chapter 8 evaluating and terminating the project

Friday, April 21, 2023 BA 424 Project Management in Practice

Project Management in Practice

Evaluating and Terminating the Project


Project Management in Practice

Evaluating and Terminating the Project

Evaluation Project Auditing Project Termination


Project Evaluation

Appraises the progress and performance of the project relative to (a) the goals and objectives set for it during

the selection process and (b) the initial or revised plan

Projects should be evaluated at key points in the project life cycle

Purpose is to improve process of carrying out future projects via execution feedback

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Evaluation Criteria Original criteria for selecting and funding project Success to-date Customer impact/satisfaction Business/direct success

• such as the level of commercial success for external projects and reduced throughput time for internal projects

Future potential Contribution to organization’s goals Contribution to team member objectives

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Measurement of a Project’s Performance

Measuring performance against planned budgets and schedules • relatively straightforward

Measurement of actual expenditure and earned values • more complicated

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The Audit Process

Formal audit very special type of evaluation The project audit is not a financial audit The timing of the audit depends on the purpose An audit can be conducted at three levels:

• General – limited by time and cost

• Detailed – often initiated if the general audit uncovers something

• Technical- performed by a person with special technical skills

Generally the earlier the audit is conducted in the project life cycle the better it is

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Steps in Completing a Project Audit

Familiarize audit team with the requirements of the project

Conduct audit on site Write up audit report Distribute report

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Keys to Ensuring an Effective Audit

Audit team must • have free access to anyone with knowledge of the

project• make sure the project team is aware of the audit• avoid judgmental comments• understand the politics of project team• confirm all information ( wherever possible) • understand that project team members rarely trust

auditors

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The Audit Report

Introduction• description of project and its goals

Current status• comparison of work completed and planned

Future project status• conclusions regarding project progress• recommendations for changes for subsequent

projects

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The Audit Report, continued

Critical management issues• issues senior management should monitor

Risk analysis and risk management• potential for project failure and monetary loss

Final comments• caveats, assumptions, limitations

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Determining Whether or Not to Terminate a Project

Sunk cost - the extent to which the organization is willing to invest the additional time and cost required to complete the project given the investment already committed

The degree to which the project qualifies against a set of factors (technical, economic, market share and other) that show either success or failure

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Determining Whether or Not to Terminate a Project, continued

Which projects have a legal or strategic imperative?

Which projects are luxuries? Which projects are likely to drive future revenue

and growth? Which projects best match our skill sets and

strengths? What are the risks to the business if we do not

service the project’s deliverables?

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Types of Project Termination Project Extinction

• project activity suddenly stops because it has been successfully completed or has a high expectation of failure

Termination-by-addition

• when an in-house project is successfully executed and is institutionalized as a new formal part of the organization

Termination-by-integration

• the output of the project becomes a standard part of the operating system of the sponsoring firm or the client

Termination-by-starvation

• occurs when it is impolitic to terminate a project but it’s budget can be squeezed until it is a project in name only

One special type of termination is termination by “murder”

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The Termination Process

Decision should be made by a broad based committee of senior managers

Termination process should be specified in project plan

A termination manager should be appointed

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A WBS for a Termination Project 8-15


The Project Final Report Project performance

• what was achieved and reasons for resulting performance

Administrative performance• review of how well administrative practices

worked Organizational structure

• identify modifications to help future projects Project management techniques

• recommendations for improvements in future projects

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Summary 8-17

Evaluation Project Auditing Project Termination


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chapter 8 evaluating and terminating the project

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