Project closeout is important for both the customers and the project team. The customers need at least two things:
Evidence that their requirements have been met.
Documentation of the project team’s responsibilities, if any, following the end of the project.
Suppose the “project” is buying a new car. Then the first deliverables above would be the keys and title, and the second would be the warranty, which includes the owner’s responsibility to perform prescribed maintenance, and the dealer’s responsibility to repair any defects attributable to vehicle design, assembly, preparation, or delivery.
The project team, on the other hand, should receive a Post-Implementation Report. This can be either a formal document, or an informal briefing, but it should consist of:
Distillation of feedback. What went wrong? What went right? Why?
Lessons learned. In the future, what should be done differently?
Derived best practices. What procedures should be changed, to implement the lessons learned?
Suppose the project was building a house. Feedback might include a comment from the appliance installer, saying that he has been required to remove the attic insulation over the kitchen ceiling before installing the cooker hood, and this task had been a time-consuming nuisance. The lesson learned would be as follows: always install appliances that require ducting before insulating the attic. The best practice might be to either write or revise the construction checklist, specifying that these two tasks must always be performed in the preferred order.
Assignment: Referring to the project you discussed in the previous SLPs,
What was the most significant feedback you received, following project completion? From what sources?
What lessons did you learn from the feedback?
How did the lessons you learned change the way you would approach similar projects, in the future?
