Addis Ababa University, College

of Health Science, School of

Public Health, Dep’t of Health
Services Management & Health
Policy, Health Economics Unit
Module Title: Health Project Management
Credit Values of the Module – 3.5 ECTS
Module Code: PHSM 672
 Project Termination and Closeout
Project handover and delivery
• Types of project handover: Not all handovers are at the completion of a project. In
some projects there might be several different types of handover, which happen at
different stages. For example, the Tate Modern art gallery was built within the shell of
a disused power station on the banks of the River Thames in London, and an early
handover point was when the building was purchased and became the property of the
Tate Trustees. Such a handover is significant when a building may present long-term
problems (in this case, contamination from its previous uses).
• Once a handover process has been agreed, a meeting of the project team to prepare
for the handover should be arranged. This is the time to make sure you have not
forgotten anything that might lead your sponsor to withhold acceptance. It is helpful
to draw up a list of outstanding tasks, and to make sure that someone is responsible
for doing each of them within a specified timescale.
• Activity 1: Imagine that you are leading a project in which you have been contracted
to deliver a series of training events within a small organisation. What might you do to
demonstrate to your client that you have successfully achieved the outcomes
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued
Completing the project
• The closing stages of a project need as much, if not more, attention as the early
stages. Performance may drift unnoticed into a downward spiral if this part of the
project is not managed as carefully as other stages. Many of the final tasks in a project
may seem rather tedious ‘housekeeping’ once its main purpose has been achieved.
Nevertheless, there are a number of actions that must be taken to close the project
and ensure that any necessary maintenance arrangements have been made.
• Someone has to make sure that all project staff actually stop work on the project, and
that payment for time and expenses are completed and discontinued. The final review
of the project must be arranged, when all of the learning that has been gained during
the project is gathered together and presented.
• If the project’s objectives were clearly set out, the completion or acceptance criteria
should flow logically from them. Such criteria might include the following: the key
stages and milestones are all completed; the outputs or outcomes meet the quality
specifications; the project sponsor has accepted and signed off the project; the project
has been completed on time and within the budget anticipated.
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued

• However, simply delivering the project is only part of the project completion
process. To maximise the opportunity to learn from the successful completion of
the project there are a range of questions that can be asked of participants and
stakeholders. Answers from these can help improve performance on projects in
the future. These questions are detailed below.
Summary of performance and outcomes
• Is the project considered a success? What is the ‘sponsor/end-customer’ view of
project success?
• Did the project achieve objectives and meet success criteria as originally defined
in the original project record?
• Were all deliverables completed as outlined in the original project record?
• Are there any open items on the ‘project closure checklist’ that require attention
or support?
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued

Unplanned changes to project scope

• Were there any scope changes or midterm course adjustments?
• Were there unanticipated changes to cost, schedule or deliverables?
• Were there negative consequences as a result of the scope change? How were they
handled?
Summary of lessons learned or best practices
• What lessons learned and best practices could be useful for other projects and project
teams?
• Are there any recommendations you would make for similar initiatives?
• What are the top two or three factors contributing to project success or failure?
Other project highlights or notes
Are there any other topics or points worth noting about the project not captured above?
Activity 2:
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Project Closeout [A. A. E. Othman & K. A. Zaid (2007)]

• The construction industry is dynamic in nature due to the increasing clients' expectations,
technology improvement, time and budget constrains as well as process development (Chan et
al., 2004).
• From start to completion, construction projects undergo a number of phases characterised by
many tasks aimed at identifying, planning, designing, and constructing the proposed facility
(Thabet, 1999).
• Project closeout is one of the most important project phases. It is the formal completion of all
contracts related to the project. Closeout takes place after all obligations have been fulfilled and
the required documents have been executed. It is the most difficult time for the project manager
throughout the project life cycle.
• As the end of the project approaches, the project manager faces a completely new set of
challenges in order to bring the project to a successful conclusion. This statement is true even if
everything is going as planned. The project could be completed on time, within budget and
according the quality level required but it is not successful (Sanvido, 1988).
• This could be attributed to a number of reasons, amongst them the client dissatisfaction with
the final product and unprofessional closeout of the project where the project team fails to learn
from the accumulated wealth of experience from completed project (Phiri and Haddon, 2000).
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued

An Overview of Constructions Projects Success [A. A. E. Othman & K. A. Zaid (2007)]

• Over the years the definition of project success has changed. In the 1960s, the early days of
project management, success was measured entirely in technical terms. Either the product
worked or it did not. This type of thinking existed at that time because neither customers nor
contractors felt pressure to contain costs.
• Cost control was an abstract concept not a reality. As contractors began to understand
project management better and stronger cost control became a requirement, the definition
of success changed.
• Success came to be defined as accomplishing the project on time, within budget and an
acceptable level of quality. But even that updated definition was still incomplete. The
problem with defining success as on time, within budget and at the described level of quality
is the internal focus of definition. The ultimate customer should decide whether or not the
project is successful.
• Today, the definition of success is stated in terms of five factors:
(1) Completed on time. (2) Completed within budget. (3) Completed at the described level of
quality. (4) Accepted to the customer. (5) Resulted in customer allowing contractor to use
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued
The Project Critical Success Factor (CSFs) [A. A. E. Othman & K. A. Zaid (2007)]
• Critical success factors can be described as characteristics, conditions, or variables that can have significant
impact on the success of the project when properly sustained, maintained and manged (Milosevic and
Patanakul, 2005).
• Various attempts were made by different researchers to determine CSFs in construction. A detailed study by
Chan et al. (2004) grouped the critical success factors in construction projects under five main categories.
These include: - (1) human-related factors, (2) project-related factors, (3) project procedures, (4) project
management actions, and (5) external environment.
The Closeout Phase
• The last major phase of a project's life cycle is the closeout. Projects are considered completed or "closed
out" after the client receives and approves all reports as required by the terms and conditions of the award,
and notifies the contractor of its acceptance and closure of the project.
• The closeout process includes (1) finalising all activities completed and transfer them to the responsible
entity managing and operating, (2) establishing the procedures to coordinate activities needed to verify and
document the project deliverables, (3) coordinating and interacting to formalise acceptance of those
deliverables by the customer and (4) investigating and documenting the reasons for actions taken if a
project is terminated before completion.
• Two procedures are developed to establish the interactions necessary to perform the closure activities
across the entire project. These are: (1) Administrative Closure Procedures and (2) Contract Closure
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued

Project Commissioning: managing the transition [Cusworth and Franks, (1993)]

• Commissioning is the stage that links project implementation to project operation,
when the facilities that has been created (through the incurring of costs) are put to
work to yield a stream of benefits.
• Commissioning, or a more detailed task within it, is likely to form the last activity in
the overall project plan schedule.
• The discussion which follows is based on approaches which have been used
particularly for the process industries (such as oil and chemical plants). Because in
these the need for efficient and effective commissioning is very clear.
• In other sectors commissioning has often not be given the importance which it
deserves, because it was mistakenly thought that the facilities, once created, could
immediately be put into operation and that no ‘running in’ period was required.
• Even in non-capital sectors such as agriculture and social projects, this is unlikely to
be true and all types of projects can usefully borrow some of the concepts used in
the process industries.
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued
• Another reason for considering commissioning as a separate activity is that it is often
overlooked in project planning and management. This is surprising in view of its
importance as a key step to successful project operation – which is, after all, the
ultimate objective of project development.
• It is moreover a complex and difficult process and for that reason can be expensive.
Some estimates put the cost of commissioning in some process industries as high as 15
per cent of the total project cost.
• There is therefore all the more reason to take it into account and make a realistic plan
for it but this is seldom done, perhaps because it lies comparatively far ahead at the
time of project appraisal.
• Commissioning may have a number of objectives, depending on the type of project,
the owner’s institutional framework and other factors.
• For all projects, commissioning will have operational objectives, involving the putting
of the newly created facilities into use, finding the most efficient or profitable mode of
operating them and then training the operators or users in economic and effective
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued

• This will also be a period when a clients or customers can be made aware of the
products or services which the facilities can provide them.
• For mechanical and physical equipment, commissioning will also have a number
of safety objectives, including passing the test and safety checks, training and
testing operators in emergency procedures, the search for hazards to which the
plants or facilities might give rise.
• Finally, for facilities created under contract, commissioning will have contractual
objectives, providing predictions of performance, passing of acceptance tests and
provision of a trigger for payment stages.
• It is probably desirable to draw up a separate commissioning schedule as the time
for installation and commissioning approaches. In certain situations it may even
be necessary to carry out the detailed critical path analysis for all the activities
involved.
• It should be remember that at this stage of implementation, time may well have
 Project Termination and Closeout … Continued
References
• A. A. E. Othman & K. A. Zaid (2007), Delivering Successful Construction Projects through Achieving
Professional Projects Closeout, Conference Paper, June 2007, Accessed 08 June /2020 and Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271269648
• David Potts (2002) Project Planning and Analysis for Development, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder,
USA
• European Commission (1999) Project Cycle Management Handbook, Brussels, EC.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (2001) Project Cycle Management
Technical Guide, Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) Programme, Geneva, United Nations.
• Gertler, P.J., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L.B. and Vermeersch, C.M.J. (2011) Impact Evaluation in
Practice, The World Bank, USA: Washington.
• John W. Cusworth and Tom R. Franks (1993), Managing Projects in Developing Countries, Longman
Group, UK, Pearson Education Limited, Prentice Hall
• Martin, V. and Sturges, J. (2007) Managing Performance and Change Block 3 Managing Projects and
Change, Sessions 4 to 6, 2nd edn. Milton Keynes, The Open University.
• Miri Yemini, Izhar Oplatka, Netta Sagie (2018),Project Management in Schools: New Conceptualizations,
Orientations, and Applications, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-3-319-78608-7 (eBook)