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The 6 Six Things to Consider As You Close a Project.

Closing a Project like a Pro

The closing stage of a project is as important as any other part of the project process. Putting an end to a project gives the project manager a chance to evaluate and understand the results of the project.

When projects go beyond the set time limit, they lead to additional use of resources. In the end, the investors incur extra expenses. Delays are known to affect a project negatively.

Project staff are often caught in a tussle to finish tasks as the time limit draws near. A lot of hiccups occur when a team doesn’t complete assignments on time. Closing a project late can lead to loss of confidence among clients and incur extra financial expense.

As a project manager, the timely completion of projects is essential in ensuring you attain all the set objectives. In a perfect world scenario, project tasks should run and end according to the set schedule. However, some problems may lead to mishaps and cause project delays.

Reasons Many Project Managers Finish Ventures Late.

Projects could run late for a couple of reasons depending on the situation. However, there are four common reasons why most projects end late, and they include the following.

1. Poor Planning Techniques.

Most problems begin if a project commences without a clearly defined plan guiding employees on what to do. Poor planning means activities run uncontrolled, and missed deadlines become a common occurrence. Using project management software can help you plan better.

1. Inadequate Communication.

Timely completion of projects requires proper communication between the administration and subordinate staff. PMs must also ensure adequate collaboration between staff members.

Inadequate or inappropriate communication can hinder your efforts of and lead to late projects. In a poorly planned project, you will find that some people have a considerable workload while other employees are free all the time.

1. Poor Time Management.

Time is an invaluable for any project. Poor utilization of time leads to negative results such as untimely completion of projects.

1. Lack of Accountability.

Projects have time limits and someone must be responsible for the completion of such tasks. In most cases, workers are fully aware of deadlines. Still, they lack a sense of responsibility and accountability to act on them. This lack of accountability among project team members may affect the timing of a venture.

The Six Activities to carry out as you Close a Project</h2>

The closing of a project is just as critical as the initiation stage. Therefore, you need to spend quality time closing projects. Here are the six tasks that you need to carry out in the final phase of a project.

1. Get Formal Customer Feedback.

Projects always have end objectives that often aim at creating a product or getting specific results. After getting the outcome of your project, your venture is not necessarily over. Project managers need to obtain a formal sign-off from the client. Such feedback indicates that the client is happy with the product or results.

Such a process is essential when you are closing a project because it serves as an affirmative measure that the project is over. If the product or results are unsatisfactory, then the project manager can apply appropriate corrective actions to ensure they produce a satisfactory product or result.

Until the client is happy with the project’s outcome, you cannot say that your venture is complete. You may need to incur extra costs and reconstitute your staff. Hence it is essential to get positive client feedback before ending any projects.

1. Carry out a Product Scope Analysis.

During the final phase of a project, it is critical to carry out a product scope analysis on the outcome of the project. Such an analysis helps to make sure that the final product adheres to the product scope details set at the beginning of the project.

It is important to note that project managers should attain all the set product scope requirements. After a successful product scope analysis, then you can start concluding your venture.

1. Surrender All Used Resources.

Project managers tend to have some resources left over after closing a project. Such inputs need to go back to the original investor or department. In this way, unused resources get new applications and use them in other different projects.

Certain companies and firms have specific guidelines on how to surrender unused resources. Make sure you follow such rules to ensure that the firm or company don’t blacklist you in their future projects.

1. End All Pending Contracts and Procurement Activities.

Project managers may hire third-party individual s to carry out specific contracts or fulfill certain procurement offers during the lifetime of a venture. All contracts and procurement activities must come to an end when you are closing a project.

Once you have your final product or outcome, and the client is happy, then consider starting the process of ending contracts and procurement. It prevents any unnecessary expenditure after the fulfillment of the project.

1. Collect and Archive All Project Documents.

After you have your project deliverables and you present them to the client and get a sign-off, you should collect and archive all project files. It is advisable to compile a copy of all project files and information and to share it with the investors and stakeholders.

Archived documents come in handy within future projects. You can use them as reference material when making critical decisions or when you encounter recurrent issues. Documenting your past projects allows you to reuse relevant content without the need to collect it again.

1. Congratulate Yourself and Your Staff.

Successful completion of a venture is no meager achievement. Project managers should consider celebrating with their staff, stakeholders, and investors. You can even hold small parties when your project team attains the specific milestones in the venture.

Such celebrations go a long way in boosting morale levels within your personnel in future ventures. A closing party is an excellent way of closing a project.

Protect Your Job & Reputation: These Six Deadly Mistakes Could Put Your Project & Occupation at Risk. </h2>

Managing a project ensures it runs from start to finish and increases the likelihood of success. Failure to manage any project puts it at a 50% chance of failure.

In an ideal situation, a project manager should move a project from scratch to the end, with a reasonable budget, and wrap up everything in reasonable time.

Still, most managers make a lot of project management mistakes that, in most cases, risk their jobs and reputation.

Sometimes, these mistakes expose the venture to very challenging situations that may lead to its failure. All project managers should make sure they avoid making stupid mistakes to ensure their job security and successful project completion.

The team members of a project management board must be on the same page. Which means should they share the same ideas, goals, and work together to achieve a project’s objectives. Teamwork and cooperation are among the main project guideline ideas that ensure successful projects and businesses.

Reasons Why Proper Management of Projects Is Essential in Any Sector.

For a project to run smoothly from start to finish, there is a need for a competent project manager. The manager should have all the qualities to see that assigned projects are complete and thriving. Here are reasons that make project managing important;

• Ensures Quality Deliverables Are Met.

A manager ensures that at the end of the day, a project must meet its set standards and objectives. Individuals working on a project are under pressure to complete their tasks within the specified timeline. There is a high probability of them doing a substandard job; that is why a project manager will always be there to make sure this does not happen.

• Reduce the Chances of Overspending.

One of the critical elements of the management of projects is budgeting. That is why businesses invest in project managers to help with aspects like reducing costs. Managers ensure that there is no overrun of the budget.

• Help to Formulate a Plan That Aids in Smooth Flow of Processes.

A manager helps his/her project team to come up with a plan that breaks tasks and procedures into manageable bits. Making things clear for each members’ specific tasks, deadlines, and quality of work expectation, makes it easier for your team members to work.

Other advantages of effectively managing a project are;

• Increases the chances of the business growing
• Maximizes the use of resources
• Promotes sharing of knowledge among project team members
• It provides an opportunity for managers to identify and learn from their project management mistakes.
• Helps in better decision making.

Six Common Mistakes That Project Managers Do without Knowing.

What are these project administration blunders that can affect your career? Sometimes it is not easy for the managers to notice these mistakes because they have become part of their routine. Below are seven project management mistakes that most managers come across in their profession.

1. A Deficiency of a Proper Communication Mechanism.

Communication is vital, especially for work involving more than one individual. Cutting contact when managing a project leads to situations like delays, unwilling and lazy team, and a higher budget.  Frequently consulting your support team and sharing of ideas creates rapport and motivates team members to work hard.

1. Lack of Skills, Knowledge, and Resources to Successfully Manage a Project.

Some managers do not get the time to look for members that qualify to help them with their projects. A project with a good manager and incompetent team members is likely to fail, regardless of the manager’s input.

Also, not having sufficient resources to plan, initiate, and execute a project, puts your work at a higher probability of failure. To be on the safe side, as a manager, before starting any project, ensure that you have enough resources and human labor to make the project fruitful.

1. Unofficial Kick-Off of Projects.

Starting a project unofficially is one of the project management mistakes that many managers do not see affecting them. You will find a plan is in progress, but some of the members are not aware of their roles. If you see such signs, know you did not do your managerial work well at some point.   

All managers should make it a routine to always meet with their team members before officially starting a project. Doing this will allow them to clearly state each of the members’ tasks, rules, and other things you will want your support team to adhere to during the whole exercise.

1. Poor Planning of the Project’s Work Dates.

To guarantee smooth management of projects and success assurance, it advisable for managers to plan your work well. It is hard to tell how fast project activities can end if you do not plan your dates well. When scheduling a project, the successive steps to follow should be systematic and easy for the team members to understand.

1. Handling Many Projects at Once.

However easy it might seem to be, a manager’s work is heavy and hectic. Usually, most project managers control more than one project at any given time. Taking more project management jobs is among the worst project administration blunders that can jeopardize your work profession.

Managers should consider handling manageable projects for them to be able to deliver quality and successful projects on time. Project administrators who have many projects to manage can decide to divide them into small bits then tackle each bit one at a time.       

1. Managers Laying a Blind Eye to Team Members’ Mistakes.

It is very inappropriate for a project manager to ignore any team member’s bad behavior and actions. Especially when those actions negatively affect the project’s success. Project managers must address their team’s mistakes because, in case of any failure, they will be to blame or even face retrenchment.

Managers must inform team members of the repercussions of their actions. Resolve all issues immediately they arise to avoid piling up of project management mistakes. In the end, you will sit down and notice you did a good thing because your project will go according to the plan.

All project managers making the above mistakes, and more others should avoid them at all costs. This means you should identify risks, manage resource s, budget well, and communicate with your team members and seniors. Lastly, remember to finish all procedures before closing a project.

Be a Better Manager: Why You Should Consider Taking Project Management Lessons. </h2>

As discussed above, there are several skills you can acquire from a project and program management classes.

Here are the many ways project management training helps you as a leader, on top of the aforementioned skills.

PM Training helps you create a Plan.

Project administration lessons help you learn how to bring order within a project. Well-thought-out planning helps to ensure all project activities run smoothly. Planning helps to organize tasks and activities and define a clear path towards the project objectives.

1. Better Scheduling.

After planning project tasks, the next logical step is to create a schedule that dictates how everything will go own. Proper scheduling helps the project administrator to ensure that all activities end on time.

1. Better Project Cost Management.

Controlling costs is a critical process within projects. A competent project leader should minimize expenses (as much as possible) without affecting project activities.

Project management training helps you understand the different types of costs that may arise in a venture and how to handle them.

1. Controlling Risks.

Risks are unforeseen events that may arise within the course of a project and affect its activities. Project management training helps you learn how to identify potential risks and come up with a robust risk management protocol.

1. Effective Quality Control.

Managing and controlling quality standards helps project managers ensure that all operations run as per the set standard.

Quality control ensures that the end product or result of a project is satisfactory and that it meets all requirements. You can only carry out effective quality control after appropriate training in project management.

Most companies and investors want to employ a project manager with specific skillsets. Project management training is an excellent way to certify yourself as a competent administrator.

These days you do not have to go to an institution to take project management classes. You can enroll in online project administration classes and get your certification in a matter of weeks.

Closing Up

Closing a project is as important as any other process. Putting an end to a project gives the PM a chance to evaluate and understand the results of the project.

The closing phase of a project is just as crucial as the opening phase. When issues arise in this final phase, a project may experience delays and additional costs. Project managers must identify the specific steps to follow to ensure the smooth and timely completion of projects.