Project Assessment, Documentation and Termination

Dr Anis Rahman G09 1.19 a.rahman@griffith.edu.au

Introduction

Projects are goal oriented open systems and utilize feedback to track the progress and timing of course alteration (when needed).

In the project environment the work must be tracked, evaluated and corrected to keep schedule, expenditure, and performance on target.
How?

Oversee the work Asses the progress Issue instruction for correction

By receiving the information the PM assesses the overall progress and communicates with the client, upper management, and the team

Project Assessment/Evaluation

A major vehicle for assessment is the project audit, a more or less formal inquiry into any aspect of the project
A

project audit is highly flexible and may focus on whatever matters senior management desires

The evaluation of a project must have credibility in the eyes of the management group for whom it is performed and also in the eyes of the project team on whom it is performed

Project Assessment

The primary purpose of project assessment is to evaluate the performance, reveal areas where the project deviate from the goal,

uncover potential problems so that they can be corrected.

Assessment serves the purpose of summarising project status to keep stakeholders inform

Goals of Project Assessment

The major goals of project assessment is the successful completion of project. Four independent dimensions of success:
The

most important dimension is the projects efficiency in meeting both the budget and schedule dimension, again somewhat straightforward and expected, is business/direct success third dimension, somewhat more difficult and nebulous to ascertain, is future potential last dimension, and the most complex, is that of customer impact/satisfaction

Second A

The

Goals of Project Assessment

Another purpose of assessment is to help translate the achievement of the projects goals into a contribution to the parent organizations goals. To identify and understand the projects strengths and weaknesses

The result is a set of recommendations that can help both ongoing and future projects

Benefits of Project Assessment

A successful assessment via audit can help a project:

Identify

problems earlier Clarify performance, cost, and time relationships Improve project performance Locate opportunities for future technological advances Evaluate the quality of project management Reduce costs

Need for Project Assessment

Organizational Benefits
Speed

the achievement of results Identify mistakes, remedy them, and avoid them in the future Provide information to the client Reconfirm the organizations interest in, and commitment to, the project

Need for Project Assessment

Ancillary benefits
Identify

organizational strengths and weaknesses in project-related personnel, management, and decision-making techniques and systems Identify risk factors in the firms use of projects Improve the way projects contribute to the professional growth of project team members Identify project personnel who have high potential for managerial leadership

Two Kinds of Assessment In Projects

Formative Assessment - throughout the project life cycle to guide for corrective actions.
What is happening? How is the project proceeding?

Summary Assessment - after project completion, focuses on the outcome or end product/s of the project
What happened?
What are the results?

Formative Project Assessment

Must account for the fact that projects are complex systems
cost, schedule and quality are interrelated - As a result corrective measures directed on just one performance criteria can lead to problems in other criteria interdependent work tasks are drawn from the same pool of limited resource -Attempts directed solely in improving performance in one work can have detrimental effects on the others

Project assessment must incorporate the three performance criteria simultaneously

Must account for the impact of changes in any one work area on other related areas.

Formative Project Assessmentcont

Must be able to signal potential trouble spot so action can be initiated before problem is materialised
The best kind of assessment is not only reveals problem but it also points out opportunities to reduce cost, speed up works and/or enhance project outcomes in other ways.

Methods and Measures

Methods and measures should be specified before the project begins and should included in the project plan. 4 primary ways of obtaining and/or conveying assessment information are:

Graphics Reports (oral and written) Observations Review meeting

Graphics
Uses charts and tables: most expeditious way of presenting costs, schedules and performance info.
Advantages

Large amount of complex info into simple, comprehensible format Clarify info on progress, performance and predictions Allow everyone to appreciate the current status direction of the project Can hide or obscure information leading to facile and erroneous conclusions, eg project level charts tend to hide problems of the work package level Neither reveal the underlying causes of problems nor suggest opportunities Time consuming

Disadvantages

Reports

Oral reports

Oral reports about project status and performance are easy and quick. Quality and reliability depends on the interpretative and verbal skill of the presenter Unless followed by a written report gets lost or garbled

Written reports

Most effective when they succinctly summarise info and make use of ratios and graphics to highlight important points

Observation

The PM can reduce the info distortion by increasing observation and on-site contact with the supervisors and workers since, the more channels for passing info, the more the info get distorted.
Good project managers do not stay in their offices but are usually on-site.

Project Review Meeting

The most important and useful way of assessment. Purpose of the meetings
Identify

the deviation and corrective measures as quickly as possible

Focuses on Current problems with the schedule, costs, with the quality performance solutions Anticipated problems and risks Opportunity to improve the performance Similar to Quality circle procedures used in the production environment Can be formal or informal

Formal Reviews

Scheduled in advance at critical stages or project milestones

Most common reviews during the project planning and execution phases

Preliminary design review: to determine whether the concept and planned implementation fits the basic operational requirements Critical design review: details of the design are reviewed to see that they conform to the preliminary design specification. Functional readiness review: to evaluate the efficacy of the project outcome Product readiness review: products are compared to specifications and requirements to ensure that the controlling design documentation produces items that meet the requirement

Informal Reviews

Held frequently and regularly involving small groups of people

Referred to as peer review

Focuses on

Project status

Special problems
Emerging issues Performance of the project with regard to requirement, budget and schedules

Participants depends on the meeting issue and the phase of the project Role of the PM as a facilitator not as dominator

Post Completion Project Review Summary assessment

The summary review and assessment of the project The post completion review process should
1. Review initial project objectives and review

soundness of the objectives

2. Review the evolution of objectives through the end to

determine how well the project team performed and review the reasons for changes, noting which changes were avoidable and which were not;
3. Review the activities and the relationships of the

project team throughout the project lifecycle

4. Review the involvement and performance of all

stakeholders including subcontractor and vendors

5. Review expenditures, sources of costs and

profitability; identify organisational benefits, project extensions, and marketable innovations

6. Identify areas of the project where performance were

good, noting reasons for success and identifying processes that worked well
7. Identify the problems, mistakes, oversights, and

areas of poor performance and their causes

8. Summarise the lessons learned from the project and

provide recommendations for future projects

Project Documentation/Reporting

Company management must be kept appraised of the status, progress, and performance of all completed, ongoing and upcoming events; Problem affecting profits, schedule, quality or budgets as well as their impacts and recommended actions should be reported promptly

Client also should be updated about the project status and notified whenever major problem arises
Consideration should be given to other stakeholders, weighing confidentiality, and privacy issues against opportunity costs

Reports to Top Management

Periodic (Monthly) reports from the PM to the top management about the project status. Should include
1. A brief statement of summarising the project status; 2. Red flag items where corrective actions have or should be taken; 3. Accomplishment to date, changes to schedule and budget, and projection for schedule and costs at completion; 4. Current and potential problem areas and actions required;

5. Current cost situation and cost performance;

6. Manpower plan and limitation.

Summary Reports from the Top Management

When several projects are underway simultaneously, top management uses these information received from the PMs to compile periodic (monthly) summaries, Includes
Name of the customer and the PM; Monitory and labour investment; Scheduled start and finish date; Possible risks, losses and gains; Other related information

The summary enables the top management to assess the relative performance and combined influence of all the projects on the company.
This assists the company office in planning, coordination, authorisation and resource allocations.

Other Reports

Frequent reports from work packages to the PM on:

Value of work completed to-date,

forecasts of the costs at completion and

revised calendar schedules for completion

Monthly reports to PM about the financial status from work packages costs incurred and cumulative planned
costs versus actual costs.

Reports to functional managers (monthly) man-hours

and cost associated with the work packages.

Reports to customer/user (monthly) monthly status from

the PM, includes

Recent changes as requested by the customer Changes in costs, schedule and scope, arising from the unavoidable circumstances

Project Termination

Project has limited duration all projects come to an end;

Project termination is a process of closure of all activities that occurs whether a project is successful or not drawing conclusion through some formal and informal ways
Project Termination is a term that is used commonly in conjunction with other terms such as commissioning, handover, and close out; The Aim of the termination process is
to

cease the project at all levels with minimum administrative dislocation

PM ensures that all project related work has been completed and formally closed out by a specified date.

Project Termination
Normal

or natural termination

Projects can be terminated as the natural conclusion in their lifecycle - occurs on most projects when all the program works are completed as planned.

Project Termination

Unnatural terminations

Can be terminated unnaturally - for a variety of reasons such as:

Project Owner withdraws support Major implications and violations of project time, cost or scope constraints. Performance of the completed facility is inadequate. The need for the project no longer exists. The project will no longer deliver the benefits as expected. Changed Priority Financial or economic reasons may dictate that resources are no longer available to the project.

Termination could be the Result of success or failure

Projects In Trouble

The four major potential sources of risk of unsuccessful are:

Pioneer or cutting edge technology
A new type of project for the participating organisation and a project manager/team with non-relevant experience A project substantially larger and complex than the project participants have ever experienced

The estimates of cost during the implementation phase were done before detailed design was completed and the scope fully determined.

Project Termination Modes: Termination by Extinction

Extinction by decision

It has successfully completed its Scope that has been accepted by the Client It has Failed It has been superseded by external developments- changes in external environment It no longer has sufficient Support of Senior Management

Extinction by murder

Political assassination; projecticide Mergered redundancy- corporate mergers often make certain projects redundant or irrelevant NCR was forced to cancel several projects following its merger into AT&T and several more when NCR was unmerged recently

Termination by Addition

Project becomes a part of organization

New

functionality or new division Protected status deemed as child, first year, carrying less than an adult share of overhead cost

Transfer of assets from the extincting project to the new born division/function
People Equipment

Addition of responsibilities
Budgets Practices

and procedures

By Integration/Transition
Most Common Most Complex Project Outcome(s) Become(s):

Part

of Acquiring Organization Redistribution of Residual Resources

Equipment Capital Improvements Follow-on Support

Project Starvation
Budget Decrement Reallocation of Resources Away from Project

Business

Conditions Political Considerations

Active w/o Activity

When to Terminate a Project

Some questions to ask when considering termination:

Has

the project fulfilled all its obligations? Has the project been obviated by technical advances? Is the output of the project still cost-effective? Is it time to integrate or add the project as a part of regular operations? Are there better alternative uses for the funds, time and personnel devoted to the project? Has a change in the environment altered the need for the projects output?

When to Terminate a Project

Other Reasons :
Project

organization is not required Insufficient support from senior management Wrong person as project manager Poor planning

Project Termination Areas

Project Closeout

Organization

Financial

Purchasing

Site

Closeout Mtg Plans Personnel

Payables Receivables Budget Report

Contracts Supplier Comm Final Payments

Close Facilities Dispose Equip/Mat'l

Project Termination Activities

Ensure completion of work

Close

out all work authorities and contracts

The Client
Notify

client of product completion Ensure delivery and installation is accomplished Obtain formal client acceptance

Financial close out

Settle

outstanding accounts receivable and payable

Termination Documentation
Post

implementation audit Final report

Project Termination Activities

Release resources
Release/reassign

personnel as their planned activity

ceases Distribute other resources appropriately

Project Records
Collate Final

disposition ongoing support requirements

Support
Determine Assign

responsibilities

Termination Responsibilities (TM)

A project is terminated through a series of formal procedures A. Planning, scheduling and monitoring completion activities:

Obtaining and approving termination plans from individual functional managers; Preparing and coordinating termination plans and schedules; Monitoring termination activities and completion of all contractual agreements; Monitoring the disposition of any surplus (material/equipment)

B. Final close-out activities

Closing out all work orders and approving the completion of all sub-contracted works
Notifying all departments Closing the project office and all other facilities occupied by the project organisation Closing project book Ensuring transfer of project files and documents to the responsible department

C. Customer acceptance, obligation, and payment activities

Ensuring delivery of end items, side items and customer acceptance of the items
Communicating to the customer when all contractual obligations have been fulfilled Ensuring that all documents relating to the customer acceptance as required by contract has been completed Expediting any customer activity needed to complete the project Transmitting formal payments and collecting payments Obtaining formal customer acknowledgement of completion of contractual obligations

Termination Report: Some Headings

Project Summary
Project

description, Scope, schedule, budget, and quality objectives

Project Performance
Compare Comment

proposal to post implementation review on deviations

Administrative Performance Organisational Structure

How

did structure impede and/or speed

Termination Report: Some Headings

Project and Administrative Teams

Confidential

comments on performance of individuals and teams in the project environment

Techniques of Project Management

Planning,

estimating, budgeting, scheduling, resource allocation and control

Graphical Method of Assessment

Actual cost of work performed (ACWP)

Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS)

Earned Value Analysis (EVA)

Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP)

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