Project Closing

The purpose of this phase is to formally close the project, ensure that all project activities are complete, and obtain final acceptance from the stakeholders. Additionally, if follow up work will be required of future projects, those requirements should be documented. The team should also document and communicate how to "operationalize" the project, so that on-going support is provided (if necessary) with sufficient clarity both for the supporting operations group and customers. Finally, it is always best practice to capture what lessons the team learned from the project.

In some cases, projects are also closed because the work has been suspended or cancelled. In these cases, the PM should document the reasons for canceling or suspending the project, and note if there any plans to reactivate the project in the future.

Key Objectives:

1. Ensure Hypercare support is complete.

2. Formalize the project completion and obtain final acceptance from stakeholders.

3. Ensure that all project activities are complete and all deliverables are finalized.

4. Document lessons learned and conduct a post-project review.

5. Evaluate project success and document the project's final status.

6. Obtain final acceptance of the project deliverables from the stakeholders.

7. Ensure formal handoff occurs between project team(s) and team(s) supporting the deliverables/system/service, etc.

8. Release project resources and formally close the project.

Key Activities:

1. Ensure that all project activities are complete and all deliverables are finalized.

2. Formalize the project completion and obtain final acceptance from stakeholders.

3. Document lessons learned and conduct a post-project retrospective.

4. Evaluate project success and document the project's final status.

5. Complete final project reports and documentation.

6. Hold formal handoff between project team(s) and team(s) supporting the deliverables/system/service, etc.

7. Release project resources, including team members, vendors, and stakeholders.

Deliverables:

1. Service Transition

2. Project Retrospective

3. Final Project Update

Outcome:

The Project Closing phase marks the formal end of the project. The project manager and team ensure that all project activities are complete, all deliverables are finalized, and the project is formally closed. The project's final status is documented, and lessons learned are captured to improve future projects. The project resources are released, and the project is officially closed.