End Stage Report – reporting the PRINCE2 stage end
A new management stage commences once the project board have read the project manager’s end stage report, and given their approval for the next stage plan, set tolerances of the stage, and advised the project manager how often they wish to receive their regular Highlight Report. It does not have to be a meeting – but it is usually the best way to communicate the project status…
The project board will now manage by exception, and unless the project manager forecasts that tolerance is to be exceeded by giving the project board an Exception Report, then the Highlight Report is normally the only means by which the project will is kept informed.
The end stage report is the project managers report given to the project board (any any other stakeholders as identified in the Communication Management Strategy document) just as the stage is finishing.
As the current stage comes to a close, it is important to report back to the project board the results of the stage just finished so that the progress achieved can be clearly understood by the project board – this is done via the end stage report. As part of this, the project manager will need to present the continuing ability of the project to meet the Project Plan and Business Case including an assessment of the overall risk situation.
This information in the end stage report should be presented as close as is possible to the end of the current stage to ensure the information is the most current. The mechanism for doing this is the End Stage Report which will be created as a result of creating the next Stage Plan, or an Exception Plan, and updating the Project Plan and Business Case.
Typically, the end stage report summarizes how did the stage perform against the plan, what did it actually cost, what was its duration compared to the original plan, and were the products of sufficient quality. No surprises there then!
Creating the End Stage Report.
Here are the steps that the project manager should take in creating the End Stage Report:
Review the Business Case and capture any benefits already achieved and in doing so, update the Benefits Review Plan for this information to be included within the end stage report. Review the Stage Plan for the stage just finished to ensure that the objectives have been met, and similarly update the Project Plan to ensure that the project level objectives can still be achieved.
This is also a good opportunity to review the team performance for the stage just finished for the end stage report, and in particular mention any good performance within the team that deserves recognition.
One of the seven principles that guide PRINCE2 is the product focus. Therefore the project manager will want to review the product status of all products within this stage within the end stage report, and will request a Product Status Account from project support. This will then drive the project manager to review all quality management activities and ensure that all products are complete and approved – also to be included in the end stage report.
It MAY be that the stage expected a phased handover of some or all of the products created during this stage. If so the project manager will want to confirm that the users and operational and maintenance staff have accepted the products and they have been transferred to customer ownership. This too, is included in the end stage report.
This may also include identifying any follow-on action recommendations for those products.
The Issue and Risk Registers should be reviewed and the End Stage Report must include a summary of such issues and risks. Optionally the project manager may prepare a Lessons Report to accompany the End Stage Report.
The End Stage Report will be presented to the project board either accompanying the next Stage Plan or an Exception Plan (depending upon whether it is being used to feed an End Stage Assessment or an Exception Assessment), and other revised documentation to seek their approval to proceed by the Project Boards or otherwise.
The project manager will review the Communication Management Strategy to know whether there is a need to send copies of the end stage report to other stakeholders at this point in time.
The structure of the End Stage Report.
Be careful here. There are many end stage report headings that look more complicated than they really are. Be prepared to make the end stage report as simple and light as possible.
Your watchword should be “just enough honest information in the end stage report to allow the project board to make an informed choice about what to do next”
The biggest list of end stage report sub-set headings here are in the ‘Review of Products’ heading. Consider what the project board may already know from your regular Highlight Reports and keep the details simple.
For example, in most cases you will find that no products have been handed over to the operational departments, so a simple statement that certain products were approved may be sufficient within the end stage report because the project board will know that they will have passed their quality criteria prior to being approved.
Project Manager’s report. How the stage went, possible a summary of the key statistics here.
Review of the Business Case. Key parts here are the benefits and risks. What are the full benefits/changes. Any benefits that have already been realized. A summary and comment on the full project risk exposure. Note that the business case as well as the Benefits Review Plan will have been updated for inclusion here, and that business assurance along with user assurance will have played a key role here. They may even write this section of the End Stage Report.
Review of the project objectives. There are three components of this section of the end stage report:
- Review of the six project control areas – time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits, and a statement of them each being met or otherwise.
- Review of effectiveness of the four management strategies within the Project Initiation Documentation (risk, configuration management, quality, and communication)
- Review of the effectiveness of the project controls in delivering the project successfully.
If any of the above have been changed this should be included under the above sub-section.
Review of team performance. Any comment on general team performance during the time-frame of the end stage report, possibly from time-sheets, and a mention of exemplary individual performance if appropriate.
Review of Products. Consider my remarks at the beginning, keep this part of the end stage report as simple as needed to provide evidence for project board judgement. Don’t duplicate details if the project board already have it!
- Quality Records – planned and completed activities
- Approval records – products completed and approved
- Off-specifications. If any, point the reader to the details, just summarize here
- Phased handover. If any product have been handed over to operations/user/customer, include confirmation here that they were ready and accepted them.
- Summary of follow-on action recommendations. If any, these are agreed actions to be done by others after the project has closed.
Lessons Report. This will be created at the end of the project, but there may be any lessons that should be passed on at this point in time in which case they should be included in the end stage report.
Issues and risks. A summary of them – do not list, as this information is on the relevant Registers.
Forecast. This is based on the project as a whole and will include time and cost metrics. This section could be combined with the first heading!
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