PM Session 8
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There are four main ways to terminate a project: extinction, addition, integration, and starvation. Extinction occurs when a project is completed or unsuccessful. Addition happens when a successful project becomes institutionalized. Integration distributes project resources among existing organization elements. Starvation is a slow termination through reduced funding. The termination process involves deciding whether to terminate based on factors like technical advances and cost-effectiveness, then carrying out an orderly shutdown overseen by a termination manager.
PM Session 8
- 1. Project Management Session 8 Project Termination
- 2. Preamble
- 3. The Ways of Terminating a Project A project can be said to be terminated when work on the substance of the project has ceased or slowed to the point that further progress is no longer possible; There are four fundamentally different ways to close out a project: extinction, addition, integration, and starvation
- 4. Termination by Extinction The project may end because it has been successful and achieved its goals; The project may also be stopped because it is unsuccessful or has been superseded; A special case of termination by extinction is “termination by murder” which can range from political assassination to accidental projecticide.
- 5. Termination by Extinction Two important characteristics of termination by murder are the suddenness of project demise and the lack of obvious signals that death is imminent; When a decision is made to terminate a project by extinction, the most noticeable event is that all activity on the substance of the project ceases.
- 6. Termination by Addition If a project is a major success, it may be terminated by institutionalizing it as a formal part of the parent organization; Project personnel, property, and equipment are often simply transferred from the dying project to the newly born division; The transition from project to division demands a superior level of political sensitivity for successful accomplishment.
- 7. Termination by Integration This method of terminating projects is the most common way of dealing with successful projects, and the most complex; The property, equipment, material, personnel, and functions of the project are distributed among the existing elements of the parent organization.
- 8. Termination by Integration In general, the problems of integration are inversely related to the level of experience that the parent or client has had with : the technology being integrated; the successful integration of other projects, regardless of technology.
- 9. Termination by Integration A few of the more important aspects of the transition from project to integrated operation that must be considered: Personnel - where will the team go?; Manufacturing - is the training complete?; Accounting/Finance - have the project’s account been closed and audited?; Engineering - are all drawings complete and on file?; Information Systems/Software - has the new system been thoroughly tested?; Marketing - is the sales department aware of the change?
- 10. Termination by Starvation This type of project termination is a “slow starvation by budget decrement ”; There are many reasons why senior management does not wish to terminate an unsuccessful or obsolete project: Politically dangerous to admit that one has championed a failure; Terminating a project that has not accomplished its goals is an admission of failure.
- 11. When to Terminate a Project Some questions to ask when considering termination: 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 project’s output?
- 12. When to Terminate a Project Fundamental reasons why some projects fail to produce satisfactory answers to termination questions: A project organization is not required; Insufficient support from senior management; Naming the wrong person as project manager; Poor planning. These and a few other reasons, are the base cause of most project failures; The specific causes derive from these fundamental issues.
- 13. The Termination Process The termination process has two distinct parts; First is the decision whether or not to terminate; Second, if the decision is to terminate the project, the decision must be carried out.
- 14. The Decision Process Decision-aiding models for the termination decision fall into two generic categories: Models that base the decision on the degree to which the project qualifies against a set of factors generally held to be associated with successful projects; Models that base the decision on the degree to which the project meets the goals and objectives set for it ; Just as the decision criteria, constraints, weights, and environmental data are unique to each organization, so are the specifics of using any decision model.
- 15. The Implementation Process The actual termination can be planned and orderly, or a simple hatchet job; Special termination managers are sometimes useful in completing the long and involved process of shutting down a project; The primary duties of the manager in charge of termination can be encompassed in nine general tasks.
- 16. The Implementation Process Duties of the termination manager: Ensure completion of the work, including tasks performed by subcontractors; Notify the client of project completion and ensure that delivery is accomplished; Ensure that documentation is complete including a terminal evaluation of the project deliverables and preparation of the project’s Final Report; Clear for final billings and oversee preparation of the final invoices sent to the client.
- 17. The Implementation Process Duties of the termination manager (cont.): Redistribute personnel, materials equipment, and any other resources to the appropriate places; Clear project with legal counsel or consultant; Determine what records to keep; Ascertain any product support requirements, decide how each support will be delivered, and assign responsibility; Oversee the closing of the project’s books .
- 18. The Final Report The final report is the history of the project; It is a chronicle of the life and times of the project, a compendium of what went right and what went wrong; The required information is contained in the master plan, all project audits, and evaluations; The precise organization of the report is not of great concern; the content is.
- 19. The Final Report Several subjects should be addressed in the final report: Project performance; Administrative performance; Organizational structure; Project and administrative teams; Techniques of project management.
- 20. A life worth living is a life worth recording