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Project Termination. Types of terminations How and why projects terminate Typical termination activities Need for a project history. All Things Come to an End. Termination rarely has much impact on technical success or failure . . . But a huge impact on other areas
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Project Termination • Types of terminations • How and why projects terminate • Typical termination activities • Need for a project history
All Things Come to an End . . . • Termination rarely has much impact on technical success or failure . . . • But a huge impact on other areas • Residual attitudes toward the project (client, senior management, and project team) • Success of subsequent projects • So it makes sense to plan and execute termination with care
When Do Projects Terminate? • Upon successful completion, or . . . • When the organization is no longer willing to invest the time and cost required to complete the project, given its current status and expected outcome.
Most Common Reasons Projects Terminate • 1. Low probability of technical/commercial success • 2. Low profitability/ROI/market potential • 3. Damaging cost growth • 4. Change in competitive factors/market needs • 5. Unresolvable technical problems • 6. Higher priority of competing projects • 7. Schedule delays Source: Dean, 1968
Four Varieties of Project Termination • 1. “Termination by extinction” • Project has successfully completed, or it has failed • Natural passing, or “termination by murder” • Either way, project substance ceases, but much work needs to be done • Administrative • Organizational
Four Varieties of Termination (cont’d) • 2. “Termination by addition” • The project becomes a formal part of the parent organization • People, material, facilities transition • The example of Nucor • 3. “Termination by integration” • Project assets are distributed to and absorbed by the parent
Four Varieties of Termination (cont’d) • 4. “Termination by starvation” • Withdrawal of “life support” • Can save “face,” avoid embarrassment, evade admission of defeat
Typical Termination Activities • In general, there are seven categories of termination tasks. Examples of activities: • 1. Personnel • Dealing with “trauma of termination” • Finding “homes” for the team • Who will “close the doors?” • 2. Operations/Logistics/Manufacturing • Rethinking systems • Provisions for training, maintenance, spares
Termination Activities (cont’d) • 3. Accounting and Finance • Accounts closed and audited • Resources transferred • 4. Engineering • Drawings complete/on file • Change procedures clarified
Termination Activities (cont’d) • 5. Information Systems • Configuration and documentation in place • Systems integrated • 6. Marketing • Sales and promotion efforts in line • 7. Administrative • All organizations aware of change
Project History • One of the major aims of termination is development and transmittal of “lessons learned” to future projects • One way to do that is through a project history
Contents of a Project History • 1. Project Performance • What was achieved; successes, challenges, failures • 2. Administrative Performance • Reports, meetings, project review procedures; HR, financial processes • 3. Organization Structure • How structure evolved, how it aided/impeded progress
Contents of a Project History (cont’d) • 4. Project and Administrative Teams • Performance of the project team, recommendations • 5. Project Management Techniques • Planning, budgeting, scheduling, risk management, etc.: what worked, what didn’t
Challenges to Meaningful Project Histories • Since the project history has so much potential benefit, why is it often done poorly, or not at all? • Possible reasons • No one sees it as their job • PM has many other priorities, especially as project winds down • Long duration projects mean many PMs, voluminous record, little corporate memory • PMs may be more attuned to looking forward than looking back