Project Management Scratchpad

Project Closeout

By Laura Bamberg - Global Sales Administrator

For project managers, one of their favorite processes is closing out their project. This can involve some celebration, especially if the road has been long and laden with pitfalls successfully navigated!

However, at the close of a project, how often do you get to say it was finished on time, on budget, with no scope creep or numerous changes? If I were to poll all of you, I would bet that doesn't happen often. Instead, it seems that simply closing a project within a few months of its planned closing date constitutes a success. So how can you make the project closeout phase help improve the success of future projects?

STUDY YOUR LESSONS

My first piece of advice is to study this scenario before you get to it, in the form of lessons learned or previous project audits. What happened with a similar project that led to problems with closing on time and budget? What could be done differently? If the same factors that negatively influenced that last project are immutable, what kind of work-around can be constructed?

Let's say one of the main issues with a previous, similar project was the failure of managing stakeholder expectations, in that the stakeholders wanted something that was impossible to provide, so they ended up taking what they could get, but only after compromising the project schedule. If you're working with the same stakeholders, chances are they are going to be just as challenging this time around.

Who could go to bat for you?  A trusted member of either your company or someone in the client's company, to explain the project needs in a way the stakeholders can understand, or at least advise you on how to do it? Did you provide enough information previously, or did you present it in a way that alienated them to some degree? Review what happened and institute better ways of managing stakeholders.

CLOSE PERTINENT DOCUMENTS

Michael D. Taylor wrote a recent blog post about closing contracts that project managers should read if they use the procurements process. I was reminded that some project managers fear contracted work because they fear the legal complexities involved. But I'm also reminded that this is the reason why their lawyers are involved to begin with. A brief meeting to ensure the contract is ready for closure is a good idea.

RELEASE STAFF

Taylor also wrote that a project's close involves releasing personnel to other tasks. However, if you do so without performance evaluations, you are missing a golden opportunity. Take this chance to re-evaluate who was used for what work. You may find that you made the wrong choice when you see how another team member could have done it better. Remind yourself to monitor performance next time in a case like this. Are you utilizing your team's talent correctly?

DOCUMENT YOUR LESSONS

Do you document lessons learned? If not, is it because it's not expected of you because your company, as a general rule, doesn't value them? Are they completed as rote? If so, take some time at the close of your project to run through it, start to finish, in your mind. Take this responsibility seriously.

It may be frustrating after months of documentation, and you may be ready to pop the champagne cork already, but lessons learned are valuable to you and to your team, as well as your company. If you want to present a better case to those stakeholders, there's nothing like a black and white reminder of why the project could have ended better!  Future projects will go better when projects are closed effectively.

Engaging the Team: Project Management Kickoff Meetings

By Laura Bamberg – Global Sales Administrator

How do you use a project management kickoff meeting to ensure your team effectively communicates during your project? Michael Sisco wrote that this is the single best occasion to give common goals to the team and to motivate them.

When I think back to all the meetings I sat through at previous companies, mostly I remember how useless many of them seemed. It made me think about what all those facilitators could have done to better engage us for the duration of the work ahead. A great kickoff meeting is simply a start to making this happen, but it is very important to set the right tone of this meeting and to cover as much of the “big” stuff as quickly but clearly as possible.

The more I learn about project management, the more I realize how important two things are – planning and documentation. Sisco recommends using a clear-cut agenda, and I would advise that you have it distributed before the meeting (but not more than a day or two so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle). Let everyone know that if they have something to add it will be addressed at your next meeting.

The length of the meeting depends on the magnitude of the project. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If the team is newly put together, doesn’t know each other well, or if there are several new members to an existing team, explain everyone’s roles. If there is a high level of distrust, work on it now before it blows up in your face mid-project. Also identify stakeholders and brief the team on any necessary information regarding the stakeholders.
• If this is a new team, or there are several new faces, it's also a good idea to discuss your change request policies, and if you don’t use a change control board, explain what methods will be used to avoid deviating from these policies down the line.
• Review significant expectations, and let everyone know there will be time to discuss these in greater depth when the need arises so that you don’t slow down the meeting pace.

A well-run kickoff meeting doesn't guarantee the ultimate success of a project, of course, but it certainly gives the team a push in the right direction.