Project Closure and Auditing

Closing Out a Project

Project closure is traditionally considered the final phase of a project. It includes tasks such as

• Transferring deliverables to the customer
• Cancelling supplier contracts
• Reassigning staff, equipment, and other resources
• Finalizing project documentation by adding an analysis summarizing the project's ups and downs
• Making the documentation accessible to other people in your organization as a reference for future projects
• Holding a close-out meeting
• Celebrating the completed project

Seen from a geometric order perspective, these tasks do mark the definitive end of a project. However, in the broader, living order vision of a project's life cycle, project closure often merely marks the conclusion of one stage and the transition to another stage of the project's overall life cycle, as shown in Figure 13-2. Seen from this perspective, project closure is actually an extension of the learning and adjusting process that goes on throughout a project. This is true in virtually all industries, although the actual time it takes to cycle through from a plan to the idea for the next version can vary from weeks to years.

The close-out meeting is an opportunity to end a project the way you started it - by getting the team together. During this important event, the team should review what went well, what didn't go well, and identify areas for improvement. All of this should be summarized in the final close-out report. A final close-out meeting with the customer is also essential. This allows the organization to formally complete the project and lay the groundwork for potential future work.

The close-out report provides a final summary of the project performance. It should include the following:

• Summary of the project and deliverables
• Data on performance related to schedule, cost, and quality
• Summary of the final product, service, or project and how it supports the organization's business goals
• Risks encountered and how they were mitigated
• Lessons learned
  
  
  
  
  Figure 13-2: Seen from a living order perspective, closure is an extension of the learning and adjusting process that goes on throughout a project

Exactly where your work falls in the project's life cycle depends on your perspective as to what constitutes "the project" in the first place. The designers and constructors of a building might consider the acceptance of the building by the owner as project closure. However, the results of the project - that is, the building - lives on. Another contractor might be hired later to modify the building or one of its systems, thus starting a new project limited to that work.

If project closure is done thoughtfully and systematically, it can help ensure a smooth transition to the next stage of the project's life cycle, or to subsequent related projects. A well-done project closure can also generate useful lessons learned that can have far-reaching ramifications for future projects and business sustainability. The closeout information at the end of a project should always form the basis of initial planning for any future, similar projects.

Although most project managers spend time and resources on planning for project start-up, they tend to neglect the proper planning required for project closure. Ideally, project closure includes documentation of results, transferring responsibility, reassignment of personnel and other resources, closing out work orders, preparing for financial payments, and evaluating customer satisfaction. Of course, less complicated projects will require a less complicated close-out procedure. As with project audits, the smooth unfolding of the project closure phase depends to a great degree on the manager's ability to handle personnel issues thoughtfully and sensitively. In large, on-going projects, the team may conduct phase closures at the end of significant phases in addition to a culminating project closure.

Source: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/technicalpm/chapter/project-reviews/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

From the Trenches: Brian Price

Brian Price, a graduate of the UW Master of Engineering in Professional Practice program (a precursor of the Masters in Engineering Management program), is the former chief powertrain engineer for Harley-Davidson. He teaches engine project management in the UW Master of Engineering in Engine Systems program. In his twenty-five years managing engine-related engineering projects, he had ample opportunity to see the benefits of good project closure procedures, and the harm caused by bad or non-existent project closure procedures. In his most recent role as a professor of engineering, he tries to encourage his students to understand the importance of ending projects systematically, with an emphasis on capturing wisdom gained throughout a project.

Brian shared some particularly insightful thoughts on the topic in an interview:

Failure: The Best Teacher

In their book Becoming a Project Leader, Laufer et al. explain the importance of a tolerance for failure. Projects will occasionally close or radically change course, but that doesn't mean that the team members who worked on such projects were ineffective. In fact, coping with such challenges can help individuals and teams be much more efficient. In his capacity as a project manager for the U.S. Air Force's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Terry Little's response to a failed missile launch was not to scold the contractor, Lockheed, for its failure but rather to ask how he could help. Larry Lawson, project manager at Lockheed, called Terry's response "the defining moment for the project . . . . Teams are defined by how they react in adversity - and how their leaders react. The lessons learned by this team about how to respond to adversity enabled us to solve bigger challenges". As Laufer et al. articulate, "By being a failure-tolerant leader, Terry Little was able to develop a culture of trust and commitment-based collaboration".

Practical Tips

Here are a few practical tips related to project audits and project closure:

• Pair inexperienced personnel with pros: People become acutely aware of the loss of knowledge when people retire or move on for other reasons. If an organization lacks a systematic way to archive information, the hard-won knowledge gained through years of experience can walk out the door with the departing employee. To prevent such a loss of vital knowledge, consider pairing inexperienced engineers with older ones, so knowledge is transferred. As a project manager, this is one way you can help to capture knowledge for the good of your team and organization.
• Interview team members or create video summaries: If you're having a hard time getting team members to put their end-of-project summaries down in writing, consider interviewing them and taking notes. Another great option is to ask them to create short videos in which they describe their work on the project. Often people will be more candid and specific when talking to a camera than they are in a formal, written report.
• Tell your project's story: Sometimes it's helpful to compile a project "biography" that documents a project's backstory in a less formal way than a project audit. Often this is just an internal document, for the use of the project team only. The more frank you can be in such a document, the more valuable the project biography will be. Also, keep in mind that the most important information about a project is often shared among team members via stories. After all, human cultures have always used stories to express norms and pass on information. They can be a powerful means of exploring the true nature of a project, including the emotional connections between team members. As a project manager, remember to keep your ears open for oft-repeated stories about the projects you are working on, or about past projects. What you might be inclined to dismiss as mere office gossip could in fact offer vital insights into your organization, your project stakeholders, and your current projects.
• Make your data visual: When writing an audit or closure report, it's essential to present data in a way that makes it easy for your intended readers to grasp. This article from the Harvard Business Review offers helpful ideas for creating effective visualizations of project data: https://hbr.org/2016/06/visualizations-that-really-work.
• Create a repository for audit reports and project summaries: Take the time to establish an organizational repository for storing audit reports and project summaries (whether in writing or video) made by team members. Periodically invite new and experienced project managers to review the repository as a way to promote organization-wide learning and professional development. Make sure this repository is accessible to the entire organization, and not stowed away in the personal files of an individual project manager.
• Don't rush to finalize project documentation on lessons learned: Sometimes the best time to reflect on a project and pinpoint what you learned is a few weeks or months after the conclusion of project execution. Taking a little time to let things settle will allow you to see the bigger picture and fully understand what went right and what went wrong.
• Take the time to celebrate every project: There are a variety of ways to celebrate and recognize everyone's accomplishments. Some examples include writing personalized thank you letters, writing a letter of reference for each of your team members, giving out awards that have special meaning and value to each person on the team, taking a team picture, creating a team song or a team video that recaps the project, endorsing each project member for specific skills on LinkedIn. You can probably think of many other ways to celebrate a completed project. The important thing is to do something.
• Know when to say you're done: Sometimes, as a project heads toward its conclusion, you have to ask "When is done done?" This can be an issue with some clients, who might continue to ask for attention long after your team's responsibility has ended. An official project closure procedure can help forestall this kind of problem, by making it clear to all parties that the project is officially over.
  

Summary

• Many little things can go wrong in a project, but as long as you get the fundamentals right and keep them on target, a project will likely achieve substantial success. However, just because you have the big things right at the beginning of a project doesn't mean they'll stay that way. Throughout the life of a project, you need to stop, look, and listen, maintaining a certain level of paranoia about the health of the project and jumping in to alter course when necessary.
• Even if you have implemented reliable monitoring systems designed to alert you to any serious problems, you will sometimes need to dive deeper into your project via a formal audit or informal review. The ultimate goal of any audit/review is to generate actionable intelligence in the form of an audit report that can be used to improve the project or, when necessary, justify shutting it down.
• Deciding whether to correct course or shut a project down entirely is rarely easy, and is often governed more by fear than good decision-making practices. It's important to start by seeking honest answers to questions about the project to determine its viability. You also need to keep in mind that a stakeholder's perspective on a project will influence his or her evaluation of a project's viability.
• Project closure is traditionally considered the final phase of a project, but when seen from the broader, living order perspective, it often merely marks the conclusion of one stage and the transition to another stage of the project's overall life cycle. If project closure is done thoughtfully and systematically, it can help ensure a smooth transition to the next stage of the project's life cycle, or to subsequent related projects.
  

Glossary

• audit - A deep investigation into any or all aspects of a project, with the aim of enabling stakeholders to make fully informed decisions about the project's future. An audit can provide a focused, objective review of part or all of a project.
• audit report - A report created at the end of an audit that typically contains an explanation of the context of the audit, including the overall focus or any important issues; an analysis of data, interviews, and related research compiled during the audit; action-oriented recommendations; and, in some cases, lessons learned and possibly one or more supporting appendices.
• change management - "Minimizing resistance to organizational changes through the involvement of key players and stakeholders" (Business Dictionary n.d.).
• close-out meeting - An opportunity to end a project the way you started it - by getting the team together. During this important event, the team should review what went well, what didn't go well, and identify areas for improvement. All of this should be summarized in the final close-out report. A final close-out meeting with the customer is also essential. This allows the organization to formally complete the project and lay the groundwork for potential future work.
• close-out report - A final summary of project performance. It should include a summary of the project and deliverables; data on performance related to schedule, cost, and quality; a summary of the final product, service, or project and how it supports the organization's business goals; risks encountered and how they were mitigated; and lessons learned.
• genchi genbutsu - A key principle of the famously Lean Toyota Production System, which means "go and see for yourself". In other words, if you really want to know what's going on in a project, you need to actually go to where your team is working, and then watch and listen.
• project audit/review - An inquiry into any or all aspects of a project, with the goal of learning specific information about the project.
• project closure - According to most project management publications, the final phase of a project. However, in the broader, living order vision of a project's life cycle, project closure often merely marks the end of one stage and the transition to another stage of the project's overall life cycle - although exactly where your work falls in the project's lifecycle depends on your perspective as to what constitutes "the project" in the first place.
• recovery manager - Term used by Todd C. Williams in Rescue the Problem Project to refer to a consultant brought in from the outside to audit a failing project, and, if possible, get it back on the path to success (17-19).
• strategic inflection point - As defined by Andrew Grove, CEO of Intel from 1997 to 2005, "a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end" (1999, 3). A strategic inflection point in an individual project is a time in the life of a project when its fundamentals are about to change.
• project auditor - The person responsible for leading an audit or review. Ideally, the project auditor is an outsider who is perceived by all project stakeholders to be fair and objective. He or she should have excellent listening skills and broad-base knowledge of the organization or industry.