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Module 1: Research Strategy and Planning

4.9 Overview of project management strategies: closeout and evaluation phase

As you reach the concluding stages of your project you will need to focus on checking you have completed the necessary checks and reporting. An important element of this phase is to ensure your project team is well set up to move on to new projects or opportunities. This final list highlights some of the necessary closure processes. ‘Module 8: Project Closeout’ explores these and many other issues in more detail.

Knowledge areas

Evaluation/closeout phase checklist

Scope management
  • Evaluate the achievement of the project milestones. What work is still to be completed?
  • Is there an opportunity to further collaborate with your partners?

 

Time management
  • Review the timeline and plan and ensure all necessary tasks will be completed prior to project closure

         

Cost management
  • Update the budget summary. Aim for full expenditure of the grant by the conclusion of the funding period

 

Quality management
  • Prepare the final report for the granting body. Submit via your research grants office for closeout of your project
  • Prepare a final summary of the project, lessons learned, expenditure, time management, and other observations to apply to subsequent projects

 

Research Management
  • Copy all data files to CD and other storage devices
  • Ensure confidential records are secure
  • Continue writing publications from the project – keep your stakeholders apprised of these
  • Monitor project impact over the coming years
  • Clean up records and prepare an archival file to be stored in the university

 

Risk management
  • Summarise lessons learnt from the project. Share with other researchers

 

Human resources management
  • Celebrate the project's successes
  • Review the project and identify learning that has been drawn from the project experience
  • Ensure staff have expended their leave allocation prior to project closure
  • Assist team members in planning for transition to new roles
  • Plan for redeployment or transfer of team members to other projects or roles
  • Interview project team members on their project experience and suggestions for future projects
  • Conduct an exit interview for each team member to review their contributions, affirm their achievements, and assist in exiting the project

 

Stakeholder management
  • Celebrate the project successes. Invite relevant local colleagues and stakeholders
  • Canvass stakeholder feedback on the benefits of the project and its potential impact

Communications management
  • Present a seminar on the project outcomes to interested parties and peers
  • Develop a media release on the project and its value
  • Update your website to profile the outcomes
  • Continue to maintain your media archive
  • Communicate the project closure to all stakeholders and provide a forwarding contact address

Procurement management
  • Dispose of equipment and resources
  • Ensure confidential material is not accessible by subsequent users of equipment

Integration management
  • Ensure the final stages of the project are understood by all team members and assist them in completing their agreed commitments

 

© Shelda Debowski. Used with permission.

Hopefully you have found these checklists useful as cues to project management processes you might implement in your future projects. They have been drawn together as a set of printable checklists to assist your future planning.

Project Management Checklist (MS Word format)

Project Management Checklist (RTF format)
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