9_Closing Projects

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Closing projects or phases involves finalizing all activities and bringing the project or phase to an orderly end  It includes archiving project information, ensuring the planned work is complete, and releasing organizational resources  It often includes a final presentation and report  It is also important to reflect on what can be learned to improve future projects. As philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  It is also important to plan for and execute a smooth transition of the project into the normal operations of the company

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing Knowledge area Closing process Outputs Project integration management Close project or phase Project documents updates Final product, service, or result transition Final report Organizational process assets updates

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Some of the most useful lessons learned come from project failures. One very visible, painful project failure occurred in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded only 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts onboard. You can watch CNN’s live video of the disaster by searching for “ Challenger disaster live on CNN .”  In 2011, the Associated Press released a video called “ Challenger's Lessons Still Echo 25 Years Later .” Roger Launius, Senior Curate at the Air and Space Museum, stated, “What had failed was the communication process where people at a lower level thought there was a problem, but that did not get to the higher level. So communication is the key thing to change.”

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Everyone seems to agree that it is important to document and share project lessons learned, yet a survey of 961 experienced project managers found that although 62 percent had formal procedures for learning lessons from projects, only 12 percent adhered closely to them.  “End -of-project post-mortems were infrequently and inadequately performed. Project managers cited the usual problems: a lack of time, key people not available, a culture of blame. And, as one interviewee noted, ‘Most projects don't have enough budget to support any good closure.’" 21

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing Date: [Insert date project was completed] Project name: [Insert title of project] Project manager: [Insert project manager's name] Notes: [Insert any pertinent clarifying information here] Lesson event #1 Lesson status: [Win or issue] What happened: [Describe the event in detail] Impact of event: [Describe how the event impacted the project in terms of progress, workflow, budget and other factors] Early warning signs: [If the event was an issue, describe any warning signs your team observed that could signify the need to make a shift in the future] Takeaway for future projects: [Describe how the lesson learned through this event may change future projects and list any particular recommendations your team will implement going forward] Action items: [List any relevant actions your team will take to ensure recommendations are implemented for future projects] Owner: [Name of individual who will take responsibility for any action items] Lesson event #2 Lesson status: [Win or issue] What happened: [Describe the event in detail] etc.

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Many readers of this book grew up using social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but you may not have learned your lesson on what you should not be posting! You may be surprised to learn that a 2020 survey reported that 90% of employers find social media important when they evaluate candidates, and 79% of human resources professionals have denied a job to a candidate due to inappropriate content on social media.  “Social media content that triggers red flags can include: ◦ Any type of hate speech ◦ Images of illegal drug use ◦ Illegal or illicit content ◦ Negative comments about previous jobs or clients ◦ Deceptive, scammy posts ◦ Threats to people or past employers ◦ Confidential or sensitive information about people or previous employers” 23

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  At this meeting, like the kick-off meeting, you should invite key project stakeholders. Some people call this close-out meeting a post-mortem since it is normally held after the project has died or been put to rest. The project champion should start off the meeting, and the project manager and his/her team should review information like the following: ◦ The scope, time, and cost goals and outcomes ◦ The success criteria and results in achieving them ◦ Main changes that occurred during the project and how they were addressed ◦ The main lessons learned on the project ◦ A summary of the transition plan

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Employee knowledge or human capital is a key asset  Recall that knowledge management is a process included under execution  Knowledge transfer is the process of communicating knowledge that was developed by one person or in one part of an organization to another person or other parts of an organization  In particular, people who will take over products or results produced as part of the project would need to spend time with project team members so they understand what is involved in detail  For example, people from the training, IT, HR, and contract departments would gain from knowledge transfer from the Just-In-Time Training project

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Of cour s e , the s e people could read the final report , tran s ition plan , and le ss on s  learned, but mo s t people al s o want face-to-face interaction to really benefit from knowled ge tran s fer.  For examp l e, becau s e Kri s tin would move on to another pro j ect after completing thi s one, s he s hould meet with the per son from the training department who would handle  many of the management tasks involved in planning and implementing future training  courses.  S he s hould offer to mentor thi s per son and be available as needed to answer  que s tions.  Likewi se, the IT person who developed the intranet material s related to the project s hould also meet with whoever w ill take over that work and s hare hi s/ her expertise as well.  If it make s se n se to provide further documentation , the per so n who know s the mo st about the work s hould take the time to document it.

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing 1. "Best" or "better" practices are not adopted; they're adapted. 2. As Jack Welch said, "You don't have a better or best practice until someone else is using it." 3. The learner is important, and making learning easy is critical or people will recreate "good enough." 4. Focus on general, broadly applicable practices first, rather than choosing highly specialized practices. 5. Do something, see what works, then broaden the scope. 6. Peer assistance is a critical tool to begin, and even conclude, the process. 7. Uncover success stories, communicate the stories, and assist the learning and adaption processes. 8. Facilitation is critical to the process - both the role and the capability. 9. Documentation/video/audio artifacts are the starting point for discovery and productive conversation. 10. To facilitate discovery of best practices, leverage communities wherever possible.

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Just like predictive projects, agile and hybrid projects should be closed. Hybrid projects can use any of the project closing processes listed earlier.  A strength of the Scrum events, if used on agile projects, is an intentional moment of closure, as follows: ◦ Daily Scrum: You can think of these meetings as providing closure for the day before. ◦ Sprint reviews: Sprint reviews provide closure for sprints, and sometimes entire projects. ◦ Sprint retrospectives: This event is similar to a lessons-learned, but it only focuses on a particular sprint. When a project ends, teams should hold a final retrospective to focus on all lessons learned.  Teams should still hold a close-out meeting and celebrate! 28

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Just like predictive projects, agile and hybrid projects should be closed. Hybrid projects can use any of the project closing processes listed earlier.  A strength of the Scrum events, if used on agile projects, is an intentional moment of closure, as follows: ◦ Daily Scrum: You can think of these meetings as providing closure for the day before. Teams focus on progress toward the sprint goal and produce an actionable plan for the next day of work. If there are impediments, they address them quickly. If the team is not following the Scrum values or processes, corrections are made. Remember how Debra addressed the problem of Scott not speaking up at meeting. Project managers ( or Scrum masters, or any team member, in fact) must always be aware of people on their team and address any obvious or subtle problems. 29

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing ◦ Sprint reviews: Sprint reviews provide closure for sprints, and sometimes entire projects. Stakeholders provide feedback at sprint reviews, inspect the outcome of the sprint, and determine future adaptations. If customers do not see value in what the team produced, they can suggest no future sprints. Remember that sprints can be one month or less. If requirements change quickly, it might make sense to have sprints that only last a week or even less. 30

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing ◦ Sprint retrospectives: The team discusses what went \veil during the sprint, what problems it encountered, and how those problems were or were not solved. They identify changes to improve team effectiveness and address them as soon as possible. This event is similar to a lessons-learned, but it only focuses on a particular sprint When a project ends, teams should hold a final retrospective to focus on all lessons learned.  Teams should still hold a close-out meeting and celebrate! 31

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Many agile/hybrid projects also involve transitioning work to an operational group.  Team members should meet with the appropriate stakeholders, document information as needed, and answer any questions to assist in knowledge transfer.  They should also hold some type of project close-out meeting to discuss the entire project with key stakeholders.  Similar to a predictive project close-out meeting, participants should review: ◦ The goals and outcomes of the project ◦ Main changes that occurred during the project and how they were addressed ◦ The main lessons learned on the project ◦ A summary of the transition plan 32

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Although project teams (predictive, agile, and hybrid) do not typically spend much time on closing projects, it is important to do it well. Below are a few words of advice on quickly and successfully closing projects, whether they were successful or not: ◦ It is important to plan for project closing. On a predictive project, there should be deliverables in the WBS and resources allocated to perform project closing. For example, someone should be assigned the activity of reviewing lessons learned and creating one final lessons-learned report. Resources should be assigned to prepare the final project report, presentation, and some type of celebration. On agile projects, there could be a user story for closing the project

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing ◦ It will be much easier to close a project if the project team captures lessons learned and other important information required for closing as soon as possible. For example, the project team should have a lessons-learned repository where everyone can document lessons learned as they occur. A simple blog would work well for this purpose, or team members could document lessons learned as part of progress reports. Because many agile teams prefer discussing information instead of documenting it, capturing key points in some fashion, like a blog, would also be appropriate. ◦ Project managers should take time to thank their team and other project stakeholders and have some type of closing celebration. Just having a team lunch or informal gathering might be appropriate, or having a virtual celebration of some sort is appreciated, as long as you make it fun! If it was a big, highly successful project, a more formal celebration and rewards would be appropriate.

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Popular talent shows have great closing events, even during a pandemic. For example, in 2021, several famous celebrities (Gwen Stefani, Justin Bieber, Thomas Rhett, Snoop Dogg, Maroon 5, Kelsea Ballerini. etc.) performed before ending the twentieth season of The Voice and announcing the new winner, Cam Anthony. You can find several video clips of closing events for this and other shows online.  The website awardingyou.com has a category of gifts for project completion. Examples of gifts include customized plaques, vases, and photos. Other sites, like blueboard.com, suggest that people would much rather choose an experiential reward. For example, they offer outdoor adventures like surfing, paragliding, glamping, etc. At home rewards include revamping a home gym, setting up a golf simulator, or receiving an in-home barista kit to make your own gourmet coffee. You can encourage team members to share photos of themselves enjoying their experiential rewards!

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing

Copyright 2021 Schwalbe Publishing  Closing projects or phases involves finalizing all activities and bringing the project or phase to an orderly end. It includes archiving project information, ensuring the planned work is complete, and releasing organizational resources.  Closing outputs related to integration management include project documents updates, final products, services, or result transition, a final report, and updates to organizational process assets.  Agile/hybrid projects also include closing activities. Teams should transition work to operational groups as needed, hold a project close- out meeting, hold a final retrospective to review lessons learned for the entire project, and celebrate the project’s end.  Helpful advice for closing projects includes planning for closure, documenting lessons learned and other important information as soon as possible, and celebrating project closure.