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    Importance Of Your Job Search
    So that you can decide just how critical your job hunt is in your total life scheme, let's put a kind of frame around the importance of the effort ahead.Reflect on it.A job is not just a job. Half of you waking hours are devoted to it. Its quality ramifies through all other aspects of your life. It determines your productivity and how far you will go in achieving full self-realization. It governs your happiness, the happiness of your family, where you live, and how well. The quality of the job you land now will inevitably affect the quality of your next one. It will even determine the kind of education and opportunities your children will have and, consequently, their future prospects. Not to mention whether your retirement years will be beautiful or bleak. With all that and so much more hanging on the outcome, good sense says you should proceed with your job-finding campaign as though your life depends on it. In fact, most of it does.When you get right down to it, aiming for a really good job doesn't require more effort than setting your sights on a poor one. And aiming high leaves you in far better control of the outcome. Consequently, it is plainly your duty - your duty to yourself, your family, your new employer, even to society – to proceed with your job search in ways that will produce work as close as possible to the peak of your abilities and at the highest possible pay. Yet, few job seekers – even though their careers, their lives, are on the line – sense that such urgent considerations require a carefully planned approach. And, unhappily, it is generally not in the interest of people who know better – the employment agencies and other applicant services – to show them a better way.So that you will know what to avoid and the strong advantage you will have if you plans your approach, it is important to understand this: Most people – and that includes others who want the job you want – do a very poor job of job finding. In the absence of adequate guidance, their only alternative is to cast about in the job market while painful
    untability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ult
    The 10 Building Blocks to a Becoming a Household Name
    Do you struggle to attract and retain business? Do you yearn to be seen as an expert in the field? In an increasingly challenging market flooded with fierce competitors and extremely savvy consumers, learn how to develop a killer brand that will inspire you, attract loyal customers, and knock out the competition.1. Identify your values: This is the most critical step and the one most often overlooked in business. Do some soul searching and get a crystal clear idea of what matters most to you as an individual and then as a company. Your values form the base of your company and should influence every decision, from what kind of toilet paper you buy to the business partners you seek.2. Identify your mission: Once your values are identified, it’s time to write a mission statement. Ask, why does my company exist? What do we aim to do? Write it in simple language that a 12-year old can understand. Do a search on the internet for mission statements and use the most compelling ones as a template. This is the statement that should get you out of bed each morning and inspire you morning, noon, and night.3. Identify your ideal client: Again, a critical step. Look at your mission and why your company exists at all and ask, “Whom do I serve?” The hard part is getting as specific as possible to the point of potentially turning off a lot of other people. Don’t worry. The biggest mistake you can make is trying to please everyone. This dilutes your service/product so much that you really don’t strike a nerve with anyone. No one will have a compelling enough reason to buy from you. By turning some people off, you attract others who will bond with you for life. And a final benefit to knowing the specifics of your ideal client is you then have a much better idea of where to look for them.4. Create an emotional connection: Every potential customer wants to know one thing, “What’s in it for me?” In order to compel someone to pull out their money and buy, you need to connect them to you in an emotional way. How are you going to make t
    Description

    The well known English phrase “last but not least” could not better describe how important the project closeout phase is. Being the very last part of the project life-cycle it is often ignored even by large organizations, especially when they operate in multi-project environments. They tend to jump from one project to another and rush into finishing each project because time is pressing and resources are costly. Then projects keep failing and organizations take no corrective actions, simply because they do not have the time to think about what went wrong and what should be fixed next time. Lessons learned can be discussed at project reviews as part of the closeout phase. Closure also deals with the final details of the project and provides a normal ending for all procedures, including the delivery of the final product. This paper identifies the reasons that closeout is neglected, analyzes the best practices that could enhance its position within the business environment and suggest additional steps for a complete project closeout through continuous improvement.

    Project managers often know when to finish a projects but they forget how to do it. They are so eager to complete a project that they hardly miss the completion indicators. "Ideally, the project ends when the project goal has been achieved and is ready to hand over to customer" (Wellace et. al, 2004, p156). In times of big booms and bubbles, senior management could order the immediate termination of costly projects. A characteristic example of that is Bangkok’s over investment in construction of sky-scrapers, where most of them left abandoned without finishing the last floors due to enormous costs (Tvede, 2001, p267). Projects heavily attached to time can be terminated before normal finishing point if they miss a critical deadline, such as an invitation to tender. Kerzner (2001, p594) adds some behavioural reasons for early termination such as "poor morale, human relations or labour productivity". The violent nature of early termination is also known as ‘killing a project’ because it "involves serious career and economic consequences" (Futrel, Shafer D & Shafer L, 2002, 1078). Killing a project can be a difficult decision since emotional issues create pride within an organization and a fear of being viewed as quitters blurs managerial decisions (Heerkens, 2002, p229).

    Recognition

    The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.

    Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ulti

    So, Your Made A Mistake
    Of course, mistakes are important. Two facts put those you make in perspective. One, everyone who plays the game makes mistakes. Two, that you make mistakes is not nearly as important as what you do about them.That’s hard to remember when you are wallowing in the bed of regret, second-guessing and even being eaten alive by fear that usually follows on the heels of a mistake.Nevertheless, it is true. “The way you follow up on the errors you make has a greater impact on the future of your career than what you did or didn’t do wrong,” according to Ramon Greenwood, head of CommonSenseAtWork.com.It is worthwhile to restate the axiom that everyone who is out there making an effort to get things done makes mistakes.Carly Fiorini refused to delegate authority and tone down her style while she traipsed around the world like a jet-set celebrity. She made the mistake of defying her board of directors at Hewlett-Packard when they asked her to change her ways and she got booted out as CEO.Kodak lost its market dominance when it failed to anticipate the success of Polaroid.On the other hand, Coca-Cola made a major miscalculation when it decided the world needed a new flavor of its favorite beverage. When the market said, “You made a mistake” the company quickly turned its back on “New Coke.” Ford Motor Company pulled off a “Lulu” by producing a dud, the Edsel automobile. It lost no time in dumping the mistake when buyers turned thumbs down.So, mistakes are bound to occur, even among the best of us.TURN MISTAKES INTO LEARNNG EXPERIENCES“Smart careerists learn early in the race to capitalize on mistakes by turning them into learning experiences,” says Greenwood.When he was chairman of Quaker Oats Company, William Smithburg declared, “There isn’t one senior manager in this company who hasn’t been associated with a product that failed, or some project that failed. That includes me. It’s like learning to ski. If you’re not falling down, you’re not learning.”
    all procedures, including the delivery of the final product. This paper identifies the reasons that closeout is neglected, analyzes the best practices that could enhance its position within the business environment and suggest additional steps for a complete project closeout through continuous improvement.

    Project managers often know when to finish a projects but they forget how to do it. They are so eager to complete a project that they hardly miss the completion indicators. "Ideally, the project ends when the project goal has been achieved and is ready to hand over to customer" (Wellace et. al, 2004, p156). In times of big booms and bubbles, senior management could order the immediate termination of costly projects. A characteristic example of that is Bangkok’s over investment in construction of sky-scrapers, where most of them left abandoned without finishing the last floors due to enormous costs (Tvede, 2001, p267). Projects heavily attached to time can be terminated before normal finishing point if they miss a critical deadline, such as an invitation to tender. Kerzner (2001, p594) adds some behavioural reasons for early termination such as "poor morale, human relations or labour productivity". The violent nature of early termination is also known as ‘killing a project’ because it "involves serious career and economic consequences" (Futrel, Shafer D & Shafer L, 2002, 1078). Killing a project can be a difficult decision since emotional issues create pride within an organization and a fear of being viewed as quitters blurs managerial decisions (Heerkens, 2002, p229).

    Recognition

    The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.

    Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ult

    MARS Model of Individual Behavior and Results
    Companies are striving to answer many questions in efforts to benefit from positive employee behavior in the workplace. The goal of most companies is to foster a win–win situation for both the company and associate. What is the difference between a happy satisfied employee and a disgruntled unmotivated employee? Is it how much money he or she makes, or the amount of time they spend on the job? Is it the work environment? Does the position meet the needs of the employee? Can the employee successfully perform? Does the employee know the role they play in their organization? Has the manager provided their employees with the required tools to be successful? In fact, there is a model of individual behavior that answers these questions quite well. The MARS model of Individual Behavior and Results introduced in chapter two of Organizational Behavior, 4th edition (McShane & Von Glinow) is an excellent medium for creating the win-win relationship between the employer and associate.This model identifies four interrelated elements that have an affect on employee performance; Motivation, Ability, Role perception and Situational factors. These factors are highly interrelated; for example, a data analyst is skilled in running reports (ability), self taught on how to use the latest tools to extrapolate data (motivation), and understands how this information will help management make decisions (role perception), but does not have the required access to the data files (situational factors). Unless all of the elements of the MARS model are satisfied, employee behavior and performance will be negatively impacted.A successful manager will possess a clear understanding of the abovementioned elements and be able to apply them. Motivation is the internal influence affecting employees’ actions. Employers must meet the intrinsic needs of associates to fully capitalize on the motivation element of this model. In order to accomplish the job, employees must have the necessary abilities. Managers are responsible for ensuring their employees receive the required training and s
    in construction of sky-scrapers, where most of them left abandoned without finishing the last floors due to enormous costs (Tvede, 2001, p267). Projects heavily attached to time can be terminated before normal finishing point if they miss a critical deadline, such as an invitation to tender. Kerzner (2001, p594) adds some behavioural reasons for early termination such as "poor morale, human relations or labour productivity". The violent nature of early termination is also known as ‘killing a project’ because it "involves serious career and economic consequences" (Futrel, Shafer D & Shafer L, 2002, 1078). Killing a project can be a difficult decision since emotional issues create pride within an organization and a fear of being viewed as quitters blurs managerial decisions (Heerkens, 2002, p229).

    Recognition

    The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.

    Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ult

    Fuel Saver Scammer Finally Caught
    If you are one of those people that got involved in the Ecoenergizer Fuel Saver Scam then I have good news for you. Finally after months of looking for this shyster, R.M was caught and arrested. His other scams include Free Coral Calcium, Million Dollar Treasure, Global Free Biz, Global Free Fuel, Luke 638 and many others.There were lots of investors and founders who after being scammed lost thousands of dollars joining these different companies that he started up. He has been pulling the wool over people eyes for over 20 years and it has finally caught up with him. On Thursday 3rd there was a special report on theses scams by Fox Atlanta TV 5’s TV team and if your are interested in watching that it can be viewed here www.whsv.comIf you were in one of his fuel saver scams then Cobb County Georgia would like to hear from you as soon as possible. He has been getting away with these scams since 2003 and the statute of limitations for fraud in Georgia is only 4 years, so for some of you time is running out. If you would like to file a complaint you may contact the Cobb County Sheriff’s Dept in Georgian , Lt Mike Reece 770-499-4658 or Sgt Ken Davis 770-499-4659 or you may email them at ken.davis@cobbcounty.org for more information.He is presently incarcerated in Harrisonburg Virginia on 2 Felony accounts and the Grand juries will here his case on May 21st 2007. Also one of the major complaints is that he hired a company to take money out of accounts for auto shipments. This company took out double payments, and without authority to do so. Ecoenergizer sent out worthless iou’s in the form of a coupon. People were already outraged because of the double dip from their accounts and then received nothing in return. It was no big deal that we got no product as it did not do what it claimed to be able do, which was save on fuel, give the engine more horsepower, reduce exhaust emissions, clean the engine and have it run smoother, but the months they had no product they shouldn’t have taken money out of the accounts for those months.What is even w
    2002, p229).

    Recognition

    The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.

    Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ult

    Time Management Strategies for Modern Life Syndrome
    Pay attention…focus…concentrate…prioritize…Easy to say but hard to do when so much is vying for your attention. What makes it so hard to master these basic concepts?Have you ever stopped to consider how much is fighting for your attention? Just picture for a moment:Opening a website page --pop-up dialogs springing into view --boxes of ads and comments lining the sides of the pages --multiple colors screaming out at youDriving down the freeway --billboards, high and low, --radio ads interrupting the traffic report --your cellphone ringingWatching your favorite television show --Floating announcements advertising other shows --Information strips scrolling weather updates and political announcements All of that is before you get to the office. The frenetic pace continues as deadlines loom and you cope with constant interruptions. End results are often that you have to work late, bring work home with you, or come in early. You become tired and stressed, which makes it even more difficult to focus.I read of one person who would leave the office and go sit in his car when he had papers he needed to absorb and make a decision on. It was simply impossible for him to concentrate in the office.Almost everyone today is exhibiting symptoms similar to those relating to an ADD diagnosis. Whether you are suffering from Modern Life Syndrome or ADD, you need to employ processes that will limit distractions and increase your productivity. Strategies are similar:1. Prioritize your work before you leave the office each evening. It will eliminate that 20-30 minutes of sorting through stacks before you get started the next day. The morning is most people’s prime energy time, and you do not want to waste those blocks of time trying to decide where you should be focusing.2. Plan a solid block of time with limited interruptions. Put this on your calendar so that you will stick to it. Use that time f
    untability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ultimate responsibility, regardless of the factors involved". A fair-minded stance on these different viewpoints would evoke that the purpose of the project review is not to find a scapegoat but to learn from the mistakes. After all, "the only true project failures are those from which nothing is learned" (Kerzner, 2004, p303).

    Analysis

    When the project is finished, the closeout phase must be implemented as planned. "A general rule is that project closing should take no more than 2% of the total effort required for the project" (Crawford, 2002, p163). The project management literature has many different sets of actions for the last phase of the project life cycle. Maylor (2005, p345) groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ depending on the size and the scope of the project:

    1. Completion

    First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. Young (2003, p256) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects. While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it is often part of the contract closeout. Rosenau and Githens (2005, p300) suggest that "the contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.

    2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation requirements of the internal and the external clients since the external party usually needs the documents for audit purposes only. Despite the uninteresting nature of documenting historical data, the person responsible for this task must engage actively with his assignment.

    3. Project Systems Closure All project systems must close down at the closeout phase. This includes the financial systems, i.e. all payments must be completed to external suppliers or providers and all work orders must terminate (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2004, p13). "In closing project files, the project manager should bring records up to date and make sure all original documents are in the project files and at one location" (Arora, 1995). Maylor (2005, 347) suggest that "a f

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