Dr Siti Nurhaida Khalil
Chapter 11
Project Termination
A project can be said to be terminated when work
on the substance of the project has ceased or slowed
to the point that further progress is no longer
possible
There are four fundamentally different ways to
close out a project: extinction, addition,
integration, and starvation
Chapter 11-1
The project may end because it has been successful and
achieved its goals
The project may also be stopped because it is
unsuccessful or has been superseded
A special case of termination by extinction is
“termination by murder” which can range from political
assassination to accidental projecticide
Chapter 11-2
Two important characteristics of termination by
murder are the suddenness of project demise and
the lack of obvious signals that death is imminent
When a decision is made to terminate a project by
extinction, the most noticeable event is that all
activity on the substance of the project ceases
Chapter 11-3
If a project is a major success, it may be terminated by
institutionalizing it as a formal part of the parent
organization
Project personnel, property, and equipment are often
simply transferred from the dying project to the newly
born division
The transition from project to division demands a
superior level of political sensitivity for successful
accomplishment
Chapter 11-4
This method of terminating projects is the most common way of dealing
with successful projects, and the most complex
The property, equipment, material, personnel, and functions of the project
are distributed among the existing elements of the parent organization
Chapter 11-5
In general, the problems of integration are inversely related to the level of
experience that the parent or client has had with:
the technology being integrated
the successful integration of other projects, regardless of technology
Chapter 11-6
A few of the more important aspects of the transition from
project to integrated operation that must be considered:
Personnel - where will the team go?
Manufacturing - is the training complete?
Accounting/Finance - have the project’s account been closed and
audited?
Engineering - are all drawings complete and on file?
Information Systems/Software - has the new system been
thoroughly tested?
Marketing - is the sales department aware of the change?
Chapter 11-7
This type of project termination is a “slow starvation by
budget decrement”
There are many reasons why senior management does not
wish to terminate an unsuccessful or obsolete project:
Politically dangerous to admit that one has championed a failure
Terminating a project that has not accomplished its goals is an
admission of failure
Chapter 11-8
Some questions to ask when considering termination:
Has the project been obviated by technical advances?
Is the output of the project still cost-effective?
Is it time to integrate or add the project as a part of regular
operations?
Are there better alternative uses for the funds, time and
personnel devoted to the project?
Has a change in the environment altered the need for the
project’s output?
Chapter 11-9
Fundamental reasons why some projects fail to
produce satisfactory answers to termination
questions:
A project organization is not required
Insufficient support from senior management
Naming the wrong person as project manager
Poor planning
These and a few other reasons, are the base cause
of most project failures
The specific causes derive from these fundamental
issues
Chapter 11-10
The termination process has two distinct parts
First is the decision whether or not to terminate
Second, if the decision is to terminate the project, the decision must be
carried out
Chapter 11-11
Decision-aiding models for the termination decision fall
into two generic categories:
1. Models that base the decision on the
degree to which the project qualifies
against a set of factors generally held to be
associated with successful projects
2. Models that base the decision on the
degree to which the project meets the goals and
objectives set for it
Just as the decision criteria, constraints, weights, and
environmental data are unique to each organization, so are
the specifics of using any decision model
Chapter 11-12
The actual termination can be planned and orderly, or a simple hatchet job
Special termination managers are sometimes useful in completing the long
and involved process of shutting down a project
The primary duties of the manager in charge of termination can be
encompassed in nine general tasks
Chapter 11-13
Duties of the termination manager:
Ensure completion of the work, including tasks performed by subcontractors
Notify the client of project completion and ensure that delivery is accomplished
Ensure that documentation is complete including a terminal evaluation of the project
deliverables and preparation of the project’s Final Report
Clear for final billings and oversee preparation of the final invoices sent to the client
Chapter 11-14
Duties of the termination manager (cont.):
Redistribute personnel, materials equipment, and any other resources to the
appropriate places
Clear project with legal counsel or consultant
Determine what records to keep
Ascertain any product support requirements, decide how each support will be
delivered, and assign responsibility
Oversee the closing of the project’s books
Chapter 11-15
Most project managers delay the personnel
reassignment/release issue as long as possible for three
main reasons:
1. A strong reluctance to face the interpersonal
conflicts that might arise when new assignments and layoffs
are announced
2. Worry that people will lose interest and stop
work on the project as soon as it becomes known that
termination is being considered
3. Concern that team members will try to avoid
death by stretching out the work as far as possible
Chapter 11-16
The final report is the history of the project
It is a chronicle of the life and times of the project, a
compendium of what went right and what went
wrong
The required information is contained in the master
plan, all project audits, and evaluations
The precise organization of the report is not of great
concern; the content is
Chapter 11-17
Several Subjects should be addressed in the final report:
Project performance
Administrative performance
Organizational structure
Project and administrative teams
Techniques of project management
Chapter 11-18
For each element covered in the final report,
recommendations for changing current practice
should be made and defended
Equally important are comments and
recommendations about those aspects of the project
that worked unusually well
The fundamental purpose of the final report is to
improve future projects
Chapter 11-19
A project can be terminated in one of four ways: by
extinction, addition, integration, or starvation
Making a decision to terminate a project before its
completion is difficult, but a number of factors can
be of help in reaching a decision
Studies have shown that the factors associated with
project success are different for different industries
and the various types of projects
Chapter 11-20
Most projects fail for one or more of the following reasons:
Inappropriate use of the project form of organization
Insufficient top management support
Naming the wrong project manager
Poor planning
Chapter 11-21
Success-related factors, or any factors management wishes, can be used in
termination decision models
Special termination managers are often used, and needed, for closing out
projects
This task, consisting of eight major duties, is a project in itself
Chapter 11-22
The project Final Report incorporates the process
knowledge gained from the project
In addition to preservation of project records, the
Final Report embodies the experience from which we
learn
The Final Report should include: project performance
comments, administrative performance comments,
organizational structure comments, personnel
suggestions
Chapter 11-23
The Conceptual phase
Including identifying needs, establishing feasibility, searching for
alternatives, preparing proposals, developing basic budget &
schedules and naming the starting project team.
The Planning Phase
Involves creating schedules, conducting studies and analyses,
designing systems; building and prototyope (sketching etc) and
obtaining for approval for production
The Implementation / Execution Phase
The Completion Phase
Chapter 11-23
The Implementation / Execution Phase
Encompasses procuring and implementing systems,
verifying performance and modifying systems as required
The Completion Phase
Termination / closing the project
Chapter 11-23
Questions?
Chapter 13-24
Picture Files
Figure 11-1
Figure 11-2
Table Files
Project Termination
Project Termination
