This lecture discusses project closure and lessons learned. It begins by defining project closure as completing all work, delivering to the customer, reassigning resources, and capturing lessons learned. Project termination is defined as when a project is stopped before completion and lessons are still captured. The lecture emphasizes that project success is multidimensional and depends on stakeholders. It stresses conducting lessons learned reviews and using professional organizations to facilitate continuous learning and development. The lecture concludes by examining risk management approaches like identification, assessment, response planning, and continuous monitoring of risks.

1. Fundamentals of Project Management
MSc Project Management 2018/2019
Roland.Berberich@xjtlu.edu.cn

2. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Agenda
 Project Closure and Termination
 What is Project Success?
 CPD and Professional organisations
 Risk Management 2.0
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3. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Project Closure and Termination
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4. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Project Closure
 Job Done
 Customer Delivery
 Reassignment of Resources
 Lessons Learned
Success?
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5. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Project Termination
No delivery
Project is stopped
Lessons learned
Failure?
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6. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Similarities
• Project ends
• Lessons learned (?)
Differences
• Delivery or not
• Reasons for end
• Strategic Impact
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7. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Decisions, decisions...
Make or break?
Throw good money after bad?
Too big to fail?
Strategic change
Kill to survive
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8. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Decisions, decisions...
Money is not everything
Does not determine ‚Success‘ or ‚Failure‘ (multidimensional)
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9. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
• Project Management requires hard choices under
difficult circumstances, often on an ad hoc basis
• „Juggling dirty dishes while riding a bicycle that is on
fire with one hand.“ (me)
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10. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Recommendation: Learn from the Project
1. Did we do the project right?
2. Did we do the right project?
3. What can we do better next time?
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11. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Reality
• Adios, muchachos
• No time to weep
• Corporate (executive) bubbles
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12. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
Consequences
Same crap, different day (project)
Business as usual (until reality calls)
Mistakes are repeated until they become fatal
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13. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
How to conduct a „Lessons learned“ review?
The end, not the beginning.
Only after all is done we can analyse the whole.
Consequence:
Need to „stay in touch“, continuous professional development
(CPD) and professional 360° review.
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14. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
End of Project 1x1 (Closure)
1. Customer acceptance and handover
2. Pay all bills and release resources
3. Review and Evaluation
Orderly disengagement and handover.
Learn from mistakes and update knowledgebase.
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15. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
End of Project 1x1 (Termination)
1. Review and Evaluation (negative cost-benefit analysis ?)
2. Customer acceptance (?)
3. Pay all bills and release resources
Damage limitation.
Withdraw as orderly as possible.
Learn from mistakes (?) and update the knowledgebase.
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16. Lecture 12 – Project Closure
End of Project Documentation
Hand over customer documentation, manuals etc.
Employment related paperwork.
Review and Lessons learned report.
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17. Lecture 12 – Project Success
What is Project Success?
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18. Lecture 12 – Project Success
What is Project Success?
Time, Cost & Quality
Customer is happy
„We did not blow it up ...“
„We learned ...“
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19. Lecture 12 – Project Success
Success has many dimensions
 Time will tell/Changing perception
 Apple i-pod/pad/mac ... (Apple vs MS), MS 150m $ investment ...
 Appls vs MS -> Apple + MS
 Stakeholders: Control to Collaboartion (Sloan, 2009)
 Nuclear Power (yes, no, yes, no, maybe ... )
 Panama Canal and its enlargement
 Trans-Australian Railway
 ...
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20. Lecture 12 – Project Success
What makes you successful?
What makes a Project successful?
It Depends...
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21. Lecture 12 – Project Success
Did we do the Project right?
Focusses on whether or not PM practice standards were used
Did we play by the rules?
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22. Lecture 12 – Project Success
Did we do the right Project?
Focusses on whether or not Project selection was adequate
Did we play by the rules?
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23. Lecture 12 – Project Success
• Sometimes the best plan and action on the most
careful selected Project still lead to failure.
• Change happens – Are our rules still current?
• How do we ensure accuracy of our framework(s)?
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24. Lecture 12 – Project Success
Lessons learned review
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25. Lecture 12 – Lessons Learned
• Critical assessment on all levels
• Think the unthinkable
• Stop the „This is how we do it“ attitude
• Step outside the comfort zone
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26. Lecture 12 – Lessons Learned
External evaluation?
+ Fresh pair of eyes
+ No groupthink
+ Neutral stance (?)
- Not “ours“
- No database
- Costs money
Centralised Evaluation
+ Professional body
+ Fresh pair of eyes
+ Consistent
+ Database
- Groupthink (?)
- Not “ours”
- Elitism (?)
- Costs money
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27. Lecture 12 – Lessons Learned
• For complete and neutral feedback the evaluation should be
handled outside the project/business
• Outside evaluator becomes a Stakeholder (!!!)
– (Mutual) Engagement and Collaboration
• Centralised knowledgebase benefits all
 Professional Organisations
 Continuous learning (CPD)
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28. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
CPD and Professional Organisations
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29. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
PMI
Axelos
APM
iPMA
GPM
P3.express
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30. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
What?
 Data, Knowledge and Best Practices
 Award Body for Credentials
 Community
 Publications
 CPD
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31. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
Why?
Times Change – Stay informed
Increasing credibility and employability
Networking
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32. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
Align your interest with the right organisation
Get credentials
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33. Lecture 12 – CPD and Professional
Organisations
• Project Management is about People
• Skill > knowledge
• EQ > IQ
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34. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Management 2.0
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35. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
What is risk?
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36. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Projects are inherently risky!
Risk management focuses on managing risk events that could
negatively affect the Project!
Basically we ask:
• What could go wrong?
• How bad could it be?
• What can we do?
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37. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Four (4) steps
1. Identify Risks
2. Assess Risks
3. Manage Risks
4. Monitor Risks
This is a continuous process!
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38. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Every event can (potentially) influence the Project.
We only know the truth after looking deeper!
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39. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Identification
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40. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
“What could go wrong?“
• Brainstorming
• Thinking outside the box
• Worst Case
 Create Categories
 Be creative
 Remember the past
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41. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Things change
 New Risks develop
 Risk disappears
 We need to rethink
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42. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Assessment
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43. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
“How bad can it be?!“ (How much will it cost us)
Quantitative Assessment
Qualitative Assessment
Likeliness x Damage = Impact
 Risk Canvas
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44. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
To manage risk and to decide on our
response, we need to 360° assess the risk.
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45. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Management
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46. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
What will we do if it happens?
• Avoid
• Mitigate
• Accept
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47. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk avoidance
What can we do so it does not happen?
Redundancies
Work around the problem/Change the process
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48. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Mitigation
How can we reduce likeliness or damage of risk event(s)?
Insurance
Change the process
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49. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Accept it
Shit Risk happens!
Out of our hands
Too expensive
Not very likely
We can afford it
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50. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Develop a response
If X then Y
(Risk Response Matrix)
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51. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
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RISK IMPACT
LIKELIHOOD OF
OCCURRENCE
(L, M, H)
DEGREE OF
IMPACT (L,
M, H)
ACTION ON TRIGGER RESPONSIBILITY RESPONSE PLAN
Rain on day of
event
•Low attendance
•Incur financial loss
M H
Weather forecast two
days before event
Laura
•Reserve indoor space now
•Recruit extra volunteers to work around the
clock to set up indoors
•Develop detailed plan
Road construction
•Reduced attendance
•Reduced revenue
H H
Highway Department
publishes
construction schedule
Allison
•Identify alternate routes
•Have signs made
•Post signs along all routes
•Announce in news media

52. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Risk Control
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53. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Once more unto the breach.....
(Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, 1598)
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54. Lecture 12 – Risky Business
Change happens
New situation requires new analysis
The project changes and goes forward (learning curve)
Everything could affect the project
For want of a nail.. (Benjamin Franklin, 1758)
• Small issues can have big consequences
• Do not overlook things or neglect them!
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55. Lecture 12
Sources
Gray, C.F., Larson, E.W., 2006/2012. Project management: the managerial process,
3.ed./5..ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston.
Project Management Institute (Ed.), 2013. A guide to the project management body of
knowledge (PMBOK guide), Fifth edition. ed. Project Management Institute, Inc,
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
Pinto, J.K., 2016. Project management: achieving competitive advantage, Fourth ed.,
global ed. ed. Pearson, Boston, Mass.
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56. Thank you
for your attention!