PROJECT CLOSURE

Project Closure involves releasing the final deliverable to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business and support teams, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources, and communicating project closure to all stakeholders. In both traditional waterfall and Agile projects, a lessons learned or sprint retrospective is the last step conducted.

Growth comes from learning and so a critical part of this phase is the lessons learned process. It is important for project performance to be evaluated so the organization can determine what worked well and should be repeated and what may need to change for future projects.

Goals:

  • Review status of benefits with stakeholders
  • Dismantle project team and operating model
  • Celebrate project success
  • Collect and prepare lessons learned for future project application

Project Closure

The closing process formalizes the end of a phase or project. Having tasks defined in the closing phase of your project ensures administrative and contract items are completed, disseminated, and archived. Completing the closure phase will generate the final performance metrics for the project, document and distribute lessons learned, as well as obtain formal project approval from the project sponsor. The project team should conduct a post-project review to discuss materials presented, areas for improvement, and what has been successful. If there are any vendor contracts, remaining invoices, or costs, reconciliations should be re-conducted as part of this phase.

Value of Closure

The completion of this phase ensures that all project activities and deliverables are finished and project documentation is archived. By following a closure process, you can ensure that vendors are paid, resources are released from project activities, and appropriate lessons learned have been completed and documented. Closure provides for the proper shutdown of activities and ensures a smooth handover to production or operations. It also provides for the assessment of the success of the project and gathers lessons learned to apply to future projects/sprints.

Topics Covered

  • Acceptance
  • Lessons Learned
  • Archive
  • Transfer
  • Celebrate

Templates Provided

  • Project Charter
  • Change Lessons Learned – Project Management Evaluation
  • Project Documents to Archive
  • Transition Plan
  • Transitioning Planning Checklist
  • Project Closure Checklist