Close Out--Not for Sissies!

Close Out--Not for Sissies! Paula K. Martin December 3, 2001

Applying PM Principles Advice, Anecdotes and Case Studies

After the final deliverable is delivered to the customer, most project leaders and teams think they're done. They've completed the task and they're poised to rush off to the next overdue activity demanding their time and attention. Whoa, just one second. What about close out?

Surely you've heard of close out. But do you do it? Be honest. The excuses for skipping close out run something like this: "We don't have time. There are other projects that need attention." "The team has already moved onto other things." "Close out is for sissies."

Not completing close out condemns you and each of your team members to repeating the same mistakes over and over again, because it's during close out that you evaluate how well you did and then translate that evaluation into lessons learned. When we learn, we improve. When we fail to learn, we remain ignorant. Close out isn't just for sissies; it's for every project team!

Close out can be broken down into four categories of activities: evaluation, lessons learned, sponsor review and compiling the close out report.