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Preparing for the Party: What You Need to Do
Before Closing Out Your Project
Barbara Franks
NIMBL

2. 1
In This Session
• We’ll discuss:
 The goal of project closure
 When is closure required and when it starts
 Project manager’s close-related responsibilities, to include assessing project
performance
• At the end of the session we will review a sample close process checklist and client
survey and ask for your feedback on both so we can learn from the experiences of our
fellow attendees

3. 2
What We’ll Cover
• The definition of project closure
• Importance and goals of project closure
• Project close activities
• Example close checklist and client survey
• Wrap-up

4. 3
Definition of Project Closure
“The Closing Process Group consists of those processes performed to conclude all
activities across all Project Management Process Groups to formally complete the project,
phase, or contractual obligations.” – A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK Guide), Fifth Edition
For Reference the 5 Process Groups are:
• Initiating Process Group
• Planning Process Group
• Executing Process Group
• Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
• Closing Process Group
www.pmi.org (Membership required to access member-only content)

5. 4
What We’ll Cover
• The definition of project closure
• Importance and goals of project closure
• Project close activities
• Example close checklist and client survey
• Wrap-up

6. 5
Importance of Project Closure
• Addresses administrative closure, ensuring all paperwork is in order
• Releases project resources in a timely manner (e.g., people, equipment, office space)
• Reduces or eliminates financial and legal risk related to contractual commitments
• Ensures deliverables are met and regulatory compliance achieved, if applicable
• Provides a platform for notifications/recognition
• Closes out special committees, such as the project steering committee

7. 6
Goals of Project Closure
• Gain the formal acceptance of the project deliverables and/or services from project
sponsor and key stakeholders who have approval authority
• Ensure all contractual commitments have been met by all parties, thereby eliminating
financial and/or legal risk
• Provide accurate project management reporting
• Realize the value of the project
• Learn from project successes and failures to improve work efforts and outcomes on
future projects
All projects, even those that have not be completed for any reason, need to go through a formal
close process.

8. 7
What We’ll Cover
• The definition of project closure
• Importance and goals of project closure
• Project close activities
• Example close checklist and client survey
• Wrap-up

9. 8
Project (or Phase) Close Activities
• Ensure all project documents are up to date and all open items closed
• Turn over all completed deliverables to the appropriate person or group
• Obtain signed acceptance of all deliverables from the client and/or project sponsor
• Conduct survey on project deliverables and project execution
• Complete final performance evaluations
• Conduct lessons learned meeting/prepare report
• Release/transition project resources
• Release physical equipment and site accommodations used for project
• Close out any remaining open contracts/procurements

10. 9
Project (or Phase) Close Activities (cont.)
• Assess project performance and quality, comparing the project baseline schedule and costs
with actuals
• Final status report/announcement of the completion of project
• Close out all financials
• Complete PMO-facing close-out reports
• Archive files
• Celebrate project success (or successes if overall project was not a success), also known as
a project ceremony in some circles
Close activities should not be saved until the end; they should be accomplished when it is
appropriate to do so, with project needs dictating the order of close activities. Example: Close out
a procurement for a good when the product is verified to have met the contractual obligations.

11. 10
Update Project Documentation/Close Open Items
• Ensure all deliverable-related action items and open questions, issues, and risks are
closed (ideally by their owners)
 Maintaining status of items in a spreadsheet or system that allows you to sort on
status speeds location and closure of any open items
 By the time you get to the close phase, most if not all items should have been
addressed (and it’s just the paperwork that isn’t completed yet)
 Work through owners to get updates made (or leverage project communications to
document closure)
• Closure on non-delivery-related items can be deferred until later in close process
• All documents are to be updated before project is officially closed

12. 11
Turn Over Completed Deliverables/Obtain Sign-Off
• What activities should be completed before you turn over the completed work?
 Ensure the completion criteria* is met
 Obtain written sign-off on document that states all deliverables have met the written
agreed-upon expectations
• Execute the transition/turnover plan, which may include internal, external, and/or public
notifications; knowledge transfer to operations support team; and/or training
department, etc.
*There can be criteria for task, phase, customer sign-off, and/or the whole project
“Deliverable is a term used in project management to describe a tangible or intangible product or
service produced as a result of the project that is intended to be delivered to a customer (either
internal or external).” [source: Wikipedia]

13. 12
Developing Completion Criteria
• Ask project sponsor and stakeholders to complete the following sentence, “This project
is successfully completed when …”
• Record and refine the criteria
• Work through any criteria that is too subjective
• Resolve any conflicts in criteria
• Obtain consensus and ultimately sign off on the success criteria
https://leadingstrategicinitiatives.com/2012/05/28/how-to-develop-completion-criteria-and-success-
metrics/ – 8-step approach to developing completion criteria
www.ittoolkit.com/how-to-it/projects/project-success-criteria.html

14. 13
Conduct Client Satisfaction Survey
• Determine your delivery method:
 E.g., mail, email, personal interview, or survey software
• Increase the likelihood of a response
 Provide incentive for completing the form
 Make completing the survey a requirement in statement of work/contract
• Craft a well-written survey
 Ensure questions are clear and concise and highly relevant to the work
 Each question should be focused on 1 topic
 Use scales (e.g.,  Never, Poor  Excellent) to reduce data entry, ensuring there is no
middle answer, as people tend to gravitate to the middle – require them to pick a “side”

15. 14
Conduct Client Satisfaction Survey (cont.)
• Craft a well-written survey: (cont.)
 Avoid Yes/No questions, where possible, and keep to a minimum if not
 Always provide the chance to enter: Other (please specify)
 Always collect some demographic information for classification purposes
• Analyze and act upon results to continuously improve client satisfaction

16. 15
Complete Performance Evaluations for Project Team Members
• Conduct the final evaluations* in a timely manner
• Evaluation is to be based on the agreed-upon role, responsibilities, deliverables,
established standards, expectations for team interaction, etc.
 There should be no surprises about what was being measured
 Avoid drawing comparisons between other team members
• Come well prepared with all past documentation, specific examples, etc.
• Be prepared to receive feedback
• Consider including self-evaluation and 360-Degree evaluations
*Evaluation of individual resources (and the project team) are completed periodically until each (and the last) resource is
released from the project, at which time a final individual evaluation is completed. Therefore, this final performance
evaluation should be a summary of all that has been discussed during the team members’ time on the project.

17. 16
360-Degree Feedback (Multirater Appraisal)
• If provided for in the HR or staffing plan, incorporate 360-degree feedback into the evaluation
process, to be used as a growth/development tool
 Sources:
 Individual’s direct reports (if they have any, e.g., technical team lead)
 Project team members
 Anyone else that the person had a lot of contact with during the project
 Gather feedback from as many sources as possible, as that will provide a clearer picture of
strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth
 Summarize feedback to keep individual responses confidential, and provide coaching to help
recipient interpret and leverage feedback to ensure morale or future performance is not
compromised
www.successfactors.com/en_us/lp/articles/optimize-performance-management.html
http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/files/attachments/Performance-Management-Toolkit.pdf

18. 17
Conduct Lessons Learned Meeting/Prepare Report
• Document lessons learned throughout the project
 What went well and what could we do better? Successes? Unintended outcomes?
• Conduct a lessons learned meeting to ensure you have gathered all the lessons learned
from all project team members (and stakeholders) ~ One or two separate meetings?
• Solicit feedback on resources who would be a good fit or have an interest in future
similar projects
• Prepare and validate the content before disseminating and filing the report, which will be
useful information for future projects of a similar nature
Lessons Learned are experiences, positive and negative, that are distilled from a project (or
phase) and are then taken into account on future projects of a similar nature.

19. 18
Facilitating Lessons Learned Meetings
• Invite everyone who contributed to the project, or had a key decision-making role
• Focus the discussions on:
 People
 Did we have the right staffing (i.e., skillset, availability, etc.)?
 Did we provide required training and did we achieve the expected benefit?
 Processes
 Were the processes defined, followed, and modified (with approval) as needed?
 Tools and technology
 Did we have the right tools, or were there tools that would have improve project
outcomes?

20. 19
Classification of Lessons Learned/Sharing Lessons Learned
• What did we do well? I.e., what was beneficial?
 Would it qualify as a good or even best practice? If yes, share your success story
through the communication channels available at your organization for this type of
information.
 Newsletter
 Blog
 Bulletin board
 Recognition/Aware
• What could we do better next time? I.e., what was detrimental?
 Does this information warrant being shared to ensure save dollars, rework, etc.

21. 20
Additional Example Questions for Lessons Learned Meeting?
• What might have been handled differently and how to achieve a better outcome?
• What circumstances or conditions were out of your control and on a future project what if
anything could be done to gain control?
• If you could go back in time, before the project began, and impart some wisdom to the
team, what would you share?
• What skills do you think the project was missing that would have been beneficial to you
personally or the team as a whole?
Be sure to engage all attendees and thank them for their participation.
Offer avenues for sharing additional feedback after the meeting, as there could be topics that
participants did not want to share with the group. E.g., email, anonymous survey, etc.
In the report, use roles rather than names, especially when documenting what did not go well.

22. 21
Release/Transition Project Resources
• Provide as much notice as possible
• Determine if the release is full or partial, and outline if any conditions apply
 Full = no further support needed
 Partial = there is a defined amount of work remaining, less than full-time, and it requires an
estimated or specified amount of time per day or week
 Conditional = there are one or more conditions that must be met before the full or partial
release can take place, e.g., post-go-live support for break/fix work
• Ensure the details of the release are clearly communicated to all interested parties (resource,
supervisor, HR, PMO, etc.) following the release and review criteria outlined in the Human
Resources Plan and/or Staff Management Plan
www.projectmanagementdocs.com/project-planning-templates/human-resource-plan.html#axzz4JIXfXPgm
www.lumeniaconsulting.com/blog/sean-jackson/transitioning-erp-project-staff-members-back-their-real-jobs

23. 22
Release/Transition Project Resources (cont.)
• Focus on the well-being of team members and set the stage for future interactions
 Recognize team members’ contributions
 Provide constructive feedback on areas for improvement, using specific examples
 Acknowledge that transitions are difficult, even when positive (e.g., successful project)
 Allow team member to get closure by way of 360-degree feedback and contributing to
lessons learned
• Assist team members’ transition if they are not being released back to operational work, to ensure
they find an opportunity that is a good fit for their skillset and interest
• Put in paperwork to remove access, as needed
• Close out the steering committee, if applicable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman%27s_stages_of_group_development#cite_note-8
Tuckman’s stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing, with Adjourning being added in 1977.

24. 23
Release Physical Assets
• Review the asset inventory list to identify all the temporary assets allocated to the project
• Close out any rental or lease agreements
• Release physical assets, such as office space, office or computer equipment (laptop,
dongles, etc.), and software licensing, required for the project in a timely manner
 Asset should be in same or better condition than when received
 Examples:
 Clean up office space
 Remove project files from computer, if IT department does not wipe clean loaner machines
 Formally notifying the responsible party (or hand delivering the assets) so they can
repurpose it or make it available to others

25. 24
Close Out Contracts/Procurements
• Ensure all contractual obligations have been met by all parties, includes work orders and POs
• Who performs the procurement close-out?
 Project manager
 Procurement department, as part of any required procurement audit
• What is verified?
 Scope/deliverables are complete as defined in completion criteria
 Work completed in the manner outlined in any agreed-upon specifications for scope, time,
quality, and costs, for example
• Written/signed verification required (e.g., product, service, and/or project acceptance form) – May
be dependent on closing out financials
To manage procurement-related risk, it is vital that all contractual obligations be met, unless a signed
addendum is in place that demonstrates all parties agreed to the removal of an obligation. In addition, if there
were any issues during the engagement, records must be maintained that document the nature of the issue,
who was contacted/who owned the issue, and the outcome/resolution.

26. 25
Assess Project Performance, Quality, and Risk Management
• Examples that outline the importance of assessing project performance and quality
 Identifies what is working well and where improvements are needed (to include root
cause analysis, where warranted)
 Provides data to increase efficiency and effectiveness of projects/project management
(i.e., do more with less) in areas where the greatest impact will be achieved
 Assists in future resourcing to maximize contributions based on skills and interests
 Helps to focus future dollars available for skills development where they will provide
the greatest benefit to the organization

27. 26
Assess Project Performance, Quality, and Risk
Management (cont.)
• Were the business objectives met (or are expected to be met)? E.g., reduce operational
costs, increase revenues, first to market, etc.
• Were the project objectives (i.e., KPIs) met, comparing baselines to actuals?
 Was the product or service delivered at the specified quality level?
 Was the project on time and on budget? If not (under or over), what were the
contributing factors?
 Poor understanding of requirements
 Unclear scope/deliverables
 Poor planning or estimating
 Price changes
 Gold plating
 Unforeseen risks manifested or risks poorly managed
 Resource issues (underperforming, resource changes, omissions, or defects)

28. 27
Assess Project Performance, Quality, and Risk
Management (cont.)
• Were the project objectives (i.e., KPIs) met, comparing baselines to actuals?
 Was the project on time and on budget? If not (under or over), what were the
contributing factors? (cont.)
 Tracking effort and cost (objective measures)
 Earned value
 Measure of the project performance and progress [Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost
Performance Index (CPI)]
 Requires list of work to be accomplished, a valuation of the work, and metrics that quantify the
accomplished work
 Epic and Release Burn-Down, Sprint Burn-Down, Velocity*, etc. (Agile)
Velocity is a metric that predicts how much work an Agile software development team can successfully
complete within a two-week sprint (or similar time-boxed period). [Source: Whatis.com]
www.atlassian.com/agile/metrics Five agile metrics you won’t hate

29. 28
Assess Project Performance, Quality, and Risk
Management (cont.)
• Stakeholder satisfaction
 Compile results from the satisfaction surveys
 Analyze the results and look for opportunities to improve satisfaction on future
projects
• Other performance indictors
 Number and type of change requests or defects and their impact
 Time/cost associated with change request management process
 Throughput in addressing issues and questions (i.e., date reported, priority assigned,
date resolved)

30. 29
Assess Project Performance, Quality, and Risk
Management (cont.)
• Evaluate manifested (and un-manifested) risks looking for opportunities to improve
 Identification, assessment (likelihood/impact), and prioritization
 Was the risk on the risk register? If not, why?
 What can we learn from the assessed likelihood and impact, compared to what really
happened?
 Did we focus on developing strategies for the “right” risks?
 Effectiveness of response strategy and the specific response that was implemented
 Was the strategy in line with the ultimate needs?
 Did the response address root cause?
 Was there any residual risk that impacted the project?

31. 30
Final Status Report/Announcement of Project Completion
• Notify stakeholders of project completion by generating and distributing the final Project
Status Report
• Develop list of others to be notified (e.g., organization as a whole, the public, etc.), and
generate the notice by writing a clear and concise announcement that summarizes:
 Goals of the project/deliverables
 Key benefits/beneficiaries
 Other information as deemed necessary
 Where to go for additional information
• Determine the distribution list and distribution venues/mechanisms
 Company website/LinkedIn profile and/or company-wide email distribution
 Publication in company newsletter and/or industry journal
 Press release, blog posting, etc.

32. 31
Final Status Report/Announcement of Project Completion (cont.)
• Compile inquiries and feedback
 Addressing, to include updating lessons learned, where appropriate

33. 32
Close Out Financials
• Ensure that all invoices paid
• Update financial paperwork/trackers, as needed
• Processes/return unused funds per organizational policies

34. 33
Complete PMO-Facing Close-Out Reports
• Core responsibilities of PMO are dependent on the organization (and whether model is to
control or support), however, in general they are to:
 Manage project pipeline and project portfolio
 Manage documents/artifacts of close projects
 Provide resource acquisition, training assistance, tools
 Define the processes and procedures that encompass the project lifecycle to include
the close-out reporting requirements
“A project management office, abbreviated to PMO, is a group or department within a business,
agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the
organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution
of projects.” [source: Wikipedia]

35. 34
Complete PMO-Facing Close-Out Reports (cont.)
• Example close-out reports that may be required, depending on the needs of the
organization and the maturity level of the PMO
 Cost versus budget
 Baseline versus actuals analysis
 Contingency and management reserve analysis
 Schedule analysis
 Continuous process improvement
 What worked well and what could be done better?
 What steps in the process were omitted or added and why?
 Resource utilization analysis
 Training outcomes (cost/benefit analysis)

36. 35
Archive Files
• Store any unfiled documents in the centralized storage system, using a good file naming
convention and folder structure that makes it easy to retrieve relevant information
 Optimize retrieval with metadata if the storage system supports it
 Ensure version control was applied to document so future consumers know which
document is the latest, if the document went through multiple iterations
 Restrict edit/write access to the documents, as needed, to protect privacy and/or the
data integrity
 Document any required retention periods which are beyond your organization’s
standards
• Documents should be made available to the target audiences by way of push
notifications, calling out any specific information that has immediate benefit to the
organization, project management office (PMO), project stakeholder, etc.

37. 36
Celebrate Project Success
• Recognizing and acknowledging the accomplishments of the team is an important
activity
• Make time to celebrate
• There is always something valid to celebrate, even if project was not deemed a success
• Celebrating provides closure and provides a positive foundation from which to address
challenges on future projects

38. 37
Providing Recognition
• Take praise and recognition of contributions seriously; use it to improve project outcomes
 Be specific when providing praise
 Set the stage for peers to provide recognition by setting aside time for this activity
 Amplify feedback received, e.g.:
 Read kudo emails in team meetings
 Forward the feedback and provide a personal note
 Post on bulletin board
• Make recognition commonplace; it should not be doled out only at the end of the project
• Identify the criterion for individual and team recognition and apply it consistently
 Do you recognize the completion of assigned tasks, only recognize “above and beyond”
efforts, or both? (Key is consistency)
• Consider a project memento, e.g., team photo, thoughtful/silly certificates of recognition

39. 38
What We’ll Cover
• The definition of project closure
• Importance and goals of project closure
• Project close activities
• Example close checklist and client survey
• Wrap-up

40. 39
Example Close Checklist

41. 40
Example Client Survey (Net Promoter Score)
Other example surveys:
www.surveymonkey.com/mp/csat/
www.qualtrics.com/blog/customer-satisfaction-survey-questions/

42. 41
What We’ll Cover
• The definition of project closure
• Importance and goals of project closure
• Project close activities
• Example close checklist and client survey
• Wrap-up

43. 42
Where to Find More Information
• www.successfactors.com/en_us/lp/articles/optimize-performance-management.html
 “Importance of Performance Management Process & Best Practices To Optimize Monitoring
Performance Work Reviews/Feedback and Goal Management” (SAP SuccessFactors).
• www.egovernment.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/78053/Closing_a_Project_Fact_Sheet.pdf
 “Project Management Fact Sheet: Closing a Project” (Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet,
November 2008).
• www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/management/business-studies/completing-the-
project/content-section-2.2
 “Completing the project” course (The Open University, February 2016).
• www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/14027/Stop-Ignoring-Project-Closeout
 Robert Gordon Seiler, “Stop Ignoring Project Closeout” (ProjectManagement.com, August 2015).
• www.projectconnections.com/articles/060507-wiefling.html
 Kimberly M. Wiefling, “Attitude of Gratitude: Celebrate Project Success . . . and some Failures, too!”
(ProjectConnections, 2007).

44. 43
Where to Find More Information (cont.)
• www.girlsguidetopm.com/2015/07/15-ways-to-celebrate-success/
 Elizabeth Harrin, “15 Ways to Celebrate Success” (A Girl’s Guide to Project Management, July 2015).
• www.slideshare.net/anandsubramaniam/project-management-office-pmo
 Anand Subramaniam, “Project Management Office: Framework & Phased Implementation Roadmap”
(SlideShare, July 2009).

45. 44
7 Key Points to Take Home
• Project closure is an important and necessary phase of the project lifecycle
• Meeting business objectives and providing business value, as stated in the work request
or contract, is paramount
• Obtaining formal, written approval of deliverables is not optional
• Not performing contractual close could leave your organization open to financial and/or
legal risk
• Analyzing and improving risk management provides significant organizational benefits
• Providing timely feedback on individual and team performance is a must, along with
acknowledging successes
• Lessons learned are not to be stored and never looked at again; your organization needs
to use them as an input to similar projects

46. 45
Your Turn!
How to contact me:
Barbara Franks
Email: Barbara.Franks@benimbl.com
Please remember to complete your session evaluation

47. 46
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