Section:26 s424 - Sub-Section 26 Syllabus Processes: CP Closing A Project Normal & Premature

§26 V1 (424 of 454)::Sub-Section 21 Syllabus Processes: CP Closing A Project Normal & Premature ::

Closing A Project may be triggered for normal or premature project closure.

§26 s425 = CP - Closing A Project Foundation & Practitioner

§26 V2 (425 of 454)::CP - Closing A Project Foundation & Practitioner::

When activity is directed towards a normal close down it is necessary to verify that ►user, ►operations and ►maintenance are ready for and accept the project’s outputs before the project team move on.

When faced with a premature closure there may be a need ►to reclaim products already delivered, and there is a need ►to make safe and salvage products that are incomplete.

In either circumstance the equivalent reporting to end of stage is required with a whole of project perspective.

The activities of Closing A Project are management work packages who’s resourcing and scheduling should have been included in the Stage Plan of the project’s final stage.

The purpose of the Closing A Project process is quote but paraphrasing, “to provide a fixed point at which acceptance for the project products is confirmed and to recognize that objectives set out in the original Project Initiation Documentation-A20 as amended have been achieved, or that the project has nothing more it can contribute”.

Formality of closure will vary but should be clearly identifiable.

The Starting Up A Project process and [ Authorize initiation [ 13.4.1 ] are designed to ensure the project has a clear start, and the Closing A Project process and activity [ Authorize project closure [ 13.4.5 ] are intended to provide a clear end quote “without activity and cost drifting on”.

For a clear and agreed end it’s important that there is agreement that the final baseline objectives, taking account of all approved issues have been met.

That the project team will be moving on so ownership of the products transfers to the customer and ends the responsibility of the project team.

Those people with operational or program responsibilities must take over care for the project’s outputs from beyond project closure.

Also that project cost centres are closing.

Any deferred issues including remaining objectives and open risks must be handed on with recommendation for follow on actions.

Premature closure occurs when the project can no longer justify benefits either because of external changes or project performance.

• In an agile world there isn’t really a premature end and in a waterfall world premature end may mean all the expense was incurred for zero benefits

The standard closure process is necessary either way although some situational tailoring that depends on events will be needed.

Premature project termination may trigger withdrawal of deliveries made to date, for example if payment disputes arise or may make partial delivery plus provision of documented follow on actions.

Closure depends on a final review of performance against baseline and benefits achieved to date.

The transfer of all obligations and confirmation that ongoing benefits assessment is in place.

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§26 s426 = CP:P:2-4 &5 The Activities Within 18.4 Closing A Project (CP)

§26 V3 (426 of 454)::CP:P:2-4 &5 The Activities Within 18.4 Closing A Project (CP)::

The Closing A Project process has two entry points. One for normal closure and one for premature closure.

Normal project closure is triggered by the project management activity [ Review the stage status [ 15.4.4 ] detecting the approach of the end of the last stage.

• Project management work-packages start with [ Prepare planned closure [ 18.4.1 ]’s updating of the Project Plan-A16 to record the approval and acceptance status of all products.
• A useful input is a Product Status Account-A18 which will show ►approvals for products that have passed Quality Review or ►been granted a concession and ►have been or are ►ready to be approved by the authority named in their Product Description-A17.
• Approvals will have been based on the records of the Quality Register.
• A closing check also confirms that all products approved in isolation adds up to satisfaction of the Acceptance Criteria for the Project Product Description A21 in total.
• Lastly closure will give notice to Corporate or Program Management that resources can be or are about to be released.

[ Prepare premature closure [ 18.4.2 ]

• When a project is being closed prematurely some activity will be needed to bring work to a safe conclusion.
• If remedial work is extensive an Exception may result and require an Exception plan.
• A Product Status Account will help define the status of all products as a start point for determining the details of the close out actions.
• Products may have been delivered which suppliers need to reclaim.
• Physical results may require action for example to make them safe and secure and it may be worthwhile attempting to salvage anything of value.
• The Issue Register should be updated to reflect the issue’s impact i.e. premature closure, ►the Project Plan-A16 should be updated to show status of project closure and a ►summary prepared to advise Corporate or Program Management of the project’s cancellation and ►make arrangements for the early release of staff.

[ Hand over products [ 18.4.3 ]

• At normal closure the project products must be transferred to the customer and for premature closure the Project Board must clarify what if any approved products should be handed over.
• Physical handover may have occurred as phased deliveries from [ Deliver a Work Package [ 16.4.3 ] or there may be a single release at the end of the last stage.
• Handover ►Transfers ownership and the ►responsibility for the products from the project to the operations and maintenance organization, ►updates the product’s Configuration Item Records and ►is dependent on confirmation of acceptance of the approved products by the user community and the operations and maintenance organization which is confirmed by obtaining acceptance records from all sources.
• Transfer must ensure the operational and maintenance support environment is in place particularly the early life support arrangements when demands are often higher.
• While operational issues are shaken out the Project Manager may need to facilitate creation of a service agreement or contract between the operations and maintenance organizations and the end users.
  • If so then this is also a project product.
• Products should be handed over in accordance with the Configuration Management Strategy and should be accompanied by relevant Follow On Action Recommendations if any, prepared by the project team for each product or distinct user group.
• The Benefits Review Plan-A1 must be reviewed for inclusion of the inspections of benefits to be conducted after the project.
• Review must match the handed over product set and must be ►capable of detecting all results whether ►benefits or ►dis-benefits and whether ►intended or ►unintended side effects that may be useful lessons in the future.
• [ Evaluate the project [ 18.4.4 ]
• As each stage ends so it’s ►performance is evaluated by the team to record performance ►versus targets and tolerances, ►review products created and the ►Follow On Action Recommendations if any for each product.
  • The resulting opportunity to Learn From Experience helps improve the project success rate.
• For the last stage the evaluation is similar but broader and particularly valuable if the reasons are captured when a project is coming to a premature end.
  • End project reviews help improve organization capability

The evaluations results are recorded in an End Project Report-A8.

• The review should identify how well the project performed for both ►the business intention of the project as recorded in the initial and final version of the project initiation document’s Business Case, and ►the project controls as recorded in the strategies and plans.
• Of particular note is where ►success was by luck and where ►results were unsuccessful even when following procedures.
  • The aim is to ►remove flawed procedures and ►proceduralize lucky coincidences.

Of most value is improving the estimating capability for future projects by creation of metrics for actual task resource usage and durations.

• [ When linked to a library of Product Descriptions suggested way, way back in these materials this can be a powerful competitive advantage ]
• The End Project Report-A8’s Product Description is on the next graphic in the Work-Book.

An End Project Report-A8 contains ►the project’s final Lessons Report-A15, ►comments on abnormal project occurrences and ►makes recommendations for future improvements in ►specialist and ►project management or ►p2 ►strategies, ►controls, ►techniques and ►tools, also ►recommendations that suggest ►how to improve the effectiveness of design and development procedures for creating products that are fit for purpose and ►of quality regimes that ►reduce faults and detect remaining ones during inspection.

• Recommendations for measurement and ►metrics such as quality inspection statistics also ►Risk Management’s effectiveness and ►volume and ►turn around times for issues.
• The end project report needs Project Board approval before it is distributed.

Note - 2103

[ Recommend project closure [ 18.4.5 ]

The last few actions at project end are to ►close the project’s registers and logs and follow the Configuration Management strategy’s archiving policy to store project records suitable for future audit of decisions made and the team’s performance.

When everything needed to close the project appears done the Project Manager creates a draft Project Closure Notification for review by the Project Board stating that the project has closed.

Then the Project Manager triggers [Authorize project closure 13.4.5] by suggesting to the Project Board that Closure Can Be Recommended.

When closure is approved the Closure Notice is circulated according to The Communication Management Strategy as possibly extended to include project end Marketing opportunities and Public Relation needs to all relevant stakeholders.

<Next > and go red> The flow through to the end of the last delivery stage is almost identical whether the trigger was normal or premature project closure.

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§26 s427 = A8-End Project Report Product Description

§26 V4 (427 of 454)::A8-End Project Report Product Description::

As we have just covered for [ Evaluate the project [ 18.4.4 ] the last stage ends with an End Project Report-A8 which is very similar to an End Stage Report-A9 with the addition of commentary on how close the initial and final Project Initiation Documentation-A20 sets were.

The End Project Report-A8 also includes ►how successful p2 tailoring was, ►benefits delivered so far if any, ►project statistics and recommended actions for those coming after the project.

• Typical content of recommended actions include deferred Request For Change and unexploded risks.

You should review the Product Description in the Work-Book.

§26 s428 = 13.4.5 Authorize project closure (DP5)

§26 V5 (428 of 454)::13.4.5 Authorize project closure (DP5)::

Project Board authorization of project closure marks recognition quote “that the project has nothing more to contribute” and discharges the project management team’s responsibilities.

• The official manual says quote, without this approach the project may never end, the project can become business as usual and the original focus on benefits will be lost.
• //Perhaps P2 as written may not be onboard with Dev-Ops

The Closure notification advises the organization of the cut off date for cross charging to the project, and when support services or staff assignments should be withdrawn.

Issue of the notice must follow the Communications Management Strategy-A4 and is dependent on first confirming an number of points

• That the project has transferred to all products according to the Configuration Management procedures.
• That the business change created ►is sustainable, ►the post project benefit review plans are in place which are capable of measuring results whether positive or negative and measuring ►intended or ►unintended side effects.
• That the Benefits Review Plans-A1 are ►approved, ►resourced and committed by Corporate Management or Program Management.
• That all Follow On Action Recommendations and ►Lesson Reports-A15 have been passed to an appropriate group such as ►operations and maintenance, ►Corporate or Program Management or ►Centres Of Excellence and ►Project Support Offices and that the ►receivers have been made aware of their responsibilities.
• That the Project Management Team have secured all ►approvals, ►authorizations or ►concessions, Particularly ►user, ►operations and ►maintenance acceptances.

Board authorization of closure may need Corporate Management approval and or Program Management approval and it is the point at which assessment is made of what the project’s actual performance has achieved.

• Assessment reviews the ►updated Business Case’s actual and forecast benefits, ►costs and risks and ►the end project report’s commentary on deviations from approved plans, ►Variations in scope which are contrasted with ►the adequacies of strategies, ►controls and ►team skills by comparison of the initial and final versions of the Project Initiation Documentation-A20 sets.

The board may delegate the details of assessment to Project Assurance.

Wow ho! Its tempting to celebrate completion but hold on just a tad, we have just a soupcon more to do

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§26 s430 = CP - Closing A Project Foundation & Practitioner

§26 V6 (430 of 454)::CP - Closing A Project Foundation & Practitioner::

The Online exams include {{Closing a Project}} practitioner questions that you should go do.

• Axelos official questions don’t include any specific Closing A Project practitioner questions, and even if they did I would have a different suggestion now we have covered everything.
• Instead of the normal regime you should set yourself two larger challenges now.
• First there are two Axelos supplied 75 question official mock foundation exams online (and in the Work-Book).
  • You have seen the questions as we have covered each topic so you should score 100 percent in both and you should be able to do each in about 25 to 30 minutes.
  • I recommend that you do them both against the clock
• If you don’t clear 80% in 45minutes I suggest that you need to study the revision aids and then return to practice questions.
  • If you want more practice I have created more foundation exam questions that are at † >>>Link<<<the link at the foot of the screen
    • They are additional to the course materials so there is a modest charge

The second challenge is the Practitioner Exam practice

• At the ‘ordinary level’ of every lesson to date the FX02 paper question eight is about Directing A Project, Stage boundary’s and the Closing A Project process group.
  • It doesn’t have an CP specific question parts but is appropriate and good practice at this point in this lesson.
• The wider point is where we are in course materials, TaDa! Every syllabus area covered
• The FX03 paper is as yet untouched, if you followed my suggestions.
  • Do your ‘make a list three times’ chapter revision or even make a list three times course revision and then…
  • You should find yourself a 150 minute plus period of quiet uninterrupted time and attempt FX03 in a single sitting.
  • This will give you the experience of the challenge of the time pressures and the fatigue of an extended period of concentration.
• As ever afterwards mark it, chase down the disconnects, use the Disqus forum as you need to

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§26 s431 = The End Beginning

§26 V7 (431 of 454)::The End Beginning::

Well congratulations!

Well done on making it this far.

Only one new hurdle left the real exam.

?You have set your date and time haven’t you?

Just a very few summary words for the best chance of passing the exam

• You should start at the beginning of the graphics again – a second complete viewing (without the narrations) and look at each slide and ask your self
  • “?Now I know the whole story am I 100% on this bit? If not ►?is it that later materials make you think an earlier topic would reveal more meaning if studied again? ►?Is it that you want a brief refresh for forgotten detail or ►?is it a careful review of something not understood that you need? (or you may have a different scale-of-comfort, this is only an example not a ‘decree from on-high’!).
• For each ‘less than comfortable topic’ make a note of the revision to do.

That process should take about 3 seconds for each of the 270ish slides with real content that we have been through 270x3s ≈ 800 seconds ≈ between 10 and 15minutes

Then take a third journey looking only at the places you have noted need a revisit and at the study speed that feels right

The key value of the second or third time through is that you’re going to know at the start what will be at the end.

Reviewing the Work-Book images, and notes, perhaps on the iSpring html5 format may be a lot quicker than reviewing the video slides.

• There are various revision aids on the Logical Model website.
• The Disqus forum is also available!

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§26 s432 = Revision Notes Review the Sub-Section just gone and capture NOW…

§26 V8 (432 of 454)::Revision Notes Review the Sub-Section just gone and capture NOW…::

That is now 100% covered

• Review the {{Closing a Project}} process in combination with CP exam questions

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VnCtl:29/08/2016 21:42:06 This file is part of Logical Model Ltd’s p2FdtnAndPrctnt training course