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Project Closing & Auditing

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Closing Processes

To approve and accept the project deliverables, close the contracts and accounts, report the work and save the

information. To review and discuss the final

work, document lessons learned and release the Project Team.

End of the Project.

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Closing Process Group

Planning

Executing

Controlling

Close Project – finalizing all activities across all of the project management process groups to formally close the project or a project phase.

Contract Closure – completing and settling each contract, including the resolution

of any open items, and closing each contract applicable to the project or a project phase.

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Project Closure

Conditions for Closure

Normal

Premature

Perpetual

Failed Project

Changed Priority

Close-out Plan: Questions to be Asked

What tasks are required to close the project?

Who will be responsible for these tasks?

When will closure begin and end?

How will the project be delivered?

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Project Closure Checklist

Project Name: Prepared by: Date: Customer has accepted all project results: Accepted by: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Customer has accepted all other deliverables: Accepted by: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Customer has accepted from delivering organization all other project requirements: Accepted by: 1 Staff evaluations 2 Budget reports 3 Lessons learned 4 Other 5

Explain any exceptions to the above: Documentation for the above has been filed/archived as follows:

Comments or remaining issues:

Checklist submitted by: Name/Title: Signature: Date: Name/Title: Signature: Date:

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Ending a Contract or Project Ending a contract: Successful completion – goods and services have been delivered in accordance with the

contract specifications. Collective agreement – mutual consent termination of the contract. Breach of contract – one of the parties is not complying with the terms and specifications

of the contract. Work to be done during contract closure: Product verification Financial closure Updating records in the records management system Final contract performance reporting Contract file Procurement audit Formal acceptance and closure

Ending a project: Contract closure occurs first. All contracts should be closed out before the project is closed out. At the end of the contract, the project manager performs a procurement audit for each contract, administratively closes out the contract, and then administratively closes out the project when the whole project is completed.

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Contract Closure

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Project Termination Areas

Closeout MtgPlans

Personnel

Organization

PayablesReceivables

Budget Report

Financial

ContractsSupplier CommFinal Payments

Purchasing

Close FacilitiesDispose Equip/Mat'l

Site

Project Closeout

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Lessons Learned

Keep a knowledge base for future projects:

• What were the successes and failures of the project?

• What could be improved?

• How to save the information for future estimates?

Celebrate the closure of the project!

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Documenting Lessons Learned

Conduct a review meeting to address four critical questions:

What was done right?

What went wrong?

What improvements can be made in the future?

How, whom, and when to disseminate the knowledge?

Archive the lessons learned in the knowledge database.

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Purposes of Evaluation - Goals of Project Audit

Four independent dimensions of success:

The project’s efficiency in meeting both the budget and schedule

The most complex, is that of customer impact/satisfaction

Impact on business/direct success i.e. translate the achievement of the

project’s goals into a contribution to the parent organization’s goals

The last dimension, somewhat more difficult and imprecise to ascertain, is

future potential

Chapter 12-2

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Types of Project Audits

In-process project audits Allow for corrective changes if conditions have changed

and for concentration on project progress and performance.

Postproject audits Take a broader and longer-term view of the project’s role

in the organization and emphasize improving the management of future projects.

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Project Audit Components

A review of why the project was selected.

A reassessment of the project’s role in the organization’s priorities.

A check on the organizational culture to ensure it facilitates the type of project being implemented.

An assessment of how well the project team is functioning and was it appropriately staffed.

A check on external factors that might change where the project is heading or its importance.

A review of all factors relevant to the project and to managing future projects.

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Project Audit-during the project

1. Evaluate if the project delivered the expected benefits to all stakeholders.

• Is the project managed well? Is the customer satisfied?

2. Assess what is being done wrong and what contributed to successes.

3. Identify changes to improve the delivery of future tasks/projects.

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Evaluation – Benefits of Project Audit

A successful project evaluation via audit can help an organization to: Identify problems earlier

Clarify performance, cost, and time relationships

Improve project performance

Locate opportunities for future technological advances

Evaluate the quality of project management

Reduce costs

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Characteristic of Project Auditor/Evaluator

No direct involvement or direct interest in the project.

First and foremost, the auditor should “tell the truth”

Respect (perceived as impartial and fair) of senior management and other project stakeholders

The auditor must approach the audit in an objective and ethical manner

Must assume responsibility for what is included and excluded from consideration in the report

The auditor/evaluator must maintain political and technical independence during the audit and treat all materials as confidential

Perceived as having the best interests of the organization in making decisions.

Broad-based experience in the organization or industry

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Project Auditor/Evaluator Responsibilities

Assemble a small team of experienced experts

Familiarize the team with the requirements of the project

Audit the project on site

After the completion, debrief the project’s management

Produce a written report according to a specified format

Distribute the report to the project manager and project team for their response

Follow up to see if the recommendations have been implemented

Chapter 12-17

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The Project Audit Life Cycle

Like the project itself, the audit has a life cycle composed of an orderly progression of well-defined events:

Project audit initiation

Project baseline definition

Establishing an audit database

Preliminary analysis of the project

Audit report preparation

Project audit termination

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Data Collection and Analysis

Organization View: Was the organizational culture supportive and correct?

Was senior management’s support adequate?

Did the project accomplish its intended purpose?

Were risks appropriately identified and assessed?

Were the right people and talents assigned?

Have staff been fairly reassigned to new projects?

What does evaluation from contractors suggest?

Were the project start-up and hand-off successful?

Is the customer satisfied?

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Data Collection and Analysis

Project Team View: Were the project planning and control systems appropriate for this type

of project? Should all similar projects use these systems? Did the project conform to plan for budget and schedule? Were interfaces with stakeholders effective? Have staff been fairly assigned to new projects? Did the team have adequate resources? Were there resource conflicts? Was the team managed well? What does evaluation from contractors suggest?

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Activities in Closeout Stage

Plan, schedule and monitor completion activities Obtain and approve termination plans

Prepare and co-ordinate termination plans

Plan for reassignment of project team members and assign resources to other projects

Monitor termination activities and complete all contractual agreements

Monitor disposition of all excess material, transfer customer assets etc

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Factors Influencing Audit Depth and Detail

Organization size

Project importance

Project type

Project risk

Project size

Project problems

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Project Performance Evaluation: Team

Are standards and goals for measuring performance clear, challenging,

and attainable? Lead to positive consequences?

Are responsibilities and performance standards known by all team

members?

Are team rewards adequate? Management believes teams are important?

Is there a career path for successful project managers?

Does the team have discretionary authority to manage short-term

difficulties?

Is there a high level of trust within the organization culture?

Are there criteria beyond time, cost, and specifications?

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Sample Team Evaluation and Feedback Survey

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Project Performance Evaluation: Individual

Responsibility for assessing performance:

Functional and weak matrix organization: The functional

manager may solicit the project manager’s opinion of the

individual’s performance on a specific project.

Balanced matrix organization: The project manager and the

area manager jointly evaluate an individual’s performance.

Strong matrix and projectized organizations: The project

manager is responsible for appraising individual performance.

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Project Performance Evaluation: Individual

Multirater appraisal or the “360-degree feedback:

Involves soliciting feedback concerning team members’

performance from all the people their work affects.

This includes project managers, area managers, peers,

subordinates, and even customers.

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Conducting Performance Reviews

Begin by asking the individual to evaluate his or her own performance.

Avoid drawing comparisons with other team members; rather, assess

the individual in terms of established standards and expectations.

Focus criticism on specific behaviors rather than on the individual

personally.

Be consistent and fair in your treatment of all team members.

Treat the review as one point in an ongoing process.

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Implementing Closedown

1. Getting delivery acceptance from the customer 2. Shutting down resources and releasing to new

uses 3. Reassigning project team members 4. Closing accounts and seeing all bills are paid 5. Evaluating the project team, project team

members, and the project manager

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How to Terminate a Project

Extinction: Stop the project immediately

Integration: Project results are integrated into the existing organizational units

Addition: Project is institutionalized as a new part of the organization (new product line or new division)

Starvation: Gradually reduce resources so that project dies slowly but surely (it fades out of sight)

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Project Final Report

History of the project: Usually written by PM

It should address: project performance

administrative performance

organizational structure

confidential assessment of team members

project management techniques

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Project Overview

Background

Objectives / Highlights

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Results Analysis

Planned / Expected Results

Differences / Deltas from Planned / Expected Results

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Schedule Analysis

Milestone Baseline Actual Deviation % deviation Comment

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Effort Estimate Analysis

Task Est. Hours

Act. Hours

Diff - Hours

Diff - % Explanation of Variance

Project Total

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Problem / Issue Analysis

Problem / Issue When Occurred Root Cause Resolution

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Open Issues

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Lessons Learned

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Suggested Improvements

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Final Thoughts…

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(Post) Project Audit

Executive Summary

Introduction

Project Review Project Objectives

Method or approach

Effectiveness of Planning

Effectiveness of project management

Effectiveness of technical solution

Project deliverables Description

Assessment against requirements

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Project Audit Quality

Standards used Measurement Assessment against requirements

Schedule Delays

Reasons Recovery Method followed

Assessment against plan

Finances Problems

Reasons Recovery Method followed

Assessment against Plan

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Project Audit

Resource Utilisation

Effectiveness

Problems

Reasons

Recovery Method followed

Lessons Learned

Individual Team-Member Assessment and recommendations

(confidential reports)

Recommendations

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Checklist

Close-out Plan

Verify Scope Contractual obligations

Administrative obligations

WBS (tasks and deliverables)

Customer acceptance of deliverables

Document and archive files

Document lessons Learned

Reassign Resources

Notify all stake holders for project completion

Celebrate……

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Reporting Audit Report Content Outline

Classification of project

Project type

Size

Staffing

Technology level

Strategic or support

Analysis of information gathered

Project mission and objectives

Procedures and systems used

Organization resources used

Recommendations

Corrective actions

Lessons learned

Reminders

Appendix

Backup data

Summary booklet

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Last word…

When one hears of a disastrous slip in project,

imagines that a series of major calamities must

have befallen it. Usually, however, the disaster is

due to termites, not tornadoes…the schedule

slips one day at a time

Frederick P Brooks The Mythical Man-Month Essays

on Software Engineering

ALL THE BEST