Closing a PRINCE2 Project
Put simply, the whole purpose of the PRINCE2 process, “Closing a Project“, is to provide an orderly and controlled shutdown to a project.
The closure will normally be the planned one at the end of the project, but it may also be a premature close if, for example, something goes badly wrong or someone in authority decides that the project is not needed any more.
Either way, planned close or premature close, it is an orderly and conscious process. A project should not be allowed to simply drift into closure in an uncontrolled manner.
The PRINCE2 closing a project process is a fairly straightforward one, however you need to cope with a surprising amount of content for the exams, in particular, because there are a large number of management components that need to be dealt with.
The following points are those which folks studying PRINCE2 do not always understand the first time around, so read the following very carefully:
Deciding whether to have a PRINCE2 closure stage or not
PRINCE2 used to be very keen on having the closure work has just work that you carried out towards the end of the last delivery stage. Other methodologies provide a dedicated closure stage.
The latest version of PRINCE2 does allow for the fact that certain projects may want to have a closure stage in the and a PRINCE2 project.
This makes sense, because although products have been handed over, team members are often still need to be on hand to make final adjustments and to assist operational users who are learning to use what the project has delivered.
In very large projects, this can be a significant stage of some length, needing project staff to remain involved until they were sure that everything had settled down and that the final Handover to operational staff has been agreed and that the project can now close.
Clarifying PRINCE2 follow on actions
To be precise, this section is about follow on action recommendations. The following actions relate to things that the organization is being asked to do after the project has shutdown. The project is in no position to dictate to the organization what it should or should not do, so the action is “recommended”.
The project manager prepares the follow on action recommendations and passes these to the project board which in turn distributes them to the appropriate people in the organization.
Such follow on action recommendations may include:
- Suggested changes to project management procedures within the organization
- On-going risk management actions concerned with the operational life of deliverables such as dangerous machinery
- On go requirements for configuration management or version control, of working products. Especially, but not slowly, in engineering and it environments
Issues that were not dealt with in the project. For example, a team member may have had a great idea, but there was not time to implemented during the project. The idea is passed forward as a follow on action recommendation so that it is not forgotten. The organization can inconsiderate for implementation as part of day to day work, or add it to a future project.
In PRINCE2 the benefit reviews are held after closure are, strictly speaking, follow on actions, because the project has shut down and the review will be conducted by a organisational staff who may or may not have been involved in the project.
Understanding the timing of PRINCE2 benefit reviews
It is important that you see why benefit views can come later. Most projects deliver business benefits such as high as sales, cost savings and staff time savings.
These benefits may be seen, or to use another word, realized, at different points. One of those points is after the project. In some cases, it will be a while before the benefits build up to their full level or are clear enough to be measured.
An example of the need for a benefits review post project is where the project the introduces a new business procedure. When the products are handed over and the project closes down, staff are still unfamiliar with the new procedure and so are working more slowly than will be normal.
It makes sense to measure the benefits, say, 6 to 8 weeks after the project has completed. At that time, staff should be familiar with the new procedure and an accurate measure can be taken of just how much faster it is than the old one and what the saving in staff time actually is.
There may be more than one benefits review post project if, for example, different benefits are coming on stream at different times.
Updating the Benefits Review Plan
This is a slightly strange update in the PRINCE2 process closing a project, because the Manual refers to checking that the plan includes the reviews which are to happen post project.
Checks are not exactly an update, and if post project reviews were found to be missing, it would mean that something had gone awry with the preparation and checking of the plan earlier in the project.
If it is sensible for the plan to be checked through, then why not the business case as well to ensure that the benefits section is clear and understandable for review staff to use?
A bit confusing then, but for the exams just bear in mind that the benefits review plan is “updated”.
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