Project

Closure
 ICE
BREAKE
R
 Project closure is the final stage in the
project management life cycle. The main
aim is to close the project by wrapping-up
loose ends and completing admin tasks.
What is
Project
Closure?
5 Types of Project
Closure
1. Normal
Normal means everything went to plan. You’ve
completed the project on time and on budget with
only a few hiccups along the way.
2. Premature
Premature project closure occurs when a
stakeholder cancels all or parts of a project early.
3. Perpetual
A perpetual project is one that just never ends.
There’s no precise finish date or idea of successful
closure.
4. Change in priorities
As with perpetual closure, a change in priorities
sometimes can’t be helped. It’s not a result of
anything anyone has done, and it’s not personal—
the project’s not a high priority anymore.
5. Failed
Failed project closure means the project didn’t
achieve its aim. In this case, a client will typically
close out the project immediately.
 The
importance of
project closure
 Let’s examine three more
added benefits of project
closure.
1. Wrapping up the project

Perhaps the most crucial upside of the project management

closing phase is tying up loose ends. For a start, it’s the ideal
opportunity to let stakeholders know the work is over.

Plus, you can ask all parties to formally agree that you met
objectives and ensure everyone’s happy with the outcomes.
You can also hand over deliverables and wrap up with a
project management closure report.
 Let’s examine three more
added benefits of project
closure.
Pro tip: Don’t forget the finer details—test the
project closure deliverables, review your project
strategy, and communicate results to your client
and team.
2.Understanding the next steps
The closure stage of a project helps you set a precise end
date, avoiding disaster scenarios like a perpetual project. It
also empowers you to review what’s happened and what
needs to happen to agree on your next steps. The next steps
could be reviewing any tasks you or your team need to finish
to close the project successfully. You’ll then need to allocate
resources and track task completion.
 Let’s examine three more
added benefits of project
closure.
3. Sharing team learning
A project evaluation meeting isn’t mandatory, but we highly
recommend running one with your team. The purpose of a
project evaluation is to share project closure best practices.
It’s an opportunity to review deliverables against project
goals, learn from mistakes, and repeat any successes on
future projects.

Pro tip: Share your evaluation meeting findings with

stakeholders. It’s a fantastic way to add value and follow up
with clients once the project’s finished. It could even put you
and your team top of mind for the next big project.
Project closure phases: technical,
learning, and people
The three key project closure phases are
technical, learning, and people.
1.The technical phase helps you tie up loose ends and
complete administrative tasks. It provides a definite
sense of completion to your project.

2. In the learning phase, you and your team examine

what worked well and what didn’t. (Whether your project
ran without a hitch or you jumped more hurdles than Lolo
Jones, there’s always learning to share.)
3. The people phase is a chance to celebrate your team’s
achievements and provide emotional closure. Tell your team
about their impact on the project, reiterate their work was
meaningful, and thank them for their efforts. Doing so cultivates
a positive, supportive environment that improves team
performance.
 Project closure
activities: technical,
learning, and people
 Here are a few project closure
phase activities in the context of
the technical, learning, and people
phases.
Phase Project closing Purpose
phase activities

You now have materials

Technical Create a digital
available for future reference.
archive of project
Other team members and
resources departments will be able to
learn from your processes.
 Here are a few project closure
phase activities in the context of
the technical, learning, and people
phases.
Phase Project closing Purpose
phase activities

Learning Note down any You can refer to these critical

lessons learned lessons in the future or make
them available to colleagues.
 Here are a few project closure
phase activities in the context of
the technical, learning, and people
phases.
Phase Project closing Purpose
phase activities

People Celebrate as a You all worked hard, don’t

team forget to celebrate. It’s a
fantastic way to boost team
morale and reaffirm a
positive company culture.
Project Closure
Process: 8 key
steps to
successfully
 1. Review the project
plan to tie up loose ends
Step one in your closing
project phase is gathering
crucial information and
forming a clear action plan.
 Here’s a list of project closure
example tasks to help you tie up
loose ends and gain peace of mind:
Map out a wrap-
Revisit your Review
up plan,
project plan outstanding
tasks
- to double- - including - that you or your team must
check that scheduling complete before the project can
meetings, setting officially close. Your outstanding
you and
tasks could include agreeing on
your team aside time to
project completion with
have tackle admin, and stakeholders or paying
successfull updating contractors for their work. A
y met stakeholders team member’s outstanding
project task could be running tests or
 Here’s a list of project closure
example tasks to help you tie up
loose ends and gain peace of mind:
Check if If tasks are inside If tasks are Let your team
outstanding the project scope, outside the know
tasks project scope,
- are inside - use a resource - make a note. - if you need them
or outside scheduler to Consider pitching as to attend any final
assign the tasks a new project if meetings with
the agreed
appropriate, or yourself, the wider
project to the right team
include these tasks team, or
scope member in the handover stakeholders
notes of your final
report.
 2. Wrap-up admin
tasks
Remembering to finish your
admin tasks is one of the
key project closure steps in
project management.
 Here’s a list of project closure
example tasks to wrap up admin
tasks:
Review and update project documentation, contracts,
and assets
• Check that you have all the
documentation needed to close out the
project and that it’s all complete
• Ensure contracts are signed by
relevant parties and update project-
specific assets like your budget,
processes, or schedule
• Review and update project
deliverables as needed
We recommend saving all the project documentation
and assets in a logical order.

• Double-check that project assets are

available and the relevant people
(internally and externally) can access
them.
• Let stakeholders know where you’ve
saved the relevant documentation
• Provide any access
permissions to stakeholders
as needed
Close out external contracts and pay outstanding
invoices.
• Consider subcontractors,
vendors, or suppliers
Finalize project finances to ensure you’ve received your
final payments from stakeholders.

• Provide your finance team with the final

budget
Collate information for your final project report.

• Make sure any information relevant

to your final report is readily available
• Remember to include budget
estimates, actual spending, and any
key achievements
Transfer over deliverables to your stakeholders so they
can review and formally sign off on the end product.

• Refer back to the project plan to double-check

that you have all the agreed deliverables
 3. Close the loop
with stakeholders
Now you’ve got your ducks in a row,
it’s time to close the loop with
stakeholders. Bottom line: if you don’t
make project closure official, you leave
yourself open to endless client
revisions.
 4. Provide the next
steps to your team
Once you’ve formally agreed on
project closure with stakeholders, it’s
time to update your team. If you
haven’t already, you can share the
wrap-up plan and let
 - You can also discuss if and when you’re holding a
project evaluation meeting. Plus, you can send out
any preset questions beforehand so they can
prepare for the meeting.
Examples of questions to send your team beforehand:

• What went well?

• Were there any key challenges?
• What would you change in future projects?
• Do you think the client was happy with the
results?
Pro tip: Use a resource management tool to
archive resources you no longer need. The
archive function allows you to reactivate
resources for future projects rather than
recreating individual resources from scratch.
 5. Hold a project
evaluation meeting
A project evaluation meeting is a
fantastic way to share learning, discuss
improvements and create emotional
closure. Also, recognizing everyone’s
efforts will boost workplace happiness by
showing the team that their “work is
meaningful.”
You might also reintroduce the project plan
with the entire timeline. It’s a great way to
remind the team about significant
milestones—especially if you’re closing out
a long-term project.
Pro tip: You could share any important learnings
discovered in the project evaluation meeting with your
stakeholders so they can learn from the project too.
6. Map out improvements
for the future
Once you’ve analyzed the project and
gleaned internal and external feedback,
solidify all of this learning into an
improvement roadmap. This will help you
improve your future systems, processes,
and deliverables.
When crafting your improvement roadmap, ask yourself
these questions:

• Did you deliver the project on time?

• Did you deliver the project on budget?
• Did the project meet the client’s needs?
• What can you do better next time?

Pro tip: Share a draft version with your team, and

ask for their feedback.
 7. Index documentation
Once you’ve completed steps one through
six, the project’s as good as closed. But
there’s one final technical task to
complete—archiving documentation to
refer to later.
Examples of documentation to archive include

• Contracts
• Project plan
• Scope
• Costs
• Schedule
• The final report
• Roadmap for future improvements
 8. Celebrate a job well
Officially closing a project is a fantastic
done
way to provide emotional closure for
yourself and the team. But perhaps
more importantly, it’s a beautiful
chance to revel in a well-done job. And
this brings us to the final (and maybe
the best) project closure process in
project management—the celebration
stage.
 Other agenda items to consider.
• How you plan to finish incomplete items
inside the project scope, or recommended
follow-ups for items outside the scope

After the meeting, you’ll need to send over your final

report.
• Consider sending a survey alongside your
final report to gather client feedback. You can
apply the feedback to future projects or use it
within your broader marketing efforts.

Pro tip: Consider getting written confirmation after the

meeting formalizing the agreed project closure. You
could ask for this confirmation when you send your final
 What is the primary focus
area during the project
closure phase?
Your primary focus during the project closure
phase should be confirming project closure with
stakeholders. If you don’t all come to a consensus
here, clients might ask for amendments long after
the project should’ve finished. You’ll also need to
send stakeholders any deliverables and a final
report.
 Project closure documents
and deliverables
Internally, you’ll want to create process
documents and an improvement roadmap to aid
future projects. On the stakeholder front, key
project closure documents include your project
plan, scope, and schedule. You’ll also need to
forward all project closure deliverables as
agreed in your project plan.
 Project closure report
One of the most critical project closure
deliverables is your final report. A final report
updates your stakeholders on project success and
signals the end of the work. Your final report
•
might include:
•
An overview of the A list of final tasks to
project, including key complete alongside the
achievements or learnings current project
• Any resource utilization • Handover instructions if a
insights of note task’s outside the agreed
• Whether you met the scope
main project goals • A questionnaire or survey
 Project closure emails
(internal and external)
To close out a project effectively, you’ll need to
send multiple project closure communication
emails—both internally and externally.

• Internal: You’ll need to • External: Email vendors,

email your internal team subcontractors,
to inform them of any stakeholders, and
final meetings listed in organize a final project
your wrap-up plan. Plus, meeting to close
you’ll need to email them contracts, transfer
again to let them know deliverables, and send a
 Getting (project) closure
right
Closure is crucial in project management, as it
ensures mutual understanding, accomplishment,
and peace of mind among project team and
stakeholders. Following the steps provided ensures
smooth transition to the next project without
lingering thoughts or feelings.
Thank You
Clarisse Edquibal
Redfox Laureta
Grace Kaiklian
Christian Aragon
Sean Aldrin
Alonzo
 Activity
Identify the type of project closure (Normal, Premature, Perpetual, Change in Priorities,
Failed)
Scenario 1: A bridge construction project was completed on time and within budget. All safety inspections were passed,
and the bridge was opened to the public with a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Scenario 2: Development of a new video game was halted after six months due to the lead programmer unexpectedly
leaving the company and taking key code with them. The project was deemed unrecoverable.

Scenario 3: A marketing campaign for a new product ran for 12 months, exceeding its initial budget by 15%. While sales
increased, they did not meet the projected targets. The client expressed some disappointment but agreed the campaign
provided valuable data for future marketing efforts.

Scenario 4: A website redesign project has been ongoing for three years, with constant requests for changes from the
client. The project has significantly exceeded its initial budget and timeline. The project manager is struggling to bring it to
a close.

Scenario 5: A research project into a new medical treatment was successfully completed, resulting in a publication in a
prestigious scientific journal. The research team celebrated their findings at a conference.

Scenario 6: Due to a sudden economic downturn, a large-scale infrastructure project was put on hold indefinitely. The
project team was temporarily disbanded, with the possibility of restarting the project in the future.

Scenario 7: A software development project failed to meet its performance requirements, resulting in a complete rewrite of
the codebase. The project was ultimately completed, but it significantly exceeded its original budget and timeline.

Scenario 8: A small-scale software project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. The client was extremely
satisfied with the final product and expressed interest in future collaborations.
Scenario 9: A film production was shut down due to a major disagreement between the director and the studio. The project
was never completed.

Scenario 10: A rebranding project for a company was completed successfully, resulting in a positive impact on brand
perception and customer engagement. The project team received bonuses for their successful work.
 Assignment

Make a short reflection paper on what you

have learned about project closure.