In order to prepare to close the project there are several thing you’re going to need:
- Project management plan. Recall that the project management plan is actually a collection of subsidiary plans to guide the project and to communicate the project’s intent. You’ll need these subsidiary plans to evaluate the project’s success when compared against what you promised early on in the project.
- Contracts. All project contracts are used in closing the project’s process. You’ll need these to complete procurement audits, confirming the receipt of all you’ve purchased, and as part of the project’s cost summation.
- Policies and procedures. Every organization has a different approach to closing projects. Some organizations have a formal, involved process where the project manager and the project team are reviewed on their project performance. Other organizations have a quick closing procedure, and it’s off to the next project. You’ll need to know what expectations your organization has for the project manager in order to close the project accordingly.
- Work performance information. How would your last project fare? Work performance information is the documentation of how the project team completed their assignments, corrective actions, quality issues, rework, other issues, and overall project health. This information serves as an input to the project’s review.
- Deliverables. The project creates a condition, product, or service as expected by the project customer. The project also, however, creates other deliverables: lessons learned documentation, reports, communications, plans, a risk register, and more. These are part of the project deliverables, and they’ll become part of the organizational process assets.
Administrative closure uses these above to create a determination of the project’s successes and failures. A formal project review determines where the project has done well, where the project could have done better, and where the project failed to perform. Administrative closure typically includes a review of the project team’s work performance information and this often contributes to the team member’s performance review.
