Closure Report

Closure Report Template (docx)

Purpose of Closure Report

The project closure report is the final project management deliverable for a project and is used for senior management to assess the success of the project.  The closure report records the final project sign off from the Sponsor, assesses success, and initiates a number of activities: identify and share best practices for future projects, identify and assign  items to be addressed (issues, future initiatives, future projects), appropriately close current contracts, provide final project communication to stakeholders, release project resources, and ensure appropriate operational transition. The closure report is part of the closure process and is required for all project sizes and complexities.

Closure Report Participants and Approvers

Input into the project closure report may come from many different sources including project documentation, and feedback from stakeholders and those who participated on the project according to the defined project roles in the project charter. Project documentation that should be referenced includes but is not limited to the project charter (scope, objectives and success criteria), project management plan, risks, issues, approved changes to the project, stakeholder register, contracts and statements of work, and lessons learned. Feedback can be in the form of group meetings, interviews and surveys.  An impartial third party resource may be used to assist with project performance evaluation.  PMO resources are available to facilitate lessons learned and the closure process.  Please submit a ticket to the PMO to request facilitation services.

The author is the Project Manager.  The approver of the project closure report is the Sponsor.  An approved closure represents final sign off on the project, the final deliverable, and agreement on project successes and improvement opportunities.  It also represents the sponsor’s agreement that the closure content is accurate and ready to be shared.

Instructions

  1. Review project information by reading documentation (such as charter, risks, issues, lessons learned, contracts and statements of work, stakeholder register, deliverable documentation, approved changes).
  2. If it has been agreed that a project satisfaction survey should be done, contact PMO to request satisfaction survey services by submitting a ticket to the PMO. Collect and document lessons learned.
  3. Assess success of project based on the success criteria and measurements outlined in the charter and project management plan.  Perform required measurements for success criteria working with the project stakeholders, as appropriate. 
  4. Create the project closure report based on information from steps 1-3.  The green italic text contains instructions for filling out the template and can be removed for the final version of the document.
  5. Review closure report with applicable stakeholders and sponsor for accuracy and completeness, if required.
  6. Obtain appropriate approval for project closure through sign off on the closure report by the Sponsor.
  7. Upload the project closure report to the Project Artifacts Library.
  8. Share lessons learned with other Project Managers and campus stakeholders, as appropriate.

Next Steps

Once the closure report has been approved, the project/program is closed.  Lessons learned should be shared with others. For large projects, it is recommended that the Project Manager offer a presentation for those who are interested in the project's results and lessons learned. Please contact the PMO to have the closure report uploaded to the Project Artifacts Library.