I find that project managers detest one portion of administrative closure: lessons learned documentation. Lessons learned documentation is a report on what the project manager, the project team, and the organization has learned as a result of the project work. For example, if the team learned a new skill, what does this new skill mean for the organization? If the project identified a project by-product that the organization could sell as part of a positive risk, this information is recorded and communicated.
Lessons learned should happen throughout the project, not just during administrative closure. Honestly, think back six months and remember what you were doing and what you learned that day? The same is true in project management, if you’ll record a little bit at a time this portion of administrative closure is a snap – and much more effective. The lessons learned documentation becomes part of the organizational process assets so other project managers can learn from what you and the project team have learned.
All of the contracts you’ve created with vendors have to be closed as part of closing the project. The terms of the contract should define when the vendors get paid, the support of the deliverables by the vendor, if any, and whatever financial audits may take place as part of the contract closeout procedure. Of course you don’t always wait until the end of a project to close out contracts. If a vendor’s done with their contribution to the project you would closeout their contract according to the terms rather than waiting until the entire project is completed. The vendor may not be very happy about waiting if you didn’t.
There are instances when a vendor’s contract has to be terminated: poor performance, a change in technology, the project has been cancelled, or for other reasons. Whatever the case, when a contract is cancelled the project manager should still closeout the contract according to terms. This may mean that the vendor is still paid for a portion of the project work or none at all – it’s all up to the terms of the contract.
The final and best part about closing out the project is the formal acceptance documentation between the project manager and the project customer. A formal acceptance is a sign-off that the project deliverables have been delivered as expected, and the customer accepts the project work as satisfactory. If you work for an organization that completes projects for other entities, such as an IT integrator, the formal acceptance may be linked to the final payment on the project. If you’re completing internal projects for an organization, the final acceptance agreement may be more informal. In either case you’ll need some acknowledgement, preferably in writing, that the project deliverables are as expected and that the project customer has accepted the work. This is really what closes the project work.
All of the project records, contracts, communications, vendor materials, and related project information should be archived as part of the organizational process assets. I’ve consulted for many organizations where the concept of project archives is foreign to them. Creating and using a project archive, digital or paper-based, allows future project managers to leverage past work to current work much faster. It also helps when the project deliverable has moved into operations, and support is needed on the project deliverables.
Once the project has been closed and everyone’s happy and relived there’s only one thing left to do: Party! The larger the project the larger the celebration should be. Thank the project team for their hard work and dedication to the project. The project wouldn’t have been successful without them – and thank yourself for your hard work and drive to get the project done. Yeah, getting the project done – that’s what project management is all about.
