Project Review & Closure

Report
(Small Projects)
Template and Guide
Version 2.1 April 2008

This guide is intended to be read in conjunction with the following template for the development of a Project
Review & Closure Report for small projects. As such the Guide should be removed from the front of the final
document.
Additional templates for the review of a project phase (PM 037 Project Phase Review Report), the review
of a large complex project (PM 036 Project Review & Evaluation Report) and the closure of a large
complex project (PM 035 Project Closure Report) have also been developed. These are available at
www.egovernment.tas.gov.au.
The project management templates are being continuously improved. Feedback on suggested improvements
to this Template would be appreciated, and may be made to IAPPU by emailing
[email protected].

DISCLAIMER

This material has been prepared for use by Tasmanian Government agencies and Instrumentalities. It
follows that this material should not be relied upon by any other person. Furthermore, to the extent that ‘this
material is relied upon’, the Crown in Right of the State of Tasmania gives no warranty as to the accuracy or
correctness of the material or for any advice given or for omissions from the material. Users rely on the
material at their own risk.

Inter Agency Policy and Projects Unit

Department of Premier and Cabinet
What is a Project Review and Closure or when it has been decided to close the
Report? project for some other reason. This may be
the result of changed priorities within the
The Project Review and Closure Report is the Agency, Division or Business Unit, a loss of
final document produced for the project and is funding or a deadline date reached e.g. Y2K.
used by senior management to assess the
success of the project, inform future projects,
‘tidy up’ any loose ends and formally close
the project. For a more complex project it Which is the appropriate review template?
would be more common to separate the
review and closure reports, especially where There are four (4) different templates that
there are some doubts as to progress of the have been developed, each one designed for
project. a different purpose, as detailed in the table
overleaf.
Why would you develop a Project Review
and Closure Report?

A Project Review and Closure Report is How to determine the lessons learned
developed to: from the Project?

 Review the outputs and success of the There are a number of mechanisms that can
project; be used to determine the lessons learned
 Outline outstanding issues and from a project. The following list is not fully
recommendations; and comprehensive, but provides a few
 Detail activities undertaken to close the suggestions, a combination of which may
project; and best suit your individual needs:
 Inform future projects.
 examination of project records and
The document enables those who approved documentation;
the resources to analyse how well the project  questionnaire or survey of a
met the objectives by assessing the representative stakeholder sample;
economics and impact of the project and  face to face interviews – either one-on-
comparing these against what was originally one or groups; and/or
planned.  facilitated feedback sessions with a large
group of stakeholders.
Where an Agency, Division or Business Unit
has a number of projects, the Project Review It is important that stakeholder perceptions of
and Closure Report can be used as a tool to the project are captured. Although different
measure success and inform other future stakeholder groups will have different
projects. perceptions of the project, for future projects
it is important to learn from their perspective
what worked well or could be improved.

When would you develop a Project Review

and Closure Report?

The Project Review and Closure Report is

usually started towards the end of the project
and completed when all the project outputs
have been delivered to the Business Owner
PM 936 Project Review & Closure Report: Guide
Tasmanian Government Project Management Framework
ii
What you need before you start:
How to use this template:
 Agreement to proceed with the
development of the Project Review and The template contains sections which are
Closure Report from the Project Sponsor. either optional or can be developed at a
 A copy of the project documentation, for number of levels of detail depending upon
example the Project Business Plan, individual need. The resulting document is
Project Status Reports, Project Risk intended to be brief.
Register.
 Knowledge and understanding of Project All documents developed based on this
Closure, as outlined in the Tasmanian template should include an appropriate
Government Project Management acknowledgement.
Guidelines.
A number of different text styles have been
used within the template, as follows:
 Text in blue italics is intended to provide
Also advisable: a guide as to the kind of information that
can be included in a section and to what
Any of the following documents - types of projects it might be applicable. It
 Project Proposal or Business Case. should be deleted from the final
document .
 Corporate/Business Plan for the
 Text in normal font is intended as
Department/Business Unit.
examples.
 Departmental Project Management
 Text enclosed in <angle brackets> is
Guidelines.
intended to be replaced by whatever it is
describing.
 This document has been formatted for
What you will have when you are finished: duplex printing. If you intend to print
single sided, you may need to delete
A completed Project Review and Closure some page breaks.
Report that is ready for approval by the
Project Sponsor to enable an informed
decision to be taken to close the project. This Where to Get Additional Help
type of report is extremely useful as a tool for
continuous improvement when a project is Project Management tools and resources that
repeated at another time, for example annual can assist you through each step in your
events such as organising a Conference or project are available at
the development of an Agency’s Annual www.egovernment.tas.gov.au
Report.

Checklist

Integration Process Have you remembered to remove:

 The versioning statement from the front
This document is a one-off report. It will not cover of your document?
be updated and/or revised. Relevant sections  This guide and checklist from the front of
of the Project Phase Review Reports or the your document?
Project Review and Evaluation Report may  All blue italic instructional text and
be integrated into this document. <prescriptive text enclosed in angle
brackets> within the template?

PM 936 Project Review & Closure Report: Guide

Tasmanian Government Project Management Framework
iii
No. Title Best suits Purpose

PM 036 Project Review & Large or complex projects A useful tool to assist a Project
Evaluation Report Sponsor and/or Steering
Committee to:
 determine if the appropriate
project management
framework has been selected
and appropriately applied
enabling any deficiencies to be
remedied
 provide validation of a decision
to ‘stop’ the project
 make an informed decision
about closing the project and
capturing the lessons learnt

PM 936 Project Review & Small projects Excellent tool for capturing
Closure Report lessons from small projects
and formally closing the
project.

Large or complex projects If a detailed review is not being

undertaken this is an ideal way
to capture the lessons learnt
from the project and formally
close the project.

PM 037 Project Phase Review Large or complex projects A useful tool to assist the Project
Report (phases) Sponsor and/or Steering
Committee to:
 determine if the appropriate
project management
framework has been selected
and appropriately applied
enabling any deficiencies to be
remedied
 provide validation of a decision
to proceed to the next phase of
the project
 provide validation of a decision
to ‘stop’ the project

PM 035 Project Closure Report Large or complex projects A tool to assist a Project Sponsor
and/or Steering Committee to ‘tidy
up’ any loose ends and formally
close the project.
It may follow on from a Project
Phase Review Report or a Project
Review & Evaluation Report.

PM 936 Project Review & Closure Report: Guide

Tasmanian Government Project Management Framework
iv
<Project Title>
Project Review and Closure
Report

Version: <n.n>, Date: <dd/mm/yyyy>

Copy: Uncontrolled

The version number starts at one and increases by one for each release. It shows the release number and a
revision letter if in draft. The original draft is 0.A and subsequent drafts are 0.B, 0.C etc. The first accepted
and issued document is 1.0. Subsequent changes in draft form are 1.0A, 1.0B etc.. The accepted and issued
second version is 1.1 or 2.0, depending on the magnitude of the change.

Refer to the Project Management Fact Sheet: Document Control, for more information at
www.egovernment.tas.gov.au

<enter name of unit>

Department of <enter name of department>
 Acknowledgements

The contribution of the following individuals in preparing this document is gratefully acknowledged:

<Contributors/reviewers/developers>

This document has been derived from a template prepared by the Department of Premier and
Cabinet, Tasmania. The structure is based on the Tasmanian Government Project Management
Guidelines.

For further details, refer to www.egovernment.tas.gov.au

<Project Title>
Project Review and Closure Report
Version <n.n> Date: <dd-mm-yyyy>
Page 6 of 15
Document Acceptance and Release Notice
This document is Version <n.n>Version No of the <Project Title> Project Review and Closure
Report.

The Project Review and Closure Report is a managed document. For identification of amendments
each page contains a release number and a page number. Changes will only be issued as a
complete replacement document. Recipients should remove superseded versions from circulation.
This document is authorised for release once all signatures have been obtained.

PREPARED: Date: / /
(for acceptance) <Name, Title>
<Project Title> Project Manager

ACCEPTED: Date: / /
(for release) <Name, Title>
<Project Title> Project Sponsor

<Project Title>
Project Review and Closure Report
Version <n.n> Date: <dd-mm-yyyy>
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Document Development History
Build Status:
Version Date Author Reason Sections
<n.n> <dd-mm -yyyy> <name> Initial Release All
List the most
recent amendment
first

Distribution:
Copy No Version Issue Date Issued To
1 <n.n> <dd-mm-yyyy> <name, title, organisation>
2

Electronic <n.n> <dd-mm-yyyy> Shared drive

<Project Title>
Project Review and Closure Report
Version <n.n> Date: <dd-mm-yyyy>
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Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary....................................................................................................................13

1.1 Background.......................................................................................................................13
1.2 Reason for Closing the Project.........................................................................................13
1.3 Highlights and Innovations................................................................................................13
1.4 Summary of Recommendations.......................................................................................13

2 Project Performance...................................................................................................................14

2.1 Performance against Objectives.......................................................................................14

2.2 Performance against Outcomes.......................................................................................14
2.3 Performance against Outputs...........................................................................................14
2.4 Performance against Schedule.........................................................................................14
2.5 Performance against Budget............................................................................................14
2.6 Recommendations............................................................................................................14

3 Lessons Learnt...........................................................................................................................15

3.1 What Worked Well?..........................................................................................................15

3.2 What could be improved?.................................................................................................15
3.3 Recommendations............................................................................................................15

4 Closure Activities........................................................................................................................16

4.1 Recommendations............................................................................................................16

5 Appendices..................................................................................................................................16

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 Closure Activities

1 Executive Summary
1.1 Background
Briefly describe the background to the Project.

1.2 Reason for Closing the Project

State the reason why this project is being closed. This usually is because the outputs have been
delivered, the closing date has been reached and/or the budget has been expended. A project may
be closed for other reasons, for example a change in policy or agency priorities, a loss of funding
or a deadline date reached.

1.3 Highlights and Innovations

Describe the highlights of the project and any innovations used or developed by the project.

1.4 Summary of Recommendations

List the recommendations that appear in this Report. One of the recommendations should be for
the Project Sponsor to agree that the project can be deemed closed. For ease of reference, each
recommendation should be uniquely numbered and a reference provided to the relevant section
within this Report.

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 Closure Activities

2 Project Performance
Summarise the actual performance of the project against the planned performance. All projects
vary to some extent from the original plan, these variations should be identified and the reasons for
the variance described.

2.1 Performance against Objectives

Describe the actual performance of the project in relation to the achievement of the planned project
objectives.

2.2 Performance against Outcomes

Describe the actual performance of the project in relation to the achievement of targeted outcomes.
Were all planned targeted outcomes achieved, to what degree? Some outcomes may not be
achieved at this point in time. In this case details should be given as to when the outcomes are
anticipated to be achieved and who is responsible for their ongoing measurement and reporting of
progress towards their achievement.

2.3 Performance against Outputs

Describe the actual performance of the project in relation to the delivery of the outputs. Were all
planned outputs delivered, to what degree? Were they all accepted? Did the quality of the outputs
meet expectations?

2.4 Performance against Schedule

Describe the actual performance of the project against the project schedule.

2.5 Performance against Budget

Describe the actual performance of the project against the project budget.

2.6 Recommendations
List the recommendations that arise from this section of the Report.

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 Closure Activities

3 Lessons Learnt
You may wish to briefly describe the methodology used to collect the lessons learnt, if it was not
described in Section 2.

3.1 What Worked Well?

Describe the project management and quality management processes that were perceived to be
appropriate and/or effective for the project, as reflected by the stakeholders and the project
records/documentation.

3.2 What could be improved?

Describe the project management and quality management processes that were perceived to be
inappropriate and/or ineffective for the project, as reflected by the stakeholders and the project
records/documentation.

3.3 Recommendations
List the recommendations that arise from this section of the Report.

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 Closure Activities

4 Closure Activities
This section should cover the various activities required to close the project. Where relevant, the
sub-sections should include:

 Project Staff: - Describe what steps are being taken to manage the movement of project staff
from the project to other roles, including the timing of their move and the capture of their
project knowledge.

 Issues Management – Identify any outstanding issues and who will continue to progress the
issues.

 Risk Management – Identify any risks that will transfer to an operational area and who will;
take on responsibility for monitoring them.

 Financial Management – Outline the final financial position and what will happen to any excess
funds.

 Asset Management - Describe any assets which were required by the project, and who will
manage them upon completion of the project.

 Records Management – Identify what arrangements have been put in place for the storage,
security and backup of hard copy and soft (electronic) copy records and project documents.

 Post Project Responsibilities - List any matters that are outstanding, what actions are required
to address them and who is responsible. This should include such things like outcomes yet to
be achieved, outputs not yet delivered, maintenance of the outputs or other operational
matters such as meeting future training requirements that are outstanding or have not been
formally agreed prior to this stage.

Where appropriate, if the project is to be repeated at another time, for example annual events
such as organising a Conference or the development of an Agency’s Annual Report identify
how the report will be utilised as a tool for continuous improvement.

4.1 Recommendations
List any recommendations that arise from this section of the Report. It would be expected that one
of the recommendations would be for the Project Sponsor to agree that the project can be deemed
closed as it has fulfilled all of the requirements as documented in the relevant Project Business
Plan or Brief, or where this is not the case, the Project Sponsor is satisfied that all outstanding
items have been satisfactorily addressed.

5 Appendices
This section is optional. Where necessary, appendices can be attached to provide any relevant
supporting information, such as:

 A list of the stakeholders who participated in the review

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 Closure Activities

 Any information to promote improvement of future projects of a similar nature, as all necessary
information is contained within a single document.

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