Management

Close Out –
The Forgotten Phase
In the long run, taking the time to close out a
project properly will save time and reduce the
Paula K. Martin, chances of making the same mistake twice.
Martin Training Associates
Karen Tate,
Griffin Tate Group, Inc.

W
ell, you’ve planned the project; you Let’s examine each of these elements of close out and
even involved the whole team in the what you need to do to effectively close out a project.
planning process. You executed the
plan and delivered the final deliver- Final status report
able to the customer. You finished on The first thing you need to do is compile the final
time and within budget. Great job! status report for the project. This report should be no
The customer seems pleased. You let out a big sigh of more than two pages long and should capture the final
relief because the project is done, right? Wrong. results of the project compared to the planned results.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase that the party isn’t For example, it should contain actual milestone-com-
over until the fat lady sings. Well, the project isn’t over pletion dates vs. the planned dates, total spending vs.
until close out is complete. Although it’s hard to sus- the budget, total staff effort hours vs. the plan, and so
tain the energy for close out when team members have on. It should also summarize any approved changes
a million other things to do and are ready to move on to made to the project plan. The final status report
the next project, close out is an essential phase and not should be distributed to all project stakeholders, the
something that should be skipped. It is during close out same people who received the status reports through-
that we compare “how we did” to “how we said we out the project.
would do” — did we meet the goals and objectives that
both parties agreed to during planning and updated Customer satisfaction evaluation
through the change-management process? The next step is to determine the customer’s level
Activities completed during close out include: of satisfaction with the project. The best way to do
• Generate the final status report for the project that this is through a survey form. The survey should ask
shows how the team has performed vs. the plan the customer to rate the degree of satisfaction with
• Determine the customer’s level of satisfaction the final deliverable, the schedule and the costs, and
with the final deliverable and with the project process it should address the project management process:
as a whole planning, monitoring, change control, etc. Send this
• Ask the sponsor and key stakeholders to evaluate to the customer, and then arrange a meeting, in per-
the project process son or over the phone, to discuss the project.
• Evaluate both the project and the team processes To create a survey form, construct a set of state-
• Compile the lessons learned for the project ments that can be rated on a scale of 1–7, with 1
• Make recommendations on how to improve the meaning strongly disagrees and 7 meaning strongly
project system agrees. Here are some sample statements that you
• Complete the close-out report might want to include that address project results:
• Archive the project records for future project teams. • The final deliverable met my acceptance criteria.

76 www.cepmagazine.org January 2002 CEP

 + / ∆ Form
Project Name: Project Sponsor:

• The final deliverable met my needs.

• The final deliverable met my expectations. Project Results Went Well (+) Ideas for Improvement (∆)
• The delivery date met my needs. Scopes/Deliverables
• The cost met my needs.
Team Composition
Examples of statements related to the
project management process include: Schedule
• The project plan was effective and complete. Staffing
• The scope of the project was well defined. Spending
• The change-management process was
Risks
effective.
• My level of involvement in the project Project Management Process
fit my needs. Project Initiation
• Status reports were clear and complete. Project Planning
• Review meetings were effective. Monitoring
• I was kept informed of progress on the
project. Change Control
• Overall, I was satisfied with the project Communications
management process. Other
After the customer completes the survey
form, it’s time for a one-on-one interview. ■ Figure 1. A sample of +/∆ form. Use this form to record the comments or results from a one-
You’ll record the verbatim comments or re- on-one interview. It will help you identify the parts of the project that were handled properly, as
sults of the interview on a +/∆ form. A sam- well as how to improve those that were not performed most effectively.
ple form is shown in Figure 1. Question the
customer on each topic listed in the +/∆ Stakeholder Feedback Survey
form. These topics should correspond to the
Project Name: Project Sponsor:
statements you included in your customer
survey. You can use the survey form as the
basis for asking questions. For example, if Statements Ratings Went Well Ideas for Improvement
the customer rated the statement, “The pro-
ject plan was complete and effective” as a 3 1. Project plan was complete 1234567
and it worked well
out of 7, ask what he or she liked about the
project plan and the planning process. Then 2. The project planning process 1234567
ask what could be improved with the next was efficient
project. Record these responses next to the 3. The resources required for the 1234567
“Project Planning” box in the +/∆ form. project matched the project plan

4. The change-management 1234567

Sponsor evaluation process was effective
The sponsor evaluates the project in the
5. Status reports were clear 1234567
same way as the customer and for the same and complete
things, but you should add statements to the
6. I was kept informed on the 1234567
evaluation that are directed at the sponsor. For progress of the project
example, here are some additional statements
related to project results: ■ Figure 2. Feedback from stakeholders is also critical to performing proper close out. This
• The final deliverable met the customer’s form is a modified version of the +/∆ form that is used by the customer.
needs.
• The schedule met the requirements of
the organization. could not have been anticipated or were not appropriate
• The project cost was acceptable. to incorporate during the planning process.
Some additional statements on the project manage- Add statements of your own that will solicit the spon-
ment process include: sor’s feedback on how the project was run. After the
• The project planning process was thorough. sponsor evaluates the statements, sit down together and
• The project planning process was efficient. have a candid discussion about what worked and what
• The stakeholder involvement was effective. didn’t work in the project. Complete another +/∆ form
• Project review meetings were effective. during your interview with the sponsor.
• The changes that were made to the project scope Try to elicit specific ideas for improvement so that

CEP January 2002 www.cepmagazine.org 77

 Management

Lessons-learned List
Project Name: Project Leader:
ject management process.
• The leader did a good job of facilitating
Lesson # Description of Incident Date of Incident Description of Lesson Learned
and monitoring the team process.
• The project was worth my investment
1 Describe the incident or When did the What did you learn from
trigger that caused a incident occur? the incident?
of time.
lesson to be learned. • We worked well together as a team.
What went right or what The more information you solicit from the
went wrong? team, the better, but don’t make the survey
2 too long (no more than 25 statements) or
3 people won’t bother filling it out. Compile
the survey data into a summary form to pre-
4
sent to the team at the lessons-learned meet-
5 ing, where you’ll get the team’s inputs for
the +/∆ form.
■ Figure 3. This list is a useful tool for capturing the team’s learning as it occurs. Make sure
enough detail is captured so that you can recall what happened later, why it happened and
Lessons-learned meeting
what your learned from the incident at the time.
You’ll need the survey results from the
customer, sponsor, other stakeholders and
you’ll know what to do differently. For example, if the team members, the final status report, the customer and
sponsor says the project planning process was inefficient, sponsor +/∆ forms, and the lessons-learned list you’ve
ask what parts of the process were inefficient. Did it take been keeping throughout the project. This list captures
too much time? If so, which parts were too lengthy? How the team’s learning as it occurs, so that you don’t forget
would he or she recommend the planning time for the those lessons when you get to the close-out phase. A
next project be shortened? sample lessons-learned list is shown in Figure 3.
Set this list up before you start planning and update it
Stakeholder evaluation as incidents occur that provide lessons to the team.
It’s also helpful to get feedback from the other stake- Make sure you capture enough detail so that you can re-
holders, such as the resource managers. If you have several call what happened later, why it happened and what you
stakeholders, try combining the survey form with the +/∆ learned from the incident at the time.
form so that you don’t have to sit down with each one indi- Now you’re ready to get the team together to review
vidually. Simply add two columns next to each statement, the project and discuss lessons learned. Review the
label one column “Went Well” and the second column final status report with the team and discuss the reasons
“Ideas for Improvement”. A sample stakeholder evaluation for any variances from the approved plan. Also discuss
form is shown in Figure 2. the approved changes made to the project and the rea-
To the degree that it is possible, try to have a core set sons for those changes. Is there any way these could
of questions that are answered by the customer, sponsor, have been anticipated in the planning stage? What
team members and other stakeholders, so that you can would you do differently the next time to minimize
compare the results. Then add questions that are specific change orders?
to those groups. Next, review the project management process. Here
are some questions to address:
Team evaluation • Were the project objectives met?
Next, the team evaluates both the project and the lead- • Were they the right objectives?
ership of the project. If you have a formal 360-degree • Was the quality plan effective for creating a final de-
feedback program in place, you can use that for your liverable that met the customer’s acceptance criteria?
leader evaluation. However, you’ll still want the team to • Was the risk assessment process effective? Was there
evaluate the project management process. anyone missing from the risk assessment process that
Create a survey, like the ones you created for the cus- should have been included?
tomer and sponsor, with statements directed at the pro- • Were there too many reviews? Not enough? Were they
ject team. If you’re using an online project room, you effective in assuring the quality of the final deliverable?
can poll the team online and let the program calculate the • Were the right people on the team? Were the stake-
results for you. Otherwise, you’ll need to compile the re- holders well represented?
sults yourself. Here are some examples of statements that • Were our resource commitments met (time, effort,
you might want to include for the team evaluation: money)? If not, why not?
• The team’s involvement in planning was effective. • Were our estimates accurate? Did we have enough or
• The leader performed well as a facilitator of the pro- too much contingency?

78 www.cepmagazine.org January 2002 CEP

 Table. Resolving Situations

Typical problems with close out Suggestions

• Did the change-management process
work? If not, why not? Close out not perceived as valuable Emphasize close out throughout the project
• Did we keep stakeholders involved Close-out information not used; Make it a required part of the project process;
in the project? Were they kept informed? Team members not willing to change; Show value to the organization
As you discuss these questions, No follow up
record items on the final +/∆ chart. Re- Close-out information inconsistent in Establish a standard and user-friendly process;
view the comments from the sponsor, content and format Use quantitative analysis;
Make time to do it
customer and other stakeholders and add
these to the final +/∆ chart. No management support for close out Fund projects out of business areas and part of
Next, explore what you learned about the profit-and-loss measurement
the team process. Add a section to your No management accountability to use Widely publicize it and let people know it is
+/∆ chart to capture issues related to the close out going to happen
team. Categories could include, for ex- Hard to access data Standardization;
ample, teamwork, communication, team Knowledge management;
Use a database
participation and ground rules. Next, re-
view the team process with the group. Team members not willing to be Take anonymous feedback and review with
honest in feedback team member one-on-one;
Here are some exploratory questions: Start with successes
• Did we work well together as a team?
• Was the kick-off meeting effective? Close out occurs too late Tie it to the close-out party to make sure they attend
• Were the planning meetings effective?
• Did we adhere to our team contract? sult each time, is a sign of insanity. Well, continuing to
• Did we work through our conflicts productively? do projects over and over without doing close out is also
• Did everyone participate in the planning process? In a sign of insanity, because you are bound to repeat the
monitoring and solving problems? same errors over and over again unless you, the project
• Did everyone contribute to the project? team and the organization learn from what has hap-
• Was the communication among the team effective? pened. Taking the time to close out a project properly
will save you and everyone else time over the longer
Recommendations for improvement
term. Taking the time to do close out will pull you back
Some of the lessons learned may be specific to this from the brink of project insanity, and there’s something
project or to similar projects. Others might be ideas that to be said for that! CEP
would improve the overall project system. Summarize
these broader lessons into a set of recommendations for
improving the project system. These recommendations
will be included in the close-out report that will be sent
to the sponsor and then to the project steering group PAULA K. MARTIN is the CEO and founder of Martin Training Associates, a
and/or project office. leading provider of project management training and consulting with
headquarters in Cincinnati, OH (Phone: (866) 922-3122 or (513) 563-3512;
Make the recommendations specific. For example, a Fax: (866) 922-4122; E-mail: [email protected]). Martin has been
recommendation to better support project teams does not consulting on project management, project sponsorship, matrix
give the sponsor or the project office specific ideas about management, project steering, management accountability and other key
what to do differently. A better recommendation would leadership issues for over 10 years. Prior to becoming a consultant she was
the director of American Cyanamid’s new agchemical development efforts
be, “Require every project to have a charter before it be- in the U.S., steering hundreds of projects and project teams. She has an
gins project planning.” MS degree from Colorado State Univ. Martin is also the author/coauthor of
seven books, including: “Executive Guide: The 7 Keys to Project Success,”
Complete the report “Project Management Memory Jogger,” and “Getting Started in Project
Management.” She is a columnist and featured speaker at project
The close-out report is merely a compilation of the in- management conferences.
formation you’ve gathered during close out. It includes:
• Final project status report KAREN TATE, PMP, is president and founder of Griffin Tate Group, Inc. (Phone:
• Survey results (summary level) (513) 984-8150; E-mail: [email protected]). She has been working with
projects and project teams for over 20 years, managing projects and
• Final +/∆ chart programs of all types and sizes. Tate has a BS in finance from Bloomsburg
• Recommendations for improvement. Univ. of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Xavier Univ. She is the coauthor of
After you’ve compiled the report, review it with the “Project Management Memory Jogger,” “Getting Started in Project
sponsor. Then it’s ready to be approved and you can Management,” “A Step by Step Approach to Risk Assessment,” and “Triz:
An Approach to Systematic Innovation.” She is a frequent presenter and
archive the project documents for future project teams. lecturer at conferences and seminars all over the world. Tate serves on the
Everyone knows the statement that continuing to do Education Advisory Group of the Project Management Institute.
the same things over and over, expecting a different re-

CEP January 2002 www.cepmagazine.org 79