Project Termination

 Types of
terminations
 How and why
projects terminate
 Typical termination
activities
 Need for a project
history

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All Things Come to an End . . .
 Termination rarely has much impact on
technical success or failure . . .
 But a huge impact on other areas
 Residual attitudes toward the project (client,
senior management, and project team)
 Success of subsequent projects
 So it makes sense to plan and execute
termination with care

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When Do Projects Terminate?
 Upon successful completion, or . . .
 When the organization is no longer
willing to invest the time and cost
required to complete the project, given
its current status and expected
outcome.

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Most Common Reasons
Projects Terminate
 1. Low probability of technical/commercial
success
 2. Low profitability/ROI/market potential
 3. Damaging cost growth
 4. Change in competitive factors/market
needs
 5. Unresolvable technical problems
 6. Higher priority of competing projects
 7. Schedule delays
Source: Dean, 1968
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Decision Structure for a
Termination Decision, Figure 13-1

13-5
Four Varieties of Project
Termination
 1. “Termination by extinction”
 Project has successfully completed, or it
has failed
 Natural passing, or “termination by murder”
 Either way, project substance ceases, but much
work needs to be done
 Administrative
 Organizational

13-6
Four Varieties of Termination
(cont’d)
 2. “Termination by addition”
 The project becomes a formal part of the
parent organization
 People, material, facilities transition
 The example of Nucor
 3. “Termination by integration”
 Project assets are distributed to and
absorbed by the parent

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Four Varieties of Termination
(cont’d)
 4. “Termination by starvation”
 Withdrawal of “life support”
 Can save “face,” avoid embarrassment,
evade admission of defeat

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Typical Termination Activities
 In general, there are seven categories
of termination tasks. Examples of
activities:
 1. Personnel
 Dealing with “trauma of termination”
 Finding “homes” for the team
 Who will “close the doors?”
 2. Operations/Logistics/Manufacturing
 Rethinking systems
 Provisions for training, maintenance, spares
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Termination Activities (cont’d)
 3. Accounting and Finance
 Accounts closed and audited
 Resources transferred
 4. Engineering
 Drawings complete/on file
 Change procedures clarified

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Termination Activities (cont’d)
 5. Information Systems
 Configuration and documentation in place
 Systems integrated
 6. Marketing
 Sales and promotion efforts in line
 7. Administrative
 All organizations aware of change

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A Design for Project
Termination, Figure 13-2

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Project History
 One of the major aims of termination is
development and transmittal of “lessons
learned” to future projects
 One way to do that is through a project
history

13-13
Contents of a Project History
 1. Project Performance
 What was achieved; successes, challenges,
failures
 2. Administrative Performance
 Reports, meetings, project review procedures; HR,
financial processes
 3. Organization Structure
 How structure evolved, how it aided/
impeded progress

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Contents of a Project History
(cont’d)
 4. Project and Administrative Teams
 Performance of the project team,
recommendations
 5. Project Management Techniques
 Planning, budgeting, scheduling, risk
management, etc.: what worked, what
didn’t

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Challenges to Meaningful
Project Histories
 Since the project history has so much
potential benefit, why is it often done poorly,
or not at all?
 Possible reasons
 No one sees it as their job
 PM has many other priorities, especially as project
winds down
 Long duration projects mean many PMs,
voluminous record, little corporate memory
 PMs may be more attuned to looking forward than
looking back
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