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Casual Articles - The Importance of Project Closeout and Review in Project Management.
Here at Cube Management the demand for our recruiting services has risen rapidly over the last several months, and we expect for it to continue to grow. Why? Many of our clients have a hard time finding and retaining top sales talent. So we’re focusing on helping them through that process as an engine for growth of their companies. On the other hand we also have found that lots of top candidates are having a difficult time finding great job opportunities, and so the mission of helping people to find great work is one that’s important to us – we like helping people find great jobs.There are lots of people out there searching for top sales and marketing jobs right now who come to us because we’re uniquely positioned as a sales and marketing recruiting firm. The reason why they come to us is because we also provide sales and marketing consulting, outsourcing and interim management, and so our recruiting services fit very nicely with the rest of our service offerings, focused on helping companies in the technology, manufacturing, health care and business service sectors.We expect the economy to continue to stay on an even footing and move even closer towards full employment, which means that more and more companies are going to be fighting for fewer and fewer sales and marketing people who are actually looking for jobs. Candidates who are engaged in a job search are going to find it easier to entertain multiple offers, which means that they can be more selective about the kind of positions that they are looking for and how well those positions match their core skills and core interests.Since the job market is going to stay tight like this for the next several years, what it means is that companies that are looking to recruit salespeople, marketing specialists or marketing management are going to have to do a better job of finding, locating and extracting potential employees from their competitors or from other companies. This means that they’re going to need to engage executive search firms, recruiting and staffing firms that specialize i
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation re
When a global company tries to grow in size, only organic growth is not sufficient to help it reach scale. It has to take the path of inorganic growth also to keep ahead of competition. This article will elaborate on the critical factors of growth and why corporations fail to pull out successful acquisitions. Let us start with an example and try to take a step by step approach to see some of the critical factors of global acquisitions. Quaker Oats acquired Snapple, a soft drink manufacturer, for $1.7 billion in 1994 and then sold it to $300 million in 1997.Indecisive integration and a clash of management styles were reported. What caused a professional company like Quaker Oats to come out unsuccessful in this acquisition. Value destruction is attributed as one of the major reasons why this acquisition failed. Generally when an acquisition takes place the strategy is drawn in the comfortble boardrooms of the corporate world without considering many real time factors.The major focus of these strategies are how much revenue can be generated for the parent company and how much growth can be achieved. The factors which may skip these discussions or are given less stress is the human factor. One of the most critical factor of a global acquisition is the human factor. When two companies from different countries and different business dynamics merge it makes it very critical to bring the employees and management on the same plane.It is imperative that a successful acquisition is followed up by a successful implementation. The managers who implement the strategies are rarely at the board meetings that happen before the acquisition. They may also lack knowledge of implementing strategies and in these scenarios the implementation can be seriously handicapped. In the 20th century management researchers have put these corporate boardroom decisions under scanner and tried to get an answer to unsuccessful acquisitions.As mentioned the human factor is all bringing about two different groups of people with different mindsets from two different firms
The well known English phrase “last but not least” could not better describe how important the project closeout phase is. Being the very last part of the project life-cycle it is often ignored even by large organizations, especially when they operate in multi-project environments. They tend to jump from one project to another and rush into finishing each project because time is pressing and resources are costly. Then projects keep failing and organizations take no corrective actions, simply because they do not have the time to think about what went wrong and what should be fixed next time. Lessons learned can be discussed at project reviews as part of the closeout phase. Closure also deals with the final details of the project and provides a normal ending for all procedures, including the delivery of the final product. This paper identifies the reasons that closeout is neglected, analyzes the best practices that could enhance its position within the business environment and suggest additional steps for a complete project closeout through continuous improvement.
Project managers often know when to finish a projects but they forget how to do it. They are so eager to complete a project that they hardly miss the completion indicators. "Ideally, the project ends when the project goal has been achieved and is ready to hand over to customer" (Wellace et. al, 2004, p156). In times of big booms and bubbles, senior management could order the immediate termination of costly projects. A characteristic example of that is Bangkok’s over investment in construction of sky-scrapers, where most of them left abandoned without finishing the last floors due to enormous costs (Tvede, 2001, p267). Projects heavily attached to time can be terminated before normal finishing point if they miss a critical deadline, such as an invitation to tender. Kerzner (2001, p594) adds some behavioural reasons for early termination such as "poor morale, human relations or labour productivity". The violent nature of early termination is also known as ‘killing a project’ because it "involves serious career and economic consequences" (Futrel, Shafer D & Shafer L, 2002, 1078). Killing a project can be a difficult decision since emotional issues create pride within an organization and a fear of being viewed as quitters blurs managerial decisions (Heerkens, 2002, p229).
Recognition
The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.
Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ultimate responsibility, regardless of the factors involved". A fair-minded stance on these different viewpoints would evoke that the purpose of the project review is not to find a scapegoat but to learn from the mistakes. After all, "the only true project failures are those from which nothing is learned" (Kerzner, 2004, p303).
Analysis
When the project is finished, the closeout phase must be implemented as planned. "A general rule is that project closing should take no more than 2% of the total effort required for the project" (Crawford, 2002, p163). The project management literature has many different sets of actions for the last phase of the project life cycle. Maylor (2005, p345) groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ depending on the size and the scope of the project:
1. Completion
First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. Young (2003, p256) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects. While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it is often part of the contract closeout. Rosenau and Githens (2005, p300) suggest that "the contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation re
Why do movie stars look the way they do? It’s not just genetics. It’s because they spend lots of time working out, choosing clothes and doing their hair and makeup so they are photo gorgeous every time they step out the door. Yes, movie stars know the extra time and effort is what separates them from mere mortals like us.It is the same in business. While some companies spend their time, energy and resources getting the hundreds of tiny details just right, others are left wondering why their one advertisement on page three didn’t make a difference to their bottom line.If you want to find the star potential in your business, you have to be willing to have a good hard look at where it is at right now and be prepared to go the extra mile to make it shine. Visit your website as if you are seeing it for the first time. Drag out every brochure, manual, sales docket and letter and look at it from your customer’s perspective. Look at these items as salespeople for your business and question whether or not they are doing their job properly...... and trust your gut instinct! Your customers make most of their decisions about your business from an instinctive, unconscious level so you have to do it too. If you think something isn’t up to scratch, you can be pretty sure your customers will be thinking exactly the same thing. It’s the details that convince people to choose your business over someone else’s, so make sure they are working for you not against you.You need to ask yourself if your tone of voice, from the way you answer the phone to the way your website is written, is consistent and customer focused? Does the look and feel of all of your marketing materials work separately but also look like a family when placed beside its brothers and sisters? If not, it’s time to do the job properly. That means hiring a professional copywriter and graphic designer with an eye for detail. Preferably from a firm that knows how to spot your star quality, and has a track record of making others shine.So what are you waiting for? Your adoring public
Recognition
The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources, time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost of project closeout unnecessary. Sowards (2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they can also pay dividends in the future.
Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ultimate responsibility, regardless of the factors involved". A fair-minded stance on these different viewpoints would evoke that the purpose of the project review is not to find a scapegoat but to learn from the mistakes. After all, "the only true project failures are those from which nothing is learned" (Kerzner, 2004, p303).
Analysis
When the project is finished, the closeout phase must be implemented as planned. "A general rule is that project closing should take no more than 2% of the total effort required for the project" (Crawford, 2002, p163). The project management literature has many different sets of actions for the last phase of the project life cycle. Maylor (2005, p345) groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ depending on the size and the scope of the project:
1. Completion
First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. Young (2003, p256) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects. While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it is often part of the contract closeout. Rosenau and Githens (2005, p300) suggest that "the contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation re
"Even those professionals that really welcome change and are energized by it also find it difficult and stressful to deal with." –Hank Paulson, chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group and U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee.THE PROBLEM: Although some people like making changes, no one likes being changed.Generally, change management issues focus on employee groups. But what about the managers that are supposed to lead the change efforts? Recent studies show that they often dig in their heels as well.According to separate articles published recently by the Journal of Marketing and the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, psychological factors come into play that cause leaders to cover up their mistakes, glorify and rationalize old but trusted ways of doing things, and close their minds to new methodologies and innovation.The brain naturally pushes back when told what to do. This is attributed to homeostasis, the movement of organisms toward equilibrium. "It’s really a subconscious process," said Richard Staelin, business professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. "It’s really the way humans go about making decisions."And as managers age and have more to protect in the forms of position, credibility and respect, they unconsciously work harder to confirm their prior opinions and ward off risky change. Whether backing off an exuberant young employee, finding fault in the latest training program, or punching radio buttons looking for a familiar tune, they reinforce the tendency to be "stuck in our ways" and close-minded to change.However, the psychologist Dean Keith Simonton found that the closing of the mind isn’t necessarily due to age. It often relates to how long the person has worked in one discipline. Simonton found that scholars who switch disciplines seem to get their openness rejuvenated.It's not chronological age that closes us off to change but "disciplinary" age.In addition, the neuroscientist Marion Diamond has shown that one of the surest ways to trigger adult neurons to form n
Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As Kerzner (2001, p110) observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution". Thomset (2002, p260) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be "one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims (the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, Murray (2001) suggest that the project manager "must accept ultimate responsibility, regardless of the factors involved". A fair-minded stance on these different viewpoints would evoke that the purpose of the project review is not to find a scapegoat but to learn from the mistakes. After all, "the only true project failures are those from which nothing is learned" (Kerzner, 2004, p303).
Analysis
When the project is finished, the closeout phase must be implemented as planned. "A general rule is that project closing should take no more than 2% of the total effort required for the project" (Crawford, 2002, p163). The project management literature has many different sets of actions for the last phase of the project life cycle. Maylor (2005, p345) groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ depending on the size and the scope of the project:
1. Completion
First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. Young (2003, p256) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects. While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it is often part of the contract closeout. Rosenau and Githens (2005, p300) suggest that "the contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation re
You have decided to start up a magazine, but how do you get started, find subscribers and more importantly obtain paying advertisers so that you stay profitable?Getting started1. Decide what the subject of your magazine will be – make it as popular as possible, but also choose a niche. This way you pique interest and combat competition.2. Find out where your target market is going to be. For example if you want a community magazine – try and tailor it to a market such as parents of school children etc.3. Make sure you have enough information for several editions.4. Set up your printing and delivery activities.Getting subscribers and generating leads for your magazine1. Use your web site to obtain sign ups, preferably using a sign-up box. Offer an incentive to sign up and assurance of use of their email address for legitimate reasons.2. If you want to concentrate on off line customers, then send out a sample magazine to all of your target area, use a coupon with an incentive to sign on to receive your magazine.3. Submit details of your newsletter to all on line directories you can find.4. Include details of your magazine on all of your correspondence. Place an advert on your car, on tee shirts – anything you can think of.5. Make good use of community areas to advertise your magazine – such as cafes, sports centers, shopping centers etc.Obtaining advertisers in your magazineYou may have to run your magazine for a short while, whilst you build up your subscribers.1. Swap ads with other magazines that have a similar target area – either geographic or lifestyle. This will ensure that you look more successful at the beginning. Few people will want to pay to be the first advertiser.2. Make up a marketing pack consisting of a sample magazine (with adverts), details of your target area, the number of subscribers you reach etc.3. Offer key advertising ads, such as back page, to your larger advertisers.4. Send out
Analysis
When the project is finished, the closeout phase must be implemented as planned. "A general rule is that project closing should take no more than 2% of the total effort required for the project" (Crawford, 2002, p163). The project management literature has many different sets of actions for the last phase of the project life cycle. Maylor (2005, p345) groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ depending on the size and the scope of the project:
1. Completion
First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. Young (2003, p256) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects. While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it is often part of the contract closeout. Rosenau and Githens (2005, p300) suggest that "the contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation re
Balloons have a universal appeal that charm across all ages, income brackets, and race. I don't think there is another object of such simple joy that can elicit the same response from such a diverse group of people.Whenever we see balloons floating, we have to look at it, tell the people around us to look at it as well and our eyes will follow it across the sky until we can no longer decipher it from the clouds.I don't know about you but now, even as an adult, I'm still fond of balloons. At a party, park or event, the balloon vendor will always get my attention. I think that a lot of adults as well as children can relate to this. There's just something about balloons.Now, think about balloons with all the variety in colors and shapes. Now think about them as a hundred percent larger. Mind blowing, huh? Indeed, now balloons are larger, brighter and more attractive in large scales and they are being used as extremely effective means of advertising products, brands and services.Of course this type of advertising works. Balloons really do have an age-old charm and appeal and when your brand, product or service is associated with them, you can expect a huge balloon in your profits and revenue as large as your advertisement.These large advertising balloons have the same versatility as its smaller counterparts but the large ones are better because they can come in custom shapes and colors and can even be lit up for a more dramatic effect. You can have advertising balloons in the shape of your product or mascot and you can have it floating in the air for all to see and delight in. Best of all, the delight and attention of consumers from your floating balloon advertisement actually translate into a much needed sales and revenue for your business.With advertising balloons, whether its cold air or helium, you can be sure that you will get your message across successfully and hit your financial targets and get that return on your investment. When choosing what type of advertising balloon to use, you need to think about your circums
2. Documentation Mooz et. al (2003, p160) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by Pinkerton (2003, p329) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that takes over the project after it is finished. Lecky-Thompson (2005, p26) makes a distinction between the documentation requirements of the internal and the external clients since the external party usually needs the documents for audit purposes only. Despite the uninteresting nature of documenting historical data, the person responsible for this task must engage actively with his assignment.
3. Project Systems Closure All project systems must close down at the closeout phase. This includes the financial systems, i.e. all payments must be completed to external suppliers or providers and all work orders must terminate (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2004, p13). "In closing project files, the project manager should bring records up to date and make sure all original documents are in the project files and at one location" (Arora, 1995). Maylor (2005, 347) suggest that "a formal notice of closure should be issued to inform other staff and support systems that there are no further activities to be carried out or charges to be made". As a result, unnecessary charges can be avoided by unauthorized expenditure and clients will understand that they can not receive additional services at no cost.
4. Project Reviews The project review comes usually comes after all the project systems are closed. It is a bridge that connects two projects that come one after another. Project reviews transfer not only tangible knowledge such as numerical data of cost and time but also the tacit knowledge which is hard to document. ‘Know-how’ and more important ‘know-why’ are passed on to future projects in order to eliminate the need for project managers to ‘invent the wheel’ from scratch every time they start a new project. The reuse of existing tools and experience can be expanded to different project teams of the same organization in order to enhance project results (Bucero, 2005). Reviews have a holistic nature which investigate the impact of the project on the environment as a whole. Audits can also be helpful but they are focused on the internal of the organization. Planning the reviews should include the appropriate time and place for the workshops and most important the people that will be invited. Choosing the right people for the review will enhance the value of the meeting and help the learning process while having an objective critique not only by the team members but also from a neutral external auditor. The outcome of this review should be a final report which will be presented to the senior management and the project sponsor. Whitten (2003) also notices that "often just preparing a review presentation forces a project team to think through and solve many of the problems publicly exposing the state of their work".
5. Disband the project team
Before reallocating the staff amongst other resources, closeout phase provides an excellent opportunity to assess the effort, the commitment and the results of each team member individually. Extra-ordinary performance should be complemented in public and symbolic rewards could be granted for innovation and creativity (Gannon, 1994). This process can be vital for team satisfaction and can improve commitment for future projects (Reed, 2001). Reviewing a project can be in the form of a reflective process, as illustrated in the next figure, where project managers "record and critically reflect upon their own work with the aim of improving their management skills and performance" (Loo, 2002). It can also be applied in problematic project teams in order to identify the roots of possible conflicts and bring them into an open discussion.
Ignoring the established point of view of disbanding the project team as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary overheads, Meredith and Mandel (2003, p660) imply that it’s best to wait as much as you can for two main reasons. First it helps to minimize the frustration that might generate a team member’s reassignment with unfavourable prospects. Second it keeps the interest and the professionalism of the team members high as it is common ground that during the closing stages, some slacking is likely to appear.
6. Stakeholder satisfaction
PMI’s PMBoK (2004, p102) defines that "actions and activities are necessary to confirm that the project has met all the sponsor, customer and other stakeholders’ requirements". Such actions can be a final presentation of the project review which includes all the important information that should be published to the stakeholders. This information can include a timeline showing the progress of the project from the beginning until the end, the milestones that were met or missed, the problems encountered and a brief financial presentation. A well prepared presentation which is focused on the strong aspects of the projects can cover some flaws from the stakeholders and make a failure look like an unexpected success.
Next Steps
Even when the client accepts the delivery of the final product or service with a formal sign-off (Dvir, 2005), the closeout phase should not be seen as an effort to get rid of a project. Instead, the key issue in this phase is "finding follo
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