Chapter 12: Completing the Project

Overview

Congratulations! You ve made it to the end of your project. The critical path is nearly completed, your team is happy, but exhausted, and management is all smiles. You ve been sampling the project as you move along through production for quality and scope verification, and you can reminisce about events that tried to shove your project off schedule and how you and the team recovered and pushed it back on track.

Already there s a buzz of excitement among the end users of the technology. As you walk through the halls of the company, you feel a couple inches taller, and it s hard not smile like a big, goofy kid.

But hold off on putting that cocktail umbrella in your favorite frosty drink. There s still plenty of work that has to be completed to get the project out the door and to finalize the entire process. In this final chapter, you ll not only learn how to finish the project, but also how to formalize the project closure. It s okay to smile and feel a sense of pride at this point of the project ”just don t let it get in the way of finalizing a job well done.

Whether you are working on a short- term project that lasted just a few months, or a large, complex implementation that has taken over a year, the principles behind completing the project are the same: to complete any project, you and your team have to continue the momentum and supply the final surge to get the project to the finish line.