Chapter 14 Project Closeout and Termination

1) The termination of the Hudson River Tunnel project is an example of:

A) termination by extinction.
B) termination by addition.
C) termination by integration.
D) termination by starvation.

2) Termination by addition occurs when:

A) scope creep adds too many activities to the project that prevent it from being completed on time or
within budget.
B) the project is so successful that it becomes institutionalized.
C) a new project is added to the organization and it commands all of the resources for the original project.
D) new members join the project team once the project has begun and their skills are insufficient to
successfully complete the project.

3) Once the project was successfully concluded, the team members returned to their roles in the
organization, occasionally congregating at the water cooler to relive their halcyon days of yore. No one
could argue that their project was:
A) terminated by extinction.
B) terminated by addition.
C) terminated by integration.
D) terminated by starvation.

4) The departmental patriarch spent his last years at the university developing and promoting the
Student Portfolio Project, that required all departmental faculty to create integrated course projects and
maintain a database of their students' work. New graduates could refer their prospective employers to
the Student Portfolio Project database to mine examples of their work. The patriarch retired, funding and
effort dried up, and the project lingered in a few syllabi and on the department's web site for a year or
two but now any mention of it elicits either puzzled looks or wry grins from the remaining faculty. The
patriarch's Student Portfolio Project has officially been terminated by:
A) extinction.
B) addition.
C) integration.
D) starvation.

5) Which two types of project termination are reserved for successful projects?
A) integration and starvation
B) addition and integration
C) starvation and extinction
D) extinction and addition

6) Which two types of project termination can occur for unsuccessful projects?
A) integration and starvation
B) addition and integration
C) extinction and addition
D) starvation and extinction

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7) Which type of project termination can occur for a project that is successful and for a project that is
unsuccessful?
A) termination by addition
B) termination by integration
C) termination by extinction
D) termination by starvation

8) A successful project that also creates a need for a change to organizational structure is probably
terminated by:
A) extinction.
B) integration.
C) starvation.
D) addition.

9) Of the project closeout management steps listed, the first is to:

A) hand over the project.
B) finish the work.
C) gain acceptance for the product.
D) review how it all went.

10) Of the project closeout management steps listed, the last is to:
A) hand over the project.
B) finish the work.
C) review how it all went.
D). gain acceptance for the product

11) Which of these project closeout management steps listed is ongoing throughout the closeout process?
A) disband the team
B) finish the work
C) gain acceptance for the product
D) review how it all went

12) A significant challenge during the finishing the work element of project closeout management is to:
A) demonstrate viability of the project.
B) gain customer acceptance of the product.
C) maintain focus on the current project.
D) capitalize on new opportunities that arise from this project.

13) A research study on the critical success factors for projects found that an important determination of
whether the project is successful is the element of:
A) putting it all to bed.
B) reviewing how it all went.
C) disbanding the team.
D) gaining acceptance for the product.

14) In order to facilitate acceptance for the project, the project team should start planning for the project's
transfer and use during:
A) the project development phase.

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B) the project termination phase.
C) the project close-out phase.
D) the project work phase.

15 The key to begin harvesting the benefits of a project is to first develop an effective:
A) client relationship with the project team.
B) measurement system for project use and value assessment.
C) BOOT agreement that clearly stipulates when transfer of title occurs.
D) enterprise resource planning package to manage human, financial, and material resources.

16) Which of the following is NOT a component of a baseline project assessment system?
A) the criteria by which benefits of the product or service will be measured
B) the points in time at which the measurement or assessment will be carried out
C) the method by which the assessment will be communicated to the customer and project organizations
D) the individual who has accepted responsibility for carrying out the measurement in the agreed way at
the agreed points in time

17) Systematic errors could be best described as:

A) the result of a one-time occurrence.
B) the result of an external cause.
C) the result of some freak accident.
D) the result of an internal cause.

18) A lessons-learned analysis falls under the project closeout management element of:
A) reviewing how it all went.
B) handing over the product.
C) finishing the work.
D) putting it all to bed.

19) The project review session was one epiphany after another for the project organization. A number of
systematic errors were properly identified and the root causes of a number of problems were identified.
Sadly, the review session was not leveraged to its fullest extent thanks to:
A) the disbanding of the project team.
B) failure to enforce the archiving of this knowledge.
C) a restrictive BOOT contract.
D) a liberal BOT contract.

20) An important guideline to follow in a lessons-learned meeting is to:

A) make sure to properly assign blame for all that went wrong.
B) make sure that events receive necessary spin.
C) fix the problems.
D) include all stakeholders.

21) The goal of a lessons-learned meeting is to recapitulate the series of events:

A) as subjectively as possible.
B) from the project manager's viewpoint.
C) as intuitively as possible.
D) from all possible viewpoints.

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22) The closeout step that requires all contractual documents be recorded and archived is:
A) putting it all to bed.
B) finishing the work.
C) reviewing how it all went.
D) harvesting the benefits.

23) Putting it all to bed during project closeout includes:

A) developing a meaningful measurement system.
B) closing all accounting records.
C) describing as objectively as possible what occurred.
D) completing the punch list.

24) Non-employees such as contractors or consultants being released and paid is an important
component of:
A) handing over the product.
B) disbanding the team.
C) putting it all to bed.
D) reviewing how it all went.

25) Research clearly indicates that when team members have experienced positive psychosocial outcomes
from a project:
A) they are actually less likely to work collaboratively in the future.
B) they tend to fear future projects because they feel the law of averages will catch up with them.
C) their enthusiasm level wanes due to mental and physical exhaustion.
D) they are more likely to work collaboratively in the future.

26) Disbanding the project team should be:

A) celebrated so there is motivation for future projects.
B) done in a highly structured manner.
C) done in a highly informal manner.
D) handled in an off-hand manner.

27) Which statement about project closeout activities is best?

A) Closeout activities are usually given a high priority.
B) Getting the project signed off discourages other closeout activities.
C) Because all projects are unique, the actual carryover from project to project is minimal.
D) Closeout activities are impossible to ignore.

28) All projects are unique:

A) therefore all project management circumstances are equally unique.
B) so knowledge cannot be transferred.
C) but they may have several common points.
D) so knowledge should not be transferred to avoid bias in future projects.

29) Lessons-learned analysis is best described as:

A) a bookkeeping process.
B) a personnel reassignment process.

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C) a pressure relief process.
D) an organizational learning process.

30) A static factor that may lead to early termination for a project is:
A) less capital availability.
B) high sunk costs.
C) intermittent rewards.
D) loss of the project champion.

31) Research indicates that the number one reason for terminating research and development projects is:
A) the low probability of achieving technical or commercial success.
B) the project costs more to complete than originally planned.
C) that the project is found to be inconsistent with organizational goals
D) increased government restrictions.

32) Which of these factors weighs heavily in the decision to terminate a project?
A) inability to protect results
B) increased market receptiveness
C) meeting project cost milestones
D) low probability of return on investment

33) A behavioral issue that is crucial to maintaining the ongoing viability of a project is:
A) worker commitment.
B) increasing importance to the firm.
C) financial impact to the company.
D) relatively minor technical problems.

34) Surveys on the early warning signs of project failure indicate that a red flag for failure is:
A) the time to complete the project lengthens.
B) the lack of viable commercial objectives.
C) the political forces have turned against the project.
D) the benefits of the project won't be realized until the end.

35) Researchers have determined that one significant early warning sign of project failure is:
A) the time to complete the project lengthens.
B) the rewards were available on an intermittent basis.
C) the new product being developed was targeting a market that few new products and firms were
entering or exiting.
D) there was little prior experience on the project team.

36) Which of these statements about early termination decisions is best?

A) The decision to pull the plug is usually clear-cut.
B) External reasons, such as a change in the organization's environment, are often the reasons for project
termination.
C) Projects that can fulfill a useful purpose in the marketplace are not killed.
D) A project's viability is usually a purely internal issue.

37) A mainframe computer company decided to enter the personal computer market with its Floridian

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Project, but subsequently decided to leave the market to focus on the mainframe business. The decision
rule that they probably applied was to get out:
A) when the project no longer meets strategic fit criteria.
B) when deadlines continue to be missed.
C) when project personnel turn over too rapidly.
D) when technology evolves beyond the project's scope.

38) The rapid evolution of technology and the need to freeze a project's scope can combine to render a
project:
A) too costly to complete.
B) obsolete before it can be finished.
C) a poor fit with current company strategy.
D) so complex that it will take too long to complete.

39) Which of these is NOT a sign of pending IT project failure?

A) Best practices and lessons learned are ignored.
B) Project managers don't understand users' needs.
C) Wireless technology is relied on too heavily.
D) Project changes are poorly managed.

40) The work breakdown for project termination issues can be broadly categorized into:
A) emotional and devotional issues.
B) visceral and discrete issues.
C) intellectual and intersectional issues.
D) intellectual and emotional issues.

41) Loss of team identity is:

A) an intellectual external issue.
B) an emotional client issue.
C) an intellectual internal issue.
D) an emotional staff issue.

42) Construction of the largest egg in the world seemed like a good idea when the Pixley city council
awarded Halliburton the construction contract, but as the weeks turned into months the idea had lost
much of its charm. What emotional issues might the project team be facing?
A) availability of key personnel
B) loss of project-derived motivation
C) disposal of unused material
D) communicating closure

43) An internal intellectual issue that arises when a project is terminated is:
A) agreement with suppliers on outstanding commitments.
B) closing down facilities.
C) identification of remaining deliverables.
D) determinants of requirements for audit trail data.

44) When a project is shut down, the project team must ensure that all relevant stakeholders are clearly
aware of the project shut down, including the date by which all activities will cease. This is an:

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A) intellectual and internal issue.
B) emotional issue of the project team.
C) emotional issue of the clients.
D) intellectual and external issue.

45) Projects accumulate quantities of unused supplies and materials. It is imperative that an organization
have a method for disposing of these materials when a project is terminated. This issue is:
A) intellectual and internal.
B) intellectual and external.
C) emotional and of the project team.
D) emotional and of the client.

46) Many times, clients will shift new people into the project who have no experience with it as they
move their key people to new challenges. This issue is:
A) an emotional one for the project team.
B) an emotional one for the clients.
C) one that is internal and intellectual.
D) one that is external and intellectual.

47) The Microserf was in a blind panic; now that the latest version of the Bob operating system was ready
for sale, he would have to latch onto a new project team or face life on the mean streets of Redmond. This
is indubitably an:
A) emotional issue for the clients.
B) internal, intellectual issue.
C) emotional issue for the project team.
D) external, intellectual issue.

48) An example of an external intellectual issue is:

A) the control of charges to the project.
B) the screening of partially completed tasks.
C) the identification of outstanding commitments.
D) the determinants of requirements for audit trail data.

49) When contractual claims are defaulted due to the failure of a project to be completed and delivered:
A) the client firm should file an ex-gratia claim.
B) the client firm may have some legal claim to punitive damages.
C) the project firm should file an ex-gratia claim.
D) the project firm may have some legal claim to recovery.

50) The formalized system of dealing with grievances and administering corrective justice to parties in a
bargaining position is:
A) collective bargaining.
B) distributive justice.
C) arbitration.
D) compensation.

51) The final project report should answer questions related to project performance, such as:
A) how the organization's operating structure either helped or hindered the project team and their efforts.

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B) how the project fared compared to baseline schedule and budget.
C) how consistently the organization estimated the completion time for activities.
D) how close the project came to achieving its goals.

52) Administrative performance review is an important component of the final project report. Which item
is a key facet of administrative performance?
A) the method of assuring that project team members have adequate training
B) the method of determining activity and resource costs
C) the method of determining the number of signatures in the change order process
D) the method of measuring stakeholder satisfaction

53) A comparison of matrix versus functional design would fall under the:
A) project performance section of the final project performance.
B) team performance section of the final project performance.
C) administrative performance section of the final project performance.
D) organizational structure section of the final project performance.

54) The primary goal in requiring a project final report is to:

A) formally close out the project.
B) provide the customer with a sense of completion.
C) lay the groundwork for successful future projects.
D) find out the root cause for all failures, both major and minor.

55) The project final report is fundamentally:

A) an historical record.
B) a forward-looking document
C) window dressing for the project.
D). a review of human activity.

56) Some of the greatest challenges facing project teams during termination is:
A) maintaining the energy and motivation to finish.
B) providing accurate data for the project final report.
C) providing accurate root cause analysis for the project final report.
D) finding another project to begin.

57) A classic statement regarding project termination and closeout is, "The termination of a project is:
A) the start of the next project."
B) a project."
C) never ending."
D) an opportunity."

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