balancing predefined criteria with ongoing flexibility and stakeholder inclusivity results in a more harmonious project closure.

Always have a closure checklist that you can co-work with your sponsor and project team. This checklist should be a very clear indication of closure status. If all the items are checked, you are good to go!

After completing all project tasks and deliverables, it is essential to undertake a conclusive assessment with team and ensure all the agreed upon deliverables are accepted. Any issues raised like bugs, or pending items identified needs to be addressed. Once the issues are fixed and the final release can be handed over to client. The review will also summarise the how the project was beneficial in terms of cost benefit analysis, EVM etc.

According to the Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, people's job satisfaction depends on two kinds of factors, hygiene factors and motivators. So the team needs be awarded for the work done and this make team members more productive, creative and committed. Also to remember is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ( physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and actualisation needs) plays a great role in team building.

Retrospective is the best thing for self and team to learn from the past mistakes, issues faced and handled. All these are part of the lessons learned documents and it has to go to the OPA registry for references so other teams can learn and understand. Evaluation and identifying could help us not repeating the same issue in future phases, products etc and it is one of the best approach in project management.

The procurements contracts, sub contracts as part of the project needs to be closed by settling down all the payment dues one the project is closed. Closure needs to be followed per the plan as defined in the procurement management plan.

As per the last and fifth principle of Tuckman ladder's theory, this topic coincides with 'Adjourning' process. Resources in a projectized and functional environment have different policies when the project is finished. However regardless, the human resources need to be released from the project so they can be utilized in a different project or kept in a pool for future requirements. Similarly other resources shall be returned and notified to respective owners for them to take action. A good Resource Managment Plan is an asset and will help in this.

A key risk in project management arises when the contract for a project is stated to have an expiry date. If the project is still continuing, the contract will need to be extended before the date of expiry. Otherwise, it risks expiring before the project is finished. For government agencies in particular, this can be a significant problem. An expired contract can necessitate a whole new procurement process, as it’s not as easy as simply entering into a new contract to replace the one that expired. Project Managers and Contract Managers must therefore ensure that all relevant contract dates are recorded (and are not missed) to prevent an accidental expiry from occurring.

Having good terms with client and project team creates a positive energy and helps in own success and growth. This has to be maintained from the project inception to completion. Good communication is a key to project success. If a project is successfully delivered having all the good qualities as mentioned in this thread, there is a certainty that the client may approach for future projects and is a win-win situation for all.