There is getting the project done.
Then there getting it DONE done.
In my handbook, Chapter 17 goes into the closing phase. This is after the customer signoff. Of course, there are punch list items that remain after the signoff. The PM has to chase those down and make sure the customer gets the finished product. But even when all those are complete—and they can take a while—the project still needs to be closed out.
Close out needs a lessons-learned meeting. Some people call it a post-mortem. It’s the meeting everyone forgets. Schedule that lessons learned meeting. It is only a half hour or an hour at most. The team needs to have a chance to review how things went. They can talk with each other about how to keep doing the things they like, and avoid the part that went wrong. They work so hard, this may be the only time they get to trouble shoot the process, and it’s invaluable to teambuilding and efficiency.
The PM needs to gather all the deliverable and provide them to the customer. The final BOM, the as-builts, final software files and other documents. She needs to check off the requirements outlined in the SOW and hand them off to the customer
ALSO! Those same docs need to be archived for the service provider’s records and handed off to support. IF the customer requests a service call, that tech will need those documents to get the issue resolved.
The invoice must be delivered to the customer. The service provider is running a business after all. There are other contracts and invoices that must be processed as well. Any subcontractors or skilled labor that was part of the project must be reviewed, accepted and paid. There will be tracked in the project budget, which is now its final stage.
The project team can be released and know this work is put to bed, the customer is satisfied and likely to come back to you when they have more work. Celebrate!
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