Chapter 88: Introduction to Closing the Project

We have successfully stepped into the last stage of the project. The last deliverable on the project schedule has been completed, and you think that the project has been a big success.
However, hold off on the project party for a few more days; the project has not ended yet. It has just reached another stage called the project closing stage, and, as a project manager, you need to continue monitoring and controlling the project through this stage. Also, recall that there are two kinds of project work; in house and procured. So you need to put a closure on the procured component of the project and then run the procured deliverables through the project closure process. The deliverables developed in house should be verified to check whether they meet the scope before running them through the closure process. In other words, what was planned to be done has actually been done. So that nothing falls between the cracks and for legal reasons, you need to formally close the project. This involves finalizing all the project and project management activities and giving them a proper closure. You should do this even when the project is being terminated before the planned finish line (A Total Disaster). After all the planned deliverables both developed in house and procured have been verified, the project should be closed with the acceptance of the deliverables by the appropriate party and by archiving the appropriate documents.

This is what we are going to do in the next few chapters.

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