Important deadlines Last progress report due by Sunday April 21 Binder due on Monday April 29 Final exam is on Monday April 29 Mandatory (link to be sent on April 24) : provide final feedback on your team members by EOD Wednesday May 1 Complete eSFF by EOD Wednesday May 1 Optional : Extended Deadline for CompTIA : EOD Friday May 3

Closing a project Chapter 17

Recap p24-25 of text book Remember? Why are we doing this project? - Problem Statement What are we going to achieve? – Project Objectives (charter) What approach are we going to take? – Project Strategy/ Stakeholders/Communication, Risk & Change mgmt. plan What are we going to do? – Scope Statement (also helps to control scope creep), Deliverables, Success Criteria, Work Breakdown Structure When will you start and finish? - Project Schedule/WBS Who will work on the project? - Organization chart and Responsibility Matrix (RACI) How much will is cost? – Project Budget How good do the results need to be? – Quality Plan Closing a Project - How do you know when you are done?

How do you know when you are done? “Obtaining Project Acceptance”

Project Acceptance: Formal sign-off from the customer acknowledging that everything has been completed successfully “It’s not over until the customer agrees it is over” Get a signature! What are the necessary steps to “close a project” and what is the goal of these steps?   Hold a meeting with stakeholders to close out the project/review achievements Obtain Project Acceptance from client in writing Document lessons learned Produce final documentation and a closeout report Goal: Get the client to agree the project has been completed successfully

How do “deliverables” and “success criteria” relate to project acceptance?

Deliverables : tangible results a project produces Success Criteria : how you judge the deliverables are successful Define how you will determine deliverables have been met. They must be tightly defined.

What is a “project close-out report” and what would you expect to find in one? Summary Completed Scope Changes in Scope (really significant changes) Explanation of Variances Risks and Issues Lessons Learned

Close out Report Summary Completed Scope Changes in Scope (significant changes) Cost and Schedule results/variances Risks and Issues Lessons Learned - Don’t make the same mistake twice! Summary :  Did the project deliver what it was suppose to? Was it on time and within budget? If not, why? Project results, issues Lessons Learned are often ignored See example of report on p 506 It’s a final status report!

Example of report on p 506

How would you report on the performance of the project? Cost Performance Budget versus Actual Cost Cash Flow Earned Value Analysis Over Budget Tasks and Resources Schedule Performance Quality Performance This is the detailed quantitave report that complement the Close out report. State the results in your close out report and include the performance reports in appendix P 507

Why would you take the time to generate a lessons learned report? Take advantage of successful techniques Defuse unrealistic demands Don’t repeat the same mistakes Build support for project management / improving future projects performance

Class exercise: Lessons Learned - Seat with your project team - Discuss and Document: A) 2-3 items that worked really well B) 2-3 items you would change and how you would change it - Be ready to share your findings

Benefits Realization One of the most important but often neglected project phases Why did we do the project in the first place. How do we know it was or was not successful. Everyone is usually so eager to move on that they forget to track the benefits. Memories fade over time and people create their own recollections of the project purpose. IT departments become project factories and do not necessarily create business value.

Course Summary Is it a good project – Aligned with company objectives, ROI? Does it have true Sponsorship / Executive Support? Does it have a good charter and clear scope, realistic expectations and adequate budget? Do you know what you are trying to do and is it doable? Is there a good project plan with well understood and achievable milestones? Do you have a way to track changes (scope mgmt.) and track issues (risk mgmt.)? Is the project team staff adequate and competent? Are responsibilities clear (RACI)? Is there a communication plan, a stakeholder mgmt. plan and a reporting plan? Is there a Change management and Training plan? Is there a plan to ensure Benefits are realized?