The project requires closure after achieving its objectives or being terminated for other reasons. Closing the project not only provides for completion of administrative activities, but also provides evaluation of project performance which can be a valuable learning tool for the project manager as well as others.

The project plan, baseline plan, and other project records have been compiled and updated throughout the project's life. Project facts or statistics should be compiled from project information that will assist in the assessment of project performance. These might include comparisons of the baseline plan to project plan, plan to actual results, scope changes, milestones to actual results, and others. This, plus information about the delivered product, will be used to assess project performance.

An important step of closing the project is the Post-Project Review. The objective of the review is to bring closure to the project, review project performance, identify open issues, and document lessons learned. The review should be brief and include primary project stakeholders. It is recommended that a facilitator be used during the review to guide the process of project performance assessment. Lessons learned from the project will be discovered in the review by discussing problem areas, identifying probable causes, and developing suggestions for improvement. Documentation of the Post Project Review results must be stored in the post project review subdirectory. See Additional Resources (section named AIS Project Management Libraries) for the AIS LAN location. Process improvement suggestions should be referred to the Planning and Leadership Team.

Additional information will likely be collected as feedback from the Post-Project Review which may require follow-up by the project manager. Documents should be updated to include new information. This will especially be true of the "lessons learned" document, as customers and other stakeholders may have suggestions that will be very helpful to the project manager and other projects.

The project manager should review the project records to determine the value of specific records for future projects and for historical understanding of project activities should the need arise. Records of no value should be discarded. Product documentation should be turned over to the product owner or support team. The remaining records should be moved to the Project Archives for future reference. A similar process should occur for hardcopy documents except that the project manager should retain the hardcopy files for six months before being sent to off-site storage. Hardcopy files sent to off-site should be identified for retention for seven additional years.

Final activities regarding the closure of the project will include the disposal of physical items and the disbanding of the project team. Some projects may have required special tools, equipment, software, furniture, etc. that will need to be disposed of. Each item should be identified and taken care of in an appropriate manner. As project team members complete their final project activities they should be released from the project for other assignments. The team leader of the project team member should be informed of the person's release. When possible, advance warning on this would be helpful to the team leader for planning purposes. The project manager should discuss individual team member performance and project contributions with the person's supervisor.

Inputs

Project Plan

The project plan is prepared by the Project Manager with input from the project team, and should be reviewed and approved by the Project Coach, Customer, and affected Stakeholders. It describes what the team plans to produce (milestones and deliverables), the sequence of activities, and what resources are needed. The project plan and supporting materials must be stored and maintained in the project’s official subdirectory of project documents (see the section Additional Resources, AIS Project Management Libraries for the AIS LAN location). The project manager must request the creation of the project subdirectory by the AIS Department Systems and Services Team.

Project Deliverables and Related Documentation

A deliverable is any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome of work activities that was completed or identified during the project.

Other Project Records

Other project records include status reports, meeting minutes, test results, and correspondence of all types (electronic mail, memos, etc.).

Outputs

Project Archives

Project records (electronic and hardcopy) will be stored for future reference. The archives should include: final project plan, baseline plan, project proposal, scope change documents, risk documents, and other important project documentation. Electronic documents must be stored in the project archives subdirectory. See Additional Resources (section named AIS Project Management Libraries) for the AIS LAN location.

Post-Project Review Results

This document contains a brief description of lessons learned, process improvement suggestions, outstanding issues, and comments regarding overall project performance. These documents must be stored in the post project review subdirectory. See Additional Resources (section named AIS Project Management Libraries) for the AIS LAN location.

Tools and Techniques

Presentations and Meetings

Meetings can be an effective way of gathering project information, since all affected parties are in the room together. Facts not clearly documented can be obtained through discussion.

Project Management References

This includes tips, AIS-specific reference materials, document locations, training classes, books, articles, and other materials as mentioned in the Additional Resources section of this document.

Post-Project Review

The following items are typically discussed in Post-Project Reviews.

• Scope - Describe original project scope, changes, and degree of completion.
• Deliverables - List project deliverables and the degree of completion.
• Outstanding Issues - Identify unresolved issues from the project or potential follow-on projects. These can include issues exposed during the project but which are outside this project's scope.
• Costs - Identify final project costs and list any recurring costs that will result from the project itself or project product.
• Performance - Describe project performance based on the project plan, baseline plan, etc. The evaluation includes interpretation and commentary of the project information collected.
• Lessons Learned - Identify what worked well, what did not work well, potential uses of new technology, suggestions for improvement, and other items of potential benefit to other projects.