Project Management: Contact Closeout - Essay Example

PM620 BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: Thomset R, (2002), Radical Project Management, Prentice Hall PTR, USA, p. 260. Sowards D, (2005), Thevalue of post project reviews, Contractor, vol. 52, no. 8 p. 35SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE:The project close out phase is the concluding aspect of the project cycle. It is the formal transfer of constructed project to the owner after thorough evaluation of its completion and as such, the contracted builder warrants that the project is done in accordance to designs, architecture and quality.

Experts posit that project closeout is also inclusive of administrative closure and logistics. It refers to the actual delivery of the project to the customer packaged and completed in accordance to contractual agreements, terms of reference, budget allocation and the termination of obligations of the company after the completion and delivery of projects.ANALYSIS OF THE ARTICLE:Project closeout covers (a) formal turn-over of project, (b) payment of services of project implementer, (c) return of facilities and equipment, (d) closing of financial accounts, (e) completion and archiving of documents, (f) documentation of success and lessons learnt, and (g) conduct of post-implementation evaluation (Thomset, 2002).

In its administration side, the closeout includes administrative documentation and its disposition, logistical redistribution, contract closure and reassignment of personnel. In the collection and archiving of information, the data that will be saved are project plans, programs, notebooks, charter, management documented meetings and decisions, correspondence or communication, regular reports, technical tools, and personnel file with their contact address (Sowards, 2005). Both hard and soft copies of these records must be saved and hidden in safe place.

If the human resources illustrated strong sense of commitment, it is very relevant to pool them together to another available resource to keep them for other projects after the performance management appraisal (Sowards, 2005). This is to ascertain that quality employees are retained. They can be engaged in other type of projects. Those who exceeded from expected output of services and have excelled could be subjected for reward or incentives (Thomset, 2002).Project closeout supposedly means the achievement of goal and thus, confirms the meeting of all requirements for customer satisfaction.

This completion should also be written in a report that outlines the timeline of its progression to the status of being complete (Sowards, 2005). That should likewise include financial report. Such report should emphasize the strong aspects of completion to hide the flaws from stakeholders. Although this has been widely accepted as the way but the best way should be to exert quality service for quality outcome to warrant the stakeholders that the project is completed free from risks and could stand from potential vulnerabilities.

When the project is accepted during its delivery, it’s possible that business partnership can be develop, hence, expands the opportunities for better customer relations and facilitate in nurturing the image of the company (Thomset, 2002). Such could invite other potential projects if company is able to illustrate good business leadership and performance (Sowards, 2005). As such, the company is able to leverage from other competitors in the industry and in the market. This is essential to sustain the life of the company in the construction and engineering endeavors and use quality business performance to wield more influence from the rest.

The articles reviewed have clearly provided an integrated application of performance management and formal closeout of projects that must be adopted by engineers or any other project implementers. Closure should be professional ly done to end the project with better relation with the clients. This way, insights and advises can be shared too before the project ends.