BP.00.008 - Business Practice for Project Close

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Table of Contents

• History
• Purpose
• Background
• Business Practice
  • Accountability
  • Applicability
  • Definition(s)
  • Text
• Exhibit(s)
  • Assessment History

History [top]

• Business Practice Number: BP.00.008
• Version: 1
• Drafted By: Peter Mosinskis
• Approved By: Michael Berman
• Approval Date: 07/01/2011
• Latest Revision Date: 11/13/2012

Purpose [top]

Provide for a uniform process for closing of ITS projects at CSU Channel Islands.

Background [top]

The life-cycle of ITS projects is as follows:

1. Intake
2. Planning
3. Execution & Monitoring
4. Close

Business Practice [top]

Accountability [top]

The VP for Information Technology Services and ITS Managers

Applicability [top]

All ITS employees.

Definition(s) [top]

Please refer to BP.00.005, Business Practice for Project Intake for Definitions.

Text [top]

Phase 4 – Project Close

A project that has either successfully or unsuccessfully been executed enters Phase 4 when either:

1. All prior project phases have been successfully completed—a successful project, or
2. The goals of the project have not been attained, and the client, or ITS governance, request that the project be discontinued after Phase 1 of the project has been completed—an unsuccessful project.

The closing phase is required for all projects, regardless of class, that have completed Phase 1 (Project Intake) successfully. Project requests that have not completed Phase 1 successfully do not require project closure. Please refer to BP.00.005 Business Practice on Project Intake for more information about project intake.

Project Closure Tasks

Closure of both successful and unsuccessful projects consists of:

1. Collection of relevant project data into a project archive
2. Communication with all project stakeholders and teams about the project closure
3. Assessment of the projects successes, failures, costs, and lessons learned
4. Turnover and assignment of operations support tasks to the appropriate University personnel

After the Project Lead completes the Project Closure tasks above, ITS governance shall give final approval to close the project.

>Project Data Archive

To complete the project data archive, the Project Lead shall:

1. assemble a collection of documents for the project archive that is appropriate to both the project class and the last successfully completed project phase; and
2. submit the project archive in electronic format to the PMO prior to the closure of the project

For each chartered project, the project data archive shall consist of the following minimum collection of documents:

1. Project Charter
2. Project Closure form (or Project Cancellation form if the project has been canceled)

The project data archive may also include the following documents:

1. Project Scope Statement
2. Project Schedule
3. Other Planning Package documents
4. Issue Log
5. Change Requests
6. Acceptance Testing Procedure/Checklist
7. Meeting minutes
8. Copies of all status reports
9. Copies of all written communication & marketing materials
10. Other client acceptance documents
11. Budget report
12. Task Summary (hours worked on project tasks by employee)

Project Close Meeting

The Supervising Manager or Project Lead shall schedule and lead a Project Close meeting with the client. Project close meetings are required for all Class 3 and larger projects. For Class 1 + Class 2 projects, the Project Close meeting is optional but recommended.

 The purpose of the Project Close meeting is:

1. to communicate with the client and key stakeholders about the close of the project
2. formally gather feedback about the successes and challenges of the project
3. review outstanding issues

For Class 1 and Class 2 projects, all stakeholders and project team members may attend the project close meeting. For Class 3 and larger projects, a subset of stakeholders and team members should be selected to participate in the project close meeting, at the discretion of the Client and the Supervising Manager.

It is recommended to conduct the Project Close meeting in person. Meeting length should be based on project class, and will typically range between 30 and 60 minutes.

It may be beneficial to have a 3^rd party lead the Project Close meeting, in order to facilitate open discussion with the client. In this case, it is recommended that the 3^rd party not be a member of the project team.

Assessment of Project Success & Closure

The Project Lead shall assess and document project success and closure by completing a Project Closure form (or a Project Cancellation form if the project has been canceled), based on input gathered during the Project Close meeting as well as other feedback from the client, stakeholders and project team.

Turnover and Assignment of Maintenance and Operations Support Tasks to the Appropriate University Personnel

In the Project Closure form, the Project Lead shall document, if applicable, the manner in which ongoing maintenance and operations support for the project deliverables shall be provided after project closure to help ensure continued service quality. The Project Closure form will provide fields to support this documentation process.

Approval for Project Closure

The client must approve closure of any project. The date of their approval should be designated on the Project Closure Form.

ITS governance shall approve the closure of all projects, according to the project class:

1. Class 1 & 2 projects require only the Supervising Manager’s approval to close.
2. Class 3 and larger projects require the VP for Information Technology Services approval to close.

Although verbal confirmation for project closure is acceptable, it is recommended that all acceptances for project closure from the client and ITS governance be provided in writing, via one of the following methods:

1. via email notification of acceptance; or
2. hard-copy signature on the Project Closure form.

The Supervising Manager or Project Lead shall provide the Client and Client Supervisor with a copy of the completed Project Closure form via email.

Exhibit(s) [top]

The following documents are incorporated by reference. Please visit www.csuci.edu/its/projects/ for the latest versions. 

• BP.00.005 Business Practice on Project Intake
• Project Close Form
• Project Cancellation Form

Assessment History [top]