By Wayne Rambow, Senior Program/Portfolio Delivery Consultant
As we approach the end of our project, we enter the final and equally important phase: the Closing Phase. This stage is crucial for wrapping things up effectively. It involves formally closing the project, evaluating its successes and challenges, and delivering the final products, while also preparing for future projects. This phase is a vital part of the project lifecycle, as it ensures that everything is completed to the highest standards and sets the stage for future endeavours.
1. Introduction to the Closing Phase
As the Closing Phase approaches, it marks the end of the project's journey. During this phase, we take care to ensure that all the objectives of the project have been achieved and that the stakeholders have accepted the deliverables. Additionally, it serves as a period of reflection and evaluation to learn from what worked and what didn't, so that our future projects can benefit from this experience.
2. Key Objectives and Deliverables of the Closing Phase
- Final Deliverables Acceptance (Transition to Operations): To ensure that stakeholders are satisfied with project deliverables, it is necessary to conduct rigorous testing, reviews, and training sessions. During the discovery and planning phases, several documents are created that will act as a guide through acceptance. In Part 1 of this series, we reviewed the discovery requirements. One of the components of the Business Requirements Document is the User Acceptance Criteria, which is supported by both the Business Case and the Project Charter. In these documents, we outline the problem statement, key objectives, and expected outcomes. The less subjective those objectives were, the easier this acceptance becomes.
- Project Evaluation: Project Managers are taught that if a project is delivered on time, within budget, and scope met it is successful. By that train of thought, if the project is late, over budget, or exceeding scope would be a failure. To mitigate that, during the monitoring and controlling phase, if we document and get authorization for scope, schedule, or cost changes through change requests we can ensure we meet the objective on budget, scope, and schedule. I suggest one more criterion not taught in lectures or found in the PM-BOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge). It is a simple question to the delivery team; Would you do this project with me again? If the answer is yes, great work! If the answer is no, you need to take a long and hard evaluation of how the project was delivered as this is not sustainable within the organization.
- Documenting Lessons Learned: This practice is pivotal. Lessons learned throughout the project, not just during the Monitoring and Controlling Phase, are documented and stored in an easily accessible manner for future reference. No matter how well a project is delivered, there are always areas to improve upon.
- Release Resources & Celebrate: As the project concludes, it's time to release team members, tools, and other resources for other tasks or projects. Celebrate and acknowledge their hard work and dedication. Pulling everyone together for lunch, a cake, having T-shirts made, and distributing gift cards, are all examples of how to acknowledge your team. ?Throughout the project, you’ve worked hard to earn the trust and respect of the project team. Make sure you work as hard to make a first impression as you do to make a lasting impression. After all, you want people to want to work with you on the next project and the one after that.
- Final Reporting: Create a final project report highlighting the accomplishments, challenges, and overall performance metrics of the project.
- Project Archive: Ensure all project documentation, including plans, risks, changes, emails, and other correspondence, is archived. This practice aids in any post-project reviews or if there’s a need to reference the project in the future.
3. Challenges During the Closing Phase
- Unresolved Issues or Deliverables: In some cases, small tasks or problems may remain even after the formal closure of a project. It is important to address these issues promptly and effectively, but it may also be necessary to close the formal project and transfer these minor issues to support and operations. For example, when I moved into my home, there were some minor deficiencies that I chose to accept to meet my move-in date. I understood that they would be resolved after I moved in. You can never complete everything perfectly, and yet, the unresolved issues do not require the same level of attention as the project itself. Therefore, you should expect to find a point where you need to close the project even with some work still outstanding. If you did not do a good job of clarifying the definition of success at the beginning, it can be difficult to exit project mode.
- Stakeholder Reluctance: Not all stakeholders might be satisfied, or some might delay giving their formal acceptance. Effective communication and ensuring they are part of the project journey can mitigate this. Again, this is where having clearly defined success criteria at the onset of the project is so important. Minimize the amount of subjectivity in the success definition or you risk run-on projects with no clear exit ramps.
- Complacency: As projects near their end, there’s a tendency to rush or overlook certain aspects. To combat that remember that enthusiasm is very contagious. The PM is the energy behind the team, and it is important that you keep the energy high at every phase of the project lifecycle. It’s crucial to maintain focus until the very end, and that focus takes energy. Be that energy for your team and keep them going.
4. The Significance of Reflection
Closing isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s a reflective phase. It provides an opportunity for the team to look back, evaluate, and grow. A post-mortem or retrospective can identify what went well, what didn’t go well, and areas for improvement. I recommend planning a session with relevant team members. Set the ground rules to maintain a positive environment and encourage participation from everyone. Start with the positives, discuss the challenges, and look for recommendations to implement on the next project. I also recommend you consider making this a habit you have lesson-learned meetings throughout the life cycle and bring all of those lessons into the final session. It shows you listened, learned, and improved. It shows you are a leader.
As a project ends, it marks a new beginning. The Closing Phase not only brings an end to the project but also sets the tone for future projects. It ensures that they are built on a strong foundation of experience and insights. From start to finish, the entire project journey is a learning experience that enriches our project management skills.
As we come to the end of our five-part series, I hope that the insights and practices shared have empowered you in your project endeavours. The lifecycle we discussed is the very foundation of any project, and understanding each phase's intricacies is critical for ensuring our projects not only survive but also thrive.
Feel free to contact me at [email protected] for feedback or queries. Best of luck with your future projects, and may each one bring you closer to excellence!
