What are the most important steps to take when ending a consulting engagement?

Estar claro quais as entregas s?o de responsabilidade de cada uma das partes é essecial e evitará dissipa??o de energia futura com discuss?es caso venham a ocorrer atrasos e/ou gaps nos resultados esperados. Acredito na frease que "o que é combinado n?o é caro", ent?o desta forma ter como se fosse uma matriz RACI com o papel de cada ator, pode ajudar e inclusive ter alguns ajustes antes de come?ar o proejto, pois após come?ar, em via de regra tudo o que for discutido neste sentido, vai parecer justificativa e delega??o de responsabilidades.

The most important steps when ending a consulting engagement involve clear communication with the client regarding project completion, ensuring all deliverables are met to satisfaction. Conducting a thorough review of outcomes achieved and gathering feedback for improvement is crucial. Finalizing documentation, such as reports or recommendations, and providing necessary support for transition or implementation are essential. Maintaining a positive relationship for potential future collaborations is also beneficial. Overall, professionalism, transparency, and client satisfaction are paramount in concluding a consulting engagement.

Confirm the Scope is delivered and all the Projects that were part of the Program have been delivered, if not, why not Work still required by Business Wrap up finances, actuals versus what was forcast and budgeted

In my opinion, confirming the scope of the project at the end is too late. Confirming the scope is an ongoing responsibility of every consultant. Even more important is the confirmation of the expectation of the result/deliverable that needed to be achieved. If you have a written requirement in the contract but the expectation was something different, then you have delivered a contract but the client is still not happy. Hence the ongoing check-in/sprints/stand-ups however you want to call it is crucial for a strong client-consultant relationship.

- Importance of Feedback- Before ending the project, it is essential to conduct a debriefing with the client team. It will allow the client the opportunity to share feedback concerning the project results, team’s performance, deliverables and the impact of the initiative. - Tying Up Loose Ends- The team should finalize all remaining activities, finalize paperwork, and any other unfinished administrative tasks, ensuring that all business related matters are concluded and closed out. - Send personalized 'Thank you' email- Sending out a personalized thank you email, expressing gratitude and interest in future endeavors is an excellent way to leave a positive and lasting impression while bidding farewell to your clients.

It's very important to document the outcome. What was done and what what achieved. This gives direction for the future. What needs to be therefore, done next to build on all the work? It also to present these outcomes along with the strategy to future clients as an example of what can be achieved.

Documentation is one of the least sexy but most important activities during any engagement. In particular the final report that is aligned with the client. This is not only a core deliverable for the consultant but also an important documentation for the client for any internal presentations. The most rewarding documentation I have ever created was a significant case study where I was allowed to use both quotes and logo of a multinational client. This led to a number of new clients and key notes at international conferences. Very rewarding.

Everything should have been documented and stored away on Client Shared drives, SharePoint along with a Lessons Learned. Briefed all Stakeholders on documentation and exit plan. Next Steps should be documented e.g. Benefits still to be realised All Issues closed Risks still open in Risk Log should be updated

It is always good to document the results but this should be part of the activities of the consultant for both their own benefit and the clients benefit.

Feedback is critical to help retrospect and bring closure to the objective set forth to be solved. Not just the consultant, but the customer would also find this as an opportunity to reflect on what went well and what can be done better next time. Such conversations bring out insights about the program as well as about the organization culture. Learnings from the feedback go a long way.

I have always found that having day to day conversations is good to understand what is happening and progress to avoid misunderstandings

Get feedback from all Stakeholders on how things could have gone better, what did they see as challenges, blockers, do’s and don’ts for any future initiatives. This should be kept anonymous and strictly confidential to ensure honesty feedback

Dont just give recommendations... share a high level execution roadmap. It not only reinforces the practicality of your consulting contribution but is a sure way of earning the clients goodwill

Besides feedback, I would suggest QUALITY CHECK. The project managers must check if all the QA checks were met, and were the SOPs adhered to. Did they meet the timelines? Did they collect enough feedback at the initiation, during and after each delivery? The findings of the report must add value to the customer and he/she should feel that they got ROI. That is important.

Please make sure that everyone is recognised as part of the success, no matter how small or large a part they played in the success There is No i in Team Recognition helps to build future Teams and Continuous Improvement A Simple Thank You can Suffice, but Cake is so much better

I always believe that success should be celebrated but I like to stay in the background rather than blowing my own trumpet. It is important the appropriate stakeholders feel the success and this is something I would encourage.

If there's a team behind, celebrating the success (appropriate to the environment) is vital to show valuation of the job done. In single-player environments of course there's no reason to not open a bottle of wine after a long and intensive journey as well.

This is part of the job, not so much a closing task. Typically after final build / go-live of a solution a hypercare phase starts, where the responsibility is handed over to an operation team step by step - still accompanied by the project team.

Who owned it while it was being delivered? Ownership should always have been with the Business, as a Consultant we are only the ones who Orchestrate the delivery or whatever initiatives we have been tasked with, that said it is now time to formally transition the ownership to the business where they can continue to improve upon it Formal handover is a very important step before exit

This is the step that needs to be factored in from the very beginning. If you know good change management, then you've engaged with the impacted internal staff from the very beginning and got their buy-in and trust so that when hand-over comes, they are positive, aware and ready to go!

Help the Client to transition into the actual operations by mentoring, training the teams who were not that involved in implementation to be ready to take over the system operations.

A consulting engagement is successful not when you complete the agreed deliverables. It concluded when the client is fully confident of taking your recommendations forward and is actually able to do so in a finite future. Thus regular meetings/calls to check on the progress is crucial for the client even if it is not part of your contract. In my view a successful engagement is one when you are called back to do a more complex task.

Even after the project is done and handed over, budget some time to monitor the results and provide some level of advice and support. Not only will this help ensure that the project success is maintained, it will also build trust and a longer lasting relationship with your clients ... creating opportunity to get more work

First thank for association and cooperation received. Do mention some names. While the project is complete there are precautions to be taken while running the establishment or factory. Few important can be emphasized Our readiness to cooperate in new areas, also improvements in current areas can be informed Any emergency contact must be given

1. Client Communication: Clearly communicate the conclusion of the consulting engagement, summarizing achievements and results. 2. Documentation: Provide comprehensive documentation of project deliverables, key findings, and relevant processes for the client's future reference. 3. Feedback Session: Conduct a feedback session to gather insights on the collaboration and identify areas for improvement. 4. Transition Plan: Develop a smooth transition plan, outlining handovers, responsibilities, and any ongoing support arrangements. 5. Closure Report: Prepare a closure report detailing project outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for sustained success. 6. Final Invoicing: Ensure all financial matters, including final invoices.

Organize a retrospecitve or a lessons learned session with your team. Reflect on what went well, what can be improved in the future. Take time to recognize the great work done by the team. Ask for the feedback on your performance. Document all the findings and share them as a knowledge base for future projects.

I like what Maria wrote - post mortems with the team (with documented results) help others to avoid your mistakes and repeat your success.