Completion Phase

Purpose

Ensure a structured and formal completion of the project, a good handover to the organization, and learning for future projects.

Introduction

The Completion Phase begins when the Project Owner and the Steering Committee approve all deliveries from the Implementation Phase and the Project Manager’s Plan for Completion Activities (DP4), and decide that the Completion Phase can be initiated.

Completion Phase

A good Completion Phase is important for:

• Good delivery of the project's products
• Good ownership of these products in the organization, and for further Benefit Realization
• Documenting lessons learned for future projects
• Reallocating project resources

In addition to the final delivery of project products to the organization, the following activities are important in the Completion Phase:

• Evaluation of the project's success with regards to its objectives and processes, and structuring experience for future learning
• Updating the Benefit Realization Plan
• Termination of contracts, archiving of documents, closing of project accounts, etc.
• Submit the End of Project Report

The Completion Phase is a time for reflection and learning for future projects.

The phase ends when the Steering Committee approves the End of Project Report and decides that the project can be closed and the Project Team disbanded (DP5). This also implies that the Project Owner has completed their assignment on behalf of Executive Management. Relevant stakeholders should be informed that the project's resources are now released.

Templates and tools

• End of Project Report (word)
• Benefit Realization Plan (word)

Checklist for Decision Point 5

• Has the End of Project Report been delivered?
• Has any outstanding work been satisfactorily completed and handed over to the organization?
• Has the project's main result (product, cost, time, quality, resource use) been documented?
• Have positive and negative experiences been documented and shared?
• Are the project documents properly filed in UiO's archive system (ePhorte)?
• Are all project contracts completed?
• Have all relevant Stakeholders been informed that the project is complete?
• Is the Benefit Realization Plan up to date?
• Has the experience log (if kept) been updated, completed, and saved?
• Has the project's goal achievement and experience been made available to Executive Leadership?
• Do the newly implemented processes and organization work well?