Tempo logotype
7 min read

Perfecting the project closure process: Guidelines and tips

From Team '23

Tempo Team

Project planning is complex, high-effort work. You must define the initiative’s scope, risks, and resources all while setting clear and manageable team expectations. And no matter the effort you put in, execution is rarely perfect.

But there’s a lot to learn from the hiccups. Every roadblock and adjustment can inform your next project — if you conduct an effective project closure.

What’s the goal of the closing process?

A project closing procedure helps teams tie up loose ends and review what went well and what didn’t. Project managers leverage this information to update stakeholders and create more accurate and strategic future project plans.

Projects end for various reasons, like running out of resources, deciding to shift gears, or simply successfully completing the work. In nearly every case, managers will conduct a project closure to:

  • Validate outcomes and document whether they meet the requirements defined in the project scope document

  • Get client and stakeholder sign-offs stating that they’ve accepted the project deliverables or outcome

  • Finalize the project transition to another department or the client, including any necessary training and maintenance plans

  • Review the development process with the team and prepare to incorporate feedback into the next plan

  • Put a concrete end to this project and provide a clean kick-off for the next

Not only does it preserve the integrity of your team’s hard work, but the closing phase of the project management process helps smooth the way for stakeholder goodwill and customer satisfaction. Everyone involved understands how the project went, why adjustments were made, and what to do next.

The 5 project management phases

Project closure is the final stage of the five-phase project management model, as defined by the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) manual, Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge:

  1. Project initiation: Initiate the project through broad definition and securing stakeholder buy-in.

  2. Project planning: Establish detailed goals and build a project roadmap.

  3. Project execution: Kick off project execution based on information outlined in previous steps.

  4. Project performance: Using KPIs, evaluate project efficiency and effectiveness.

  5. Project closure: Finalize work, debrief team and other stakeholders, and define next steps.

Why is project closure important?

When considering long-term improvement, a project is only as successful as the takeaways gleaned. Conducting a proper project closure ensures you thoroughly understand where your team excelled and where they could improve to make the next initiative that much better.

A formal project closure also helps you and your team:

  • Wrap up: You’ll ensure you’ve met all project requirements and that the client, contractors, suppliers, and teammates have everything they need to move on.

  • Take stock: As part of the closing process, it’s best practice to look back and evaluate team performance. This step establishes a culture of continuous improvement and gives you the information needed to help employees reach their full potential.

  • Move on: Project wind down doesn’t only define technical work stoppage. It also provides the client and team with closure. The process reassures participants that their work is valuable. And it launches project transition, transferring responsibility from you to the client.

  • Create documentation: Projects generate a lot of paperwork, and you can use the closing phase to establish a library of archived project documentation. This resource is valuable, permitting quick information retrieval in case of an audit, cataloging solutions to common challenges, and centralizing templates from successful projects.

What happens if you don’t end a project correctly?

Aside from losing out on the above benefits, you might also deal with the following consequences if you’re unable to effectively close out a project:

  • Delays: Payments to contractors and suppliers may be late, leading to frustration.

  • Uncertainty: Team members and clients may be confused about next steps, resulting in the assumption that you’re still responsible for the project.

  • Abandonment: Without a plan for maintenance and support, your client or employer could orphan the project.

  • Inaction: Not soliciting team feedback could lead to missed improvement opportunities.

What are project closure activities?

You can initiate several activities as part of your project closure practice, depending on the needs of your team, clients, and sponsors. Each item should benefit all involved, so seek feedback to determine the most valuable steps for participants. Generally, project management wind-downs address the following items:

  • Wrapping up loose ends: Ensure no outstanding details require attention, the project meets requirements, and the stakeholders and clients have accepted the deliverables. Also note any work your team couldn’t complete and double-check contracts and invoices to confirm timely payment.

  • Organizing next steps: Clarify what happens next regarding deliverables and any client and team member actions. Make sure you’ve scheduled training and maintenance and delegate responsibilities to the next team.

  • Conducting retrospective meetings: Commit to ongoing growth by holding post-mortem meetings with all stakeholders to receive feedback on what worked well, what didn’t, and areas of improvement. You might also hold one-on-one performance reviews to identify opportunities for professional development.

  • Reviewing learnings: Review the project’s outcomes to identify lessons learned and commit to incorporating them into your practice. You might also assess the accuracy of your projections to improve future scenario planning.

  • Celebrating: Your team worked hard, and their efforts deserve appreciation. Send out kudos and verbally express how valuable each team member’s contribution was to the project.

The 7-step project closure checklist

Project closures are extensive and complex, but you can use the following checklist to ensure you’ve covered all the bases.

1. Transfer ownership

Turning over deliverables is the first step in finalizing a project. Let your employer or the client know that your team met all expectations and that the deliverable is ready for them to manage.

Task list:

  • Assess deliverables to ensure they meet expectations and generate desired outcomes

  • Review incomplete, omitted, or out-of-scope requirements with the client or your employer and share options for completion

  • Address any issues arising from handoff

  • Establish maintenance and training plans

2. Close all project accounts

Review documentation affiliated with the project and ensure the information is current, including logs, lists, and reports. Close out contracts and make sure vendors receive payment on time.

Task list:

  • Ensure all contracts and invoices are signed, paid, and finalized

  • Release team members for redeployment to new projects

  • Address logistical details, such as returning equipment and other resources

3. Acquire feedback from project participants

Hold a retrospective with team members to discuss project execution and outcomes. Solicit feedback regarding:

  • Contributions to the project’s success

  • Project elements that worked as planned

  • Any issues

  • Additional resources or support needed

  • Workflow improvements

You could also assess your project management process, considering whether your estimated budget covered actual project costs and if your team met established milestones and deadlines.

Task list:

  • Survey participants about lessons learned, including yourself

  • Conduct a retrospective to discuss survey results

  • Prioritize recommendations and adjust your practice

  • Formally document findings

4. Receive feedback from the client

Measure satisfaction by gaining client/end-user feedback. You might distribute a simple survey to assess whether:

  • The project team understood expectations and requirements

  • Project execution was effective

  • The communication strategy was adequate

  • The overall project outcome was a success

Task list:

  • Survey clients

  • Document responses

  • Add the survey and results to the project file

5. Prepare the project closure report

Create a project closure report for upper management that summarizes project execution and final outcomes. This document helps them evaluate this initiative’s efficacy and impact and ensures they have the information necessary to update other stakeholders.

Task list:

  • Generate internal report outlining project outcomes

  • Submit report to senior management for review

6. Formally close the project

Senior management and stakeholders should review your closure report to verify that your team met project criteria and requirements. Then, they’ll provide their official sanction. Once received, consider the project approved and inform your team their work is complete.

Task list:

  • Follow up to ensure management finalizes sign-off

  • Announce formal project closure

  • Celebrate with your team

7. Remove and archive the project

Finally, organize and index all project documentation. Create an archive using your project management software and file all documents, contracts, and agreements in the appropriate location.

Task list:

  • Establish a repository for archived documents

  • Index and file all documentation

  • Close remaining project accounts

Set your project up for success

Keep track of all your management activities — including project closure — with Strategic Roadmaps. This tool makes audience-friendly project roadmaps that document every project lifecycle phase. Then, monitor your team’s progress and task time with Jira-enabled Timesheets.

With Tempo, everything you need to finalize your project is at your fingertips.

Tags

  • Strategic Roadmaps

Strategic Roadmaps

Strategic roadmapping

Build your portfolio vision with Strategic Roadmaps. With powerful visualization capabilities, you can communicate strategy to the entire organization and gain alignment around strategic objectives, product goals, and milestones.

Start a Free Trial
Special Offer

Explore More Content

No more reporting limitations

Custom Charts for Confluence

Create and share all kinds of highly visual and customizable charts directly on your Confluence pages.

Learn more

Custom charts and dashboards for Jira

Custom Charts for Jira

See how work is progressing and where blockers are with the most flexible reporting app in Jira.

Learn more
Team working together at board with sticky notes

No-code Power BI monday.com integration

Power BI Connector for monday.com

Get powerful data export capabilities and connect monday.com to Power BI effortlessly

Learn more

Time Tracking Software for Jira

Timesheets

Tempo’s intuitive automation and Jira-native design make it the most trusted time tracking tool for enterprise organization.

Learn more

Monitor financial health at every level

Financial Manager

Monitor projects and portfolios to get simple, clear, and real-time views of your costs, budgets, and profits that can be shared throughout your entire organization.

Learn more

Jira Project Cost Tracking

Financial Manager

Project financial management for Jira & Timesheets. Monitor project costs, expenses, revenue, billing & budgets. Track Capex/Opex

Go to marketplace
Colleagues interacting around a desk

No-Code Power BI Jira Integration

Power BI Connector for Jira

Effortlessly bridge Jira with your preferred BI tool, unlocking unparalleled insights and enhancing decision-making

Learn more

Ensure compliance and optimize spending

Governance and auditing

Portfolio governance and auditing excellence

Learn more

Jira Time Tracking

Timesheets by Tempo

#1 Jira Time Tracking & AI Apps: Log Tempo Timesheets for Planning, Project Management & Billing. Plugin Office365, Google & Slack

Go to marketplace

Industry-leading project plan and roadmap visualizations with a Gantt chart extension

Gantt Charts for Structure PPM

Visualize project plans and roadmaps with a Gantt chart extension for Jira

Learn more

Get the data you need to succeed

Time Tracker

Extend your Jira with prebuilt and highly configurable reports for straightforward time tracking.

Learn more

Roadmapping software for teams of all sizes

Strategic Roadmaps (Roadmunk)

The roadmapping tool designed for high-performing teams delivering boardroom-ready strategic roadmaps.

Learn more

Real-time collaboration and capacity planning in Jira

Capacity Planner

A powerful team resource management tool designed to optimize capacity planning and project management in Jira

Learn more

Project and program management for Jira

Structure PPM

Visualize all your Jira data & manage portfolios of projects in real-time.

Learn more

No-code Tableau Jira integration

Tableau Connector for Jira

Effortlessly bridge Jira with Tableau, unlocking unparalleled insights and enhancing decision-making

Learn more

Align your organization with proactive portfolio management

Portfolio Manager (LiquidPlanner)

Predictive scheduling and the ability to forecast project timelines and spot risks so you can meet deadlines with confidence.

Learn more

Strategic portfolio management for PMO leaders

Strategic portfolio management for PMO leaders

Tempo gives PMO directors and portfolio managers the tools to reduce delivery friction, align teams, and drive measurable outcomes.

Learn more

Agile at Scale Software

Agile at Scale

Adapt to changing business needs, rapidly adjust plans, and reallocate investment.

Learn more

Jira Team & Resource Management

Capacity Planner

#1 Jira Resource Management App: Optimize team allocation, skillset utilization, capacity planning & project management

Go to marketplace

Jira ITSM Solutions with Tempo

ITSM

Build and scale a custom ITSM solution at your own pace with Tempo's modular suite of integrated tools. Enhance Jira's capabilities and take control of your entire IT portfolio.

Learn more

Jira Portfolio Management PPM

Structure by Tempo

Jira Project Portfolio Management (PPM): Visualize data and manage projects within spreadsheet-like tables — in less than a minute

Go to marketplace

Never lose track of a brilliant idea again

Idea Manager for Strategic Roadmaps

Never lose a brilliant idea again. Idea Manager for Strategic Roadmaps has built-in best practices to help.

Learn more

Strategic Portfolio Management

Strategic Portfolio Management

Modern modular PPM solutions that scale with your business. Align your teams with the integrated platform that bridges the gap between strategy and execution.

Learn more

No-code Power BI ServiceNow integration

Power BI Connector for ServiceNow

Seamlessly connect ServiceNow with Power BI, transforming complex enterprise data into actionable insights and driving smarter, data-informed decisions across the organization

Learn more

Powered by Structure’s custom hierarchies, visualize your roadmap, project plans, timeline & dependencies within Jira Gantt charts

Go to marketplace

Take control of your projects

Portfolio Manager and Jira

Portfolio Manager integrates seamlessly with Jira to give you predictive scheduling, real-time scenario modeling, and advanced resource management – ensuring you stay on track, no matter what challenges arise.

Learn more

No-code BigQuery Jira integration

BigQuery Connector for Jira

Integrate Jira with Google BigQuery to seamlessly export and sync data for advanced analytics and customized reporting

Learn more

Unified time and team management

Timesheets and Structure

Combining Tempo Timesheets and Structure PPM provides a unified view of time tracking and project progress, enabling more accurate reporting and effective portfolio management. Simplify workflows, enhance collaboration, and ensure projects stay on time and within budget.

Learn more

Centralize real-time plans in one view

Structure and Gantt Charts

Gain a more complete project management solution, simplifying project reporting, improving collaboration, and ensuring projects stay on time and within budget.

Learn more

Unified time and team management

Timesheets and Capacity Planner

Seamlessly manage project timelines and resources while accurately tracking time spent on tasks. This integration enhances visibility, improves planning accuracy, and supports data-driven decision-making for better overall project outcomes.

Learn more

Align strategy and execution

Structure PPM and Strategic Roadmaps

For planning leaders looking to add a big-picture roadmap view to their structured Jira data, this integration is essential. Improve visibility to leadership, reduce reporting admin, and keep your team aligned.

Learn more