Project Termination

1
Project Termination

• Types of terminations
• How and why projects terminate
• Typical termination activities
• Need for a project history

2
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

3
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.

4
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

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Decision Structure for a Termination Decision,
Figure 13-1
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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

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Four Varieties of Termination (contd)

• 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

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Four Varieties of Termination (contd)

• 4. Termination by starvation
• Withdrawal of life support
• Can save face, avoid embarrassment, evade
  admission of defeat

9
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

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Termination Activities (contd)

• 3. Accounting and Finance
• Accounts closed and audited
• Resources transferred
• 4. Engineering
• Drawings complete/on file
• Change procedures clarified

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Termination Activities (contd)

• 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

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A Design for Project Termination, Figure 13-2
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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

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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

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Contents of a Project History (contd)

• 4. Project and Administrative Teams
• Performance of the project team, recommendations
• 5. Project Management Techniques
• Planning, budgeting, scheduling, risk management,
  etc. what worked, what didnt

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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