Staying focused through Close Out

With the deployment of the client's new website to the production server, or the click of "send" and the fifty-thousand emails are sent out – the interactive project team breaths a sign of relief. The project is completed. The team worked hard, there were some long nights, and challenges to overcome. But all that has diminished now into memory, as the round of "congratulations" and "great job" circulate amongst the team members and with senior management.

Still — there is no better feeling than when a project is launched.

And as the team members begin focusing, almost immediately, on other projects -- the project manager begins the process of closing out the project. From my experiences in the past, this task is by far the most difficult to remain focused on. With the project launching, the drive and motivation of the team relinquishes - as the pressure to complete the job dissipates. However, closing out the project accurately and effectively may be the most important task a project manager can contribute to their organization.

A proper close out process will extend the memory of the organization by providing the ability for any future project manager to quickly research and acquire the details of every interactive project completed since the groups inception. And as we all know, many interactive projects are replications of previous projects - usually with slight modification to the deliverables.

Through a detailed close-out process, a project manager can identify and archive the following information which will enable the next PM to provide the client continuity with their next interactive request:

• Artwork
  
• Copy
  
• Developer Code (e.g. XML, Flash, Javascript, HTML etc.)
  
• Resource names and hours recorded
  
• Define the Project's final deliverables
• including any change orders
  
• List of specific Assumptions, Risks and Mitigations identified
  
• Costs and write-offs
  
• Brief description of any learnings that resulted from the project
  
• Brief description of any successes that resulted from the project
  
• Acquire Feedback from team members on their impression of the project and its processes
  

In the world of interactive projects, a key ability expected of the entire team is to respond to the client's request with speed and accuracy. The project manager can greatly assist with this expectation by extending the breadth of legacy knowledge through a proper close-out process.