8.6 Documents Created During End of Life Phase

Executive Sign-Off. This is a sign-off sheet the Project Manager presents to the executives in the phase review. At the end of each phase review presentation, each member of the executive staff reviews the phase sign-offs, reflects on the information presented, and decides if he agrees to allow the project to proceed to the next stage of the project life cycle. On the bottom of this document each executive signs his name and states whether he approves or disapproves of continuing to the next phase.

Phase Review Presentation. This is a sample presentation that would be filled in by the project team for the presentation to executive staff.

Phase Sign-Off. At the end of each phase, before the review presentation, each member of the project team reviews a document that contains information similar to that found in the Summary of Deliverables by Department. The Project Manager reviews this list in a team meeting and places the word complete or the date the deliverable will be complete by each team deliverable . The team then votes if they agree that all deliverables have been met. Once the team agrees that all phase deliverables have been met, they can present the project status at the phase review. The annotated Summary of Deliverables by Department sheet is attached to the Phase Sign-Off Document. The Phase Sign-Off Document identifies the project and phase and has a place for each member of the team and each executive to sign off, if they agree the project meets the requirements of that phase and can move to the next one.

8.6 in a Nutshell

• Executive Sign-Off

• Phase Review presentation

• Phase Sign-Off

In most companies EOL is an overlooked phase. Projects slowly fade away. EOL is an effective management tool that provides closure to projects. EOL allows IT departments to close unused or old projects, focusing resources on those projects that provide better return on investment.