Question

Think of a project that you have previously been a part of at a past or current place of employment, and imagine that you were appointed the project manager.

• Describe the process you and your project team would follow for closing the project.
• Develop a “Lesson Learned” document for your organization and for your project stakeholders. This document must include what went well, what went wrong, and suggestions for improvement in future projects.
• Discuss how you would adjourn your team in a manner that would encourage them to want to work with you in future projects.

Paper should consist of at least four pages

Answer 1

Steps to Project Closure

1. Arrange a Post Mortem

Managing a project isn’t only about tasks and resources, budget and deadlines, it’s an experience you can constantly learn from. While you should have been learning throughout the project, now is a great time to look back without the pressure and distractions that might have dulled your focus.

Gather the core team to invite feedback about what worked, and what didn’t. Encourage honesty. By documenting the mistakes and the successes of the project, you’re building a catalog that offers historic data. You can go back and look over the information for precedents when planning for new projects. Projects are never standalone things, but part of a continuum, where the specifics might vary, but the general methods usually remain the same. There’s a wealth of knowledge produced after any project closes.

2. Complete Paperwork

As noted, projects generate reams of documents. These documents are going to have to get sign off and approval from stakeholders. Everything needs attention, and must be signed for, which is the legal proof that in fact these documents have concluded. That includes closing all contracts you might have made with internal partners or vendors or any other resources you contracted with.

This includes addressing all outstanding payments. You want to make sure that all invoices, commissions, fees, bonus, what have you, are paid. Complete all the costs involved with the project. It’s not done, if it’s not paid for.

3. Release Resources

You assemble a team for the project, and now you must cut them loose. It’s a formal process, and a crucial one, which frees them for the next project. Each team is brought together for the mix of skills and experience they bring to a project. The project determines the team members you’ll want to work with, and each project is going to be a little bit different, which will be reflected in the team hired to execute it. This is true for internal as well as external resources. The external ones might be more obvious, as you contracted with them, and that contract is going to have a duration. When it’s over, make sure they’re all paid in full so they can sign off and leave. But internal resources remain, so you have to remind yourself that their time on the project is also limited, and you might be blocking other team’s projects if you don’t release your resources once the project is done.

4. Archive Documents

There are lessons to be learned from old projects, which is why you meet with your team regularly during the project and look back on the process afterwards. However, if you don’t have an archive in which to pull the old records, then whatever knowledge you gain is lost because of poor organization and management. You worked hard to have great project documentation, don’t lose it.

Before you close a project, archive all the documents and any notes and data that could prove useful. Even if you never access it, there’s a need to keep a paper trail of the work done on any project for other people in the organization. This might include legal teams, or HR teams, or even your successor. You never know when someone might have to go back and respond to a question or want to learn how an old issue was resolved. Consider it like putting away provisions for the winter.

5. Celebrate Success

If it sounds silly to you, then you’re not doing your job. There’s nothing silly about rewarding your team to acknowledge a job well done. It creates closure, which is what this part of the project is all about, but it also plants a seed that will bloom in later projects when you work with members of the old team.

That’s because when you note a job well done you’re building morale. It makes team members feel better. You might have been a hard task master in the project, but you give them their due for a job well done. That creates loyalty, and they’re going to work even harder for you the next time. And there will be a next time, because a happy team is a team that you retain. Why would you want to close a project and lose the very resources that made it a success? Loosen up!

Project Closure Checklist

Start at the beginning with the project scope document you created and make sure that you’ve meet all the requirements listed there.

Make sure that all deliverables have been handed off and signed by stakeholders, getting their approval and satisfaction.

Other project documents must also be signed by the appropriate person, this includes any outstanding contracts and agreements with vendors and other contractors.

Once documents are signed off on, then process them and pay off all invoices and close out any project-related contracts.

Add all documents together, including finalizing all project reports, then organize and archive them as historical data to be used for future reference.

Use collected paperwork to identify and document the lessons learned over the course of the project, including any feedback from stakeholders, so you don’t make the same mistakes in future projects.

Assign a transition support person to shepherd the project after completion, so that the project closure is thorough.

Release or reassign the project resources, which includes your team and other project personnel and any equipment or site rentals used for the project.

If you’ve not used a project management software, get one, as it helps control not only the life cycle of the project, but also the process of closing the project thoroughly.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, celebrate with your project team. They did the work and deserve credit and an opportunity to blow off steam until the next project is started.

Lesson learned document

Without a formalized documentation process, it’s hard to keep track of any lessons learned to make adjustments and improvements. Develop an ongoing documentation process right from the kick-off meeting. Documenting lessons learned along the whole lifecycle of the project, particularly with big projects, will prevent people forgetting the lessons learned along the way.

To identify issues, carry out regular surveys during the project these surveys in quick meetings can be used to discuss, analyze, and document the lessons learned.

For each of the statements below, please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement.

Project planning

The project plan and schedule were well-documented, with appropriate structure and detail.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

As a stakeholder, I’m happy with my level of input into the project planning process.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

The project plan clearly explained the purpose of the project.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

The project’s scope was well defined.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

Project Execution

The project schedule is on-track.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

Project changes have been manageable.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

I understand everyone’s responsibilities.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

Sponsors have been engaged.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

The project outcome is matching what’s defined in the project charter.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

The project team receives a lot of interaction internally and from the facilitator.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

This project environment is collaborative.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

Outcome

The project work is realistic and achievable.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

The project’s action plan shows how our work contributes to the overall project goal.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

Assignments are clearly defined.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

We have strong performance metrics that help quantify success.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

We’re on track to achieving the stated goal in the project charter.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Comments:____________________________

My expectations of effort, time, and commitments are being met.

(Strongly agree – Agree – Neutral – Disagree – Strongly disagree – Not applicable)

Introduction

Capturing lessons learned is an integral part of every project and serves several purposes. While the finalization of a formal lessons learned document is completed during the project closeout process, capturing lessons learned should occur throughout the project lifecycle to ensure all information is documented in a timely and accurate manner. The lessons learned template serves as a valuable tool for use by other project managers within an organization who are assigned similar projects. This document should not only describe what went wrong during a project and suggestions to avoid similar occurrences in the future, but it should also describe what went well and how similar projects may benefit from this information. This document should be communicated to the project sponsor and Project Management Office (PMO) for inclusion in the organizational assets and archives as part of the lessons learned database. If the organization does not have a PMO then other, formal means of communicating the lessons learned should be utilized to ensure all project managers are included.

The purpose of the lessons learned document for the New Building Construction (NBC) Project is to capture the project’s lessons learned in a formal document for use by other project managers on similar future projects. This document may be used as part of new project planning for similar projects in order to determine what problems occurred and how those problems were handled and may be avoided in the future. Additionally, this document details what went well with the project and why, so that other project managers may capitalize on these actions. Project managers may also use this document to determine who the project team members were in order to solicit feedback for planning their projects in the future. This document will be formally communicated with the organization and will become a part of the organizational assets and archives.

Lessons Learned From This Project

The lessons learned must be communicated in a consistent manner. In addition to the categorization and description of the lesson, it is important to state what the impact was and provide a recommendation for project managers to consider on future projects. This section of the lessons learned template provides an example.

The following chart lists the lessons learned for the NBC project. These lessons are categorized by project knowledge area and descriptions, impacts, and recommendations are provided for consideration on similar future new construction projects. It is important to note that not only failures or shortcomings are included but successes as well.

Category	Issue Name	Problem/Success	Impact	Recommendation
Procurement Management	Contract Requirements	The PM was not fully engaged in the contract process.	All requirements were not included in the initial contract award. A contract modification was required which added a week to the project.	PM must be fully engaged in all contract processes. This must be communicated to both PM and contract personnel.
Human Resources Management	Award Plan	There was no plan for providing awards and recognition to team members.	Toward the end of the project morale was low among the project team. There was increased conflict and team members were asking to leave the project.	The PM should institute and communicate an awards/recognition program for every project.
Scope Management	Scope Creep	Stakeholders continuously tried adding to the project scope throughout the project lifecycle.	The PM did not have a plan for addressing scope creep and allowed some requirements to be added until the sponsor stopped it. Overall project delay of 3 weeks was the result.	The PM must have an approval process for any proposed scope changes and communicate this process to all stakeholders.
Quality Management	Building Material	A process for determining acceptable building material quality was planned into the project.	This allowed the project team to work with the contractors to smoothly ensure all materials were of acceptable quality and avoided any re-work and delays associated with substandard material.	Always plan quality standards and allowances into the project plan. This helps avoid delays and cost overruns.
Risk Management	Zoning Approval	A risk was identified that there may be delays in receiving approval from the county zoning board. This was a success because it was identified early and planned for.	Impact was minimal because the PM included potential zoning delays into the project schedule.	Always consider external impacts on the project cost and schedule. This must be continuous throughout the project lifecycle.

Lessons Learned Knowledge Base/Database

The Lesson Learned Knowledge Base contains historical information from previous projects. It is part of the organizational project assets and provides a valuable source of information to be used by similar projects in the future. All project lessons learned and other historical information need to be transferred to this knowledge/database in order to provide one centralized repository for ease of use. This should also include information on issues and risks as well as techniques that worked well which can be applied to future projects. Most lessons learned knowledge/databases contain large amounts of information, so it is important that there is a system for cataloging this information.

The lessons learned for the NBC Project will be contained in the organizational lessons learned knowledge base maintained by the project management office (PMO). This information will be cataloged under the project’s year (20xx) and the type of project (New Construction) for future reference. This information will be valuable for any project manager assigned to a new construction project in the future.

Lessons Learned From Previous Projects

The lessons learned document might also state which historical lessons learned were used on this project. This information not only shows the value of the documentation of such lessons, but it also shows which lessons are consistently applied by other similar projects. It is important to reference not only what the lesson was but from which project it was associated with.

The NBC Project utilized several lessons learned from past projects:

1. The addition of a risk associated with planning cost and schedule based on external dependencies (i.e. zoning approvals) was determined during the planning process by consulting the lessons learned from the Building #3 expansion project from 20xx.
2. The planning of acceptable quality standards was based on lessons learned from the Startup Site Construction Project of 20xx. By planning for quality standards the project team was able to avoid schedule and cost overruns by clearly communicating acceptable quality standards to all contractors involved with the project.

Process Improvement Recommendations

It is important that once lessons learned are collected and documented that the organization approves and implement any process improvements identified. It is important for organizations to strive for continuous improvement and this portion of the lessons learned process is an integral step. This portion of the lessons learned template gives an example of recommended process improvements.

As indicated in the lessons learned chart above, the NBC Project did not have a process for reviewing and approving requested changes in requirements or project scope. Not only is this a lesson learned for similar future projects; but the organization must ensure that all project managers are aware of the need for this process to be included in the planning of all future projects. Therefore, it is recommended that prior to work beginning on any new project, the project manager must brief the project sponsor on the process for requesting and approving changes to project scope.

Ways to adjourn the team members to work with you in a future project:

Mark The Occasion – Lunch, cakes, a flaming aquatic Viking burial for the team board, anything that underscores that the project is done. No need for speeches, but be sure to say thanks, recognise achievements, and just mark the last time the team exists in this form. Often it feels more useful to do when the whole team can attend, rather than the calendar close date.

Close it down – Agree what work should be completed, rather than allowing that nagging unfinished, lost opportunity feeling. Consider the tasks that will make it possible for other teams to work with product when handed over.

Retrospect – There are two motivations for this, firstly to gain learning and insight for future projects, secondly so team members feel like they’ve been heard and that things will improve in future projects. A good option is to hold a ‘futureospective’ focus the retro on the future, asking each participant to choose a couple of initiatives they’d introduce to their new team.

Communicate – Often team changes are requested by outside influences, it is good to soften the feeling that team changes are being ‘done to them’, especially in an agile environment which encourages self organisation and team responsibility. If the team faces a slow wind down with people moving over a few weeks, explain why, ask for input into how the team’s remaining commitments and assets should be managed. Again you’ll uncover solid ideas and increase engagement.