All good projects must come to an end, as the saying goes. Hopefully, you've practiced all the things we've talked about that have led up to this point, and you've delivered a successful project to the stakeholders and customers. You've also put some of the vital tools of project management into play—planning, executing, controlling, and communicating—to help you reach that goal.
But how do you know when a project has ended successfully? Delivering the product or service of the project doesn't mean it's been completed satisfactorily. Remember back in the opening chapters that I said a project is completed successfully when it meets or exceeds stakeholders* expectations and satisfies the goals of the project. During the Closing processes— Close Project and Contract Closure—you'll document acceptance of the product of the project with a formal sign-off and file it with the project records for future reference. The formal sign-off is how the stakeholders will indicate that the goals have been met and that the project meets or exceeds their expectations so that the project ends.
There arc a few characteristics common to all projects during the Closing processes. One is that the probability of completing the project is highest during this process and risk is lowest. You Vc already completed the majority of the work of the project—if not all of the work—so the probability of not finishing the project is very low.
Stakeholders have the least amount of influence during the Closing processes, while project managers have the greatest amount of influence. Costs arc significantly lower during this process because the majority of the project work and spending has already occurred. Remember those cost S curves we talked about in the Cost Budgeting process? This is where they taper off as project spending comes to an end.
One last common characteristic of projects during closing is that weak matrix organizations tend to experience the least amount of stress during the Closing processes.
All projects do eventually come to an end. Let's examine a few of the reasons for project endings before getting into the Close Project and Contract Closure processes.
But how do you know when a project has ended successfully? Delivering the product or service of the project doesn't mean it's been completed satisfactorily. Remember back in the opening chapters that I said a project is completed successfully when it meets or exceeds stakeholders* expectations and satisfies the goals of the project. During the Closing processes— Close Project and Contract Closure—you'll document acceptance of the product of the project with a formal sign-off and file it with the project records for future reference. The formal sign-off is how the stakeholders will indicate that the goals have been met and that the project meets or exceeds their expectations so that the project ends.
There arc a few characteristics common to all projects during the Closing processes. One is that the probability of completing the project is highest during this process and risk is lowest. You Vc already completed the majority of the work of the project—if not all of the work—so the probability of not finishing the project is very low.
Stakeholders have the least amount of influence during the Closing processes, while project managers have the greatest amount of influence. Costs arc significantly lower during this process because the majority of the project work and spending has already occurred. Remember those cost S curves we talked about in the Cost Budgeting process? This is where they taper off as project spending comes to an end.
One last common characteristic of projects during closing is that weak matrix organizations tend to experience the least amount of stress during the Closing processes.
All projects do eventually come to an end. Let's examine a few of the reasons for project endings before getting into the Close Project and Contract Closure processes.