The final project report should answer questions related to project performance, such as:

Project termination (or close-out) is the last stage of managing the project, and occurs after the implementation phase has ended. Acceptance testing has been carried out, and the project deliverables have been handed over to the client. The project team has been disbanded and unused resources have been disposed of as appropriate. All outstanding bills have been passed for payment, and the final invoices for work carried out have been issued. The main purpose of the close-out stage is to evaluate how well you performed, and to learn lessons for the future. A final project status report is prepared that should contain a summary of changes to the project scope (if any), and show how actual completion dates for project milestones and costs accrued compare with the final version of the project schedule and budget. All significant variances from the project baseline should be explained here. A review is then undertaken with the client and other project stakeholders, during which the project outcomes are evaluated against the project's stated aims and objectives. The results of the review are recorded in a close-out report. The questions the stakeholders should be asked will vary depending on the nature of the project, but will normally include questions such as:

Was the project completed on time (or were delays acceptable limits?)
Were budgetary requirements adhered to?
Were project management procedures used effectively?
Was communication effective?
How did the project team perform?
Was the overall outcome acceptable?
What changes could be made for future projects?

Projects fail for many reasons, some of which are outside the control of the project manager. External factors that can affect the outcome include a changing commercial environment, lack of support from senior management (including the provision of adequate resources), or lack of co-operation from the project client. Internal factors include inadequate expertise within the project team, a lack of planning and management, poorly defined project objectives, and a failure to communicate effectively. However, despite the fact that a project may not have fulfilled the expectations of its stakeholders, future projects can benefit from the lessons learned from a post-project appraisal process. It is important to learn lessons from successful aspects of the project as well as from mistakes. In that way, not only can the same mistakes be avoided in future, but good practice can be implemented in future projects.

The close-out report will be the final report for the project. It will include an executive summary, the final status report, and an analysis of lessons learned that includes recommendations for improvements to be implemented in the handling of future projects. The close-out report will be made available to future project managers so that the lessons learned and the recommendations that are derived from them can be utilised. The project documentation itself will also be archived for future reference, and if it contains accurate information that has been kept up to date throughout the project it will provide a valuable source of historical data. When evaluating problems that have occurred, it is important to identify the root cause of the problem and come up with strategies for ensuring that it does not occur in future. The avoidance of certain types of problem cannot always be guaranteed (changes in scope will often occur, for example, but they can rarely be predicted). Even so, it may be possible to identify a means of detecting problems earlier in the project management process so that the negative consequences can be minimised.

The importance of the availability of up to date, complete and accurate project data to the close-out process cannot be overstated. The analysis of problems and the derivation of solutions to those problems (as well as the ability to recognise and document good practice) will only be meaningful if based on a full and accurate record of what occurred during the course of the project. The memories that individual project team members and other stakeholders have of events that occurred will be distorted by time and personal bias, and therefore cannot be relied upon. It is also to some extent unfair to ask project team members to submit statements that appear critical of colleagues, or show themselves in a bad light, particularly if such statements would be made in the context of a project team de-briefing and could possibly cause some embarrassment. The idea is to highlight problems and suggest solutions, rather than to apportion blame. The project manager may well be called upon to assess and report upon the performance of individual project team members, but this assessment will usually take the form of a confidential written report that is seen only by the line manager of the individual concerned.

If the project has been a success, there will be cause for some kind of celebration. This could take many forms, but represents an opportunity to thank the project team for a job well done, and to offer then a sense of closure. Even if the project has not been a complete success, it is important to thank the members of the project team for their efforts, since they have no doubt all worked hard. Where performance merits it, either the team as a whole or individual team members should be rewarded accordingly. Appreciation for a job well done may take the form of a financial reward or something less tangible. Sometimes, for some people, a sense of being truly appreciated is just as important as money. Recognition of a valuable contribution made is often sufficient incentive to ensure that an individual’s future performance will be just as good as before, if not better.

Question

Control is focused on three elements of a project. They are

Answer

scope, quality, and customer satisfaction
performance, delivery, and cost
scope, cost, and time
cost, time, and customer satisfaction

Question

Which of the following is the key feature of cybernetic control systems?

Answer

Manual operations
Directional controls
Automatic operation
Specific preconditions

Question

Most control systems used in project management today fall into this category of control system.

Answer

cybernetic control
robotic control
go/no-go control
postcontrol

Question

Because project milestones may not occur at periodic intervals, go/no-go controls should be linked to the ____________; not simply to the calendar.

Answer

actual plans and to the occurrence of real events
corporate budgeting process
portfolio management review process
capital budgeting process

Question

The critical ratio control chart uses a ratio made up of two parts -- the ratio of actual progress to scheduled progress, and the

Answer

ratio of earned value to planned cost
ratio of budgeted cost to actual cost
ratio of actual cost to budgeted cost
ratio of planned cost to earned value

Question

The two fundamental objectives of control are the regulation of results and the

Answer

procurement of organizational assets
distribution of organizational assets
stewardship of organizational assets
refurbishing of organizational assets

Question

The __________ process controls the project at various points in the life cycle to make sure that the project remains on course. This is opposed to waiting until the project is completed and then finding out it doesn't meet the objectives of the organization

Answer

portfolio
phased-step
phased-gate
overarching

Question

The ___________ controls take the form of testing to see if some specific precondition has been met.

Answer

postcontrol
go/no-go
cybernetic
monitoring

Question

______________ are directed towards improving chances for future projects to meet their goals.

Answer

postcontrols
Go/no-go decisions
cybernetics
negative feedback loops

Question

___________ controls are usually viewed as helpful rather than as a source of unwelcome pressure if the controlees perceive themselves as able to perform inside the prescribed limits.

Answer

steering
negative feedback
postcontrols
cybernetic

Question

Change control systems, in some industries, are part of a firm's

Answer

configuration management system
internal IDC system
cybernetic system
early warning system

Question

A majority of uncertainty has its source in systems that lie outside the project, in its

Answer

environment
stakeholder area
sourcing model
control zone

Question

The _____________ is calculated as (actual progress/scheduled progress) x (budgeted cost/actual cost)

Answer

critical ratio
highlighted ratio
cybernetic ratio
efficiency ratio

Question

Scope creep can be caused by the

Answer

customer
team members
audit team
customer and team members

Question

_______________ is a management approach that may be used to make comparisons to "best in class" practices across organizations

Answer

processing
benchmarking
leveling
standardizing

Question

Thamhain (2013) found that ___________ was/were not only the most frequent risk class but also had the most impact on project performance.

Answer

increasing stakeholder involvement
changing leadership
decreasing costs
changing project requirements

Question

A(n) _______________ is a monitoring system that forewarns the project manager if trouble arises.

Answer

configuration management system
internal IDC system
cybernetic system
early warning system

Question

______________ are seen as much the same as a report card.

Answer

postcontrols
WBSs
cybernetics
critical ratios

Question

The cybernetic control system that acts to reduce deviations from standard is called a

Answer

nonautomatic modification
critical ratio
positive feedback loop
negative feedback loop

Question

20. For all but __________changes, a risk identification and analysis should be performed.

Answer

Question

The project audit covers

Answer

only financial matters
everything except operating matters
only ethical and financial matters
any specified scope of importance to management

Question

The dimension of project success includes the obvious factors of meeting the project's technical and operational specifications. It also includes factors relating to loyalty and repurchase.

Answer

project efficiency
customer impact/satisfaction
business/direct success
future potential

Question

The __________ dimension of project success includes factors relating to opening a new market, developing a new line of products or services. Alternatively, if an internal project, success factors include developing new technologies, skills, or competencies

Answer

project efficiency
customer impact/satisfaction
business/direct success
future potential

Question

Identification of the direct goals of a project requires

Answer

a reading of the project structure
a reading of the project proposal
a reading of the budget
a reading of the WBS

Question

Two of the most common limits on the depth of an investigation and level of detail presented in an audit report are

Answer

the personality of the auditor and cooperation received
scope and objectives
word processing support and existing documentation
money and time

Question

The accumulation, storage, and maintenance of auditable data are important cost elements. Such storage may be critically important in meeting the legal test of

Answer

completeness
accuracy
due diligence
capacity

Question

Audits done early in the project lifecycle are often focused on

Answer

technical issues
management issues
financial issues
personnel issues

Question

For audits made late in the project's life, ____________ are major matters of interest

Answer

technical issues
management issues
financial issues
personnel issues

Question

In the audit report, negative comments about individuals or groups associated with the project should be

Answer

avoided
included
highlighted
disguised

Question

An evaluation of the likely outcomes of a policy and their probability of occurrence, usually conducted to compare two or more scenarios or policies is known as

Answer

technical evaluation
project evaluation
risk analysis
profit estimation

Question

___________ is defined as a standard for performance, commonly established early on for later comparisons

Answer

audit
baseline
evaluation
summary

Question

____________tries to capture the essence of project successes and failures so that future projects can benefit from past experiences.

Answer

auditing
postcontrols
baselining
ruling

Question

The most immediate dimension of project success is the project's _____________ in meeting both budget and schedule

Answer

timing
delay
totality
effectiveness

Question

A typical detailed audit is conducted when _______________ is required

Answer

a follow-up to the general audit
effectiveness
an ethical audit
full disclosure

Question

The stated project objectives, including customer satisfaction, are part of the project's ________ goals

Answer

indirect
ancilliary
secondary
direct

Question

The ____________ section of an audit report contains a description of the project to provide a framework of understanding for the reader. Project objectives are clearly delineated.

Answer

current status
future project status
introduction
risk management

Question

In the current status section of an audit report, the subheading labeled ____________ will compare the work completed with the resources expended.

Answer

scope
cost
schedule
quality

Question

The _______________ section of the audit report contains the auditor's conclusions regarding progress together with recommendations for any changes in technical approach, schedule, or budget that should be made in the remaining tasks

Answer

introduction
current project status
future project status
risk management

Question

In the Future Project Status section of the audit report, no assumptions should be made about _________ that are still under investigation at the time of the audit.

Answer

financial problems
ethical problems
efficiency problems
technical problems

Question

Contact between the a/e team and the _______________ are not made without clearance from senior management

Answer

CIO
ethics board
customer
project manager

Question

The termination stage of the project rarely has much impact on

Answer

residual attitudes of the client towards the project
technical success or failure of the project
residual attitudes of senior management towards the project
the preparedness of the project team for the project

Question

When a decision is made to terminate a project by extinction, the most noticeable event is that

Answer

all activity on the substance of the project ceases
all organizational activity related to the project ceases
all further expenditures related to the project are immediately blocked
all activity on the project ceases

Question

In termination by addition, project assets are

Answer

transferred from a dying project to a new division
assumed to have been exhausted
liquidated
retained in the existing project

Question

When an in-house project is a major success and it is terminated by institutionalizing it as a formal part of the parent organization; this is termination by

Answer

addition
starvation
integration
extinction

Question

According to research by Pinto, the two most important critical success factors are

Answer

project mission and top-management support
trouble-shooting and communication
communication and personnel
project mission and communication

Question

The fundamental purpose of the final project report is to

Answer

devote more resources to the project
finish the work so that payment can be collected
improve future projects
document the errors in the project

Question

A common mistake in project management is to appoint as project manager an individual with excellent ________ skills but weak ___________ skills.

Answer

technical; managerial
managerial; technical
technical; social
social; managerial

Question

Most studies have shown that the factors associated with project success or failure

Answer

are similar across different industries and the various types of projects
are different across different industries and the various types of projects
are similar across different industries but different for the various types of projects
are different across different industries but similar for the various types of projects

Question

The project performance section of the final report

Answer

analyzes the impact of organizational structure on the project
offers solutions to technical problems that may have occurred
reviews the administrative practices used during the project
compares what the project achieved with what it aimed for

Question

The techniques of project management section of the final report

Answer

analyzes the impact of organizational structure on the project
offers solutions to technical problems that may have occurred
reviews the administrative practices used during the project
scrutinizes the methods of planning, control, and risk management

Question

The special case of termination by extinction wherein the project experiences a sudden demise even though it was lacking obvious signals that death was imminent is known as

Answer

termination by integration
termination by addition
termination by murder
termination by starvation

Question

Special ___________ managers are sometimes useful in completing the long and involved process of shutting down the project.

Answer

close-out
starvation
shut-down
termination

Question

The ___________ section of the final project report is a comparison of what the project achieved with what the project tried to achieve.

Answer

project performance
administrative performance
organizational structure
personnel suggestions

Question

Cutting a project's budget sufficiently to stop progress without actually killing the project is referred to as

Answer

termination by addition
termination by extinction
termination by starvation
termination by subtraction

Question

The primary criterion for project _____________ is whether or not the organization is willing to invest the estimated time and cost required to complete the project, given the project's current status and current expected outcome.

Answer

continuance
termination
continuance or termination
extinction

Question

Bringing the project into the organization as a separate, ongoing entity is called

Answer

termination by starvation
termination by integration
termination by extinction
termination by addition

Question

According to the text, a _________ cost is generally not relevant to current investment decisions. Rather, decision-makers should focus on the time and cost required to complete the project.

Answer

Question

If a project is a major success and it is terminated, by institutionalizing it as a formal part of the parent organization, this is an example of termination by

Answer