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What Is the Best Way to Evaluate a Project During Closure?
Project closure is more than marking completion—it is an essential opportunity to assess performance, capture lessons learned, and improve future outcomes. A thorough review ensures continuous improvement in processes, decision-making, and team collaboration.
Question
You are closing down an important project. As the project manager, you have a number of options for evaluating the project. What is the best way to proceed?
A. Avoid outside facilitators if possible; team members know the project best.
B. Document your findings, but keep the document within your group to avoid having blame assigned to individual members.
C. Identify any mistakes, incorrect assumptions, or processes that could have been handled better.
D. Use the review to alert you to team members who performed poorly.
Answer
C. Identify any mistakes, incorrect assumptions, or processes that could have been handled better.
Explanation
Work with your team to identify what went right and what went wrong—and what everyone can learn from this analysis. List successes, mistakes, corrected assumptions, and processes that could have been handled better.
The optimal approach to project evaluation is conducting a post-project review (lessons learned session) focused on analyzing both successes and shortcomings. The goal is not to assign blame but to uncover the root causes of issues, verify project assumptions, and examine which processes worked effectively or failed to deliver expected results.
By engaging the team in open, structured reflection, the project manager creates an environment where honest feedback leads to actionable insights. This process includes:
- Reviewing objectives versus outcomes to measure performance gaps.
- Identifying missteps or flawed assumptions that impacted results.
- Documenting best practices for integration into future projects.
- Encouraging cross-functional learning to strengthen organizational knowledge.
Incorrect options:
A. Avoid outside facilitators if possible; team members know the project best: An internal perspective is valuable, but external facilitation can ensure neutrality and help avoid bias during the evaluation.
B. Document your findings, but keep the document within your group: This limits organizational learning. Lessons learned should be shared company-wide to prevent repeated mistakes.
D. Use the review to alert you to team members who performed poorly: Performance management is distinct from project evaluation. The focus should remain on process improvement, not individual blame.
An effective project closure review identifies key takeaways that enhance organizational maturity, ensuring each project contributes to a more efficient and resilient project management framework.
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