Page 57 - Global Project Management Handbook

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2-19

The objectives of the team’s internal close-down are to evaluate project success, to
assess the performance of the members of the project organization, and to provide infor-
mation on the disposition of personnel after the project end. The close-down meeting with
the project owner team deals with assessment of the project by the project owner team,
reflection of the fulfillment of the project owner team’s role, and formal project approval.
In practice, a formal project close-down is rarely performed. The right of the members of
the project organization to adequate feedback and an emotional close-down, as well as the
learning potentials for the project-oriented companies concerned, conflicts with the dynamics
of everyday business and results in a lack of professionalism in project management.
Similar to the project control process, the quality of the project close-down process is
ensured by the continuity of the project management methods used. For example, the project
objectives plan, the business case analysis, and the project environment analysis are central
methods of the project close-down process. On the basis of the business case analysis and the
project objectives agreed to at the project start and adapted during project control, project
success can be evaluated in project close-down. A “retrograde” sense-making through a
redefinition of the project objectives in the project close-down process is often useful.
The project environment analysis enables dissolution of existing project environment
relationships in an appropriate way and allows establishment of new relationships of the
project-oriented company with relevant environments for the postproject phase. It also
forms the basis for the final project marketing.
In order to enable a social project close-down—and not only a close-down on paper—
adequate social competencies are required. Giving and taking feedback as an individual
and as an organization, addressing positive and negative points, requires adequate compe-
tencies and experience.

PROJECT MARKETING: A PROJECT MANAGEMENT TASK

Many projects are characterized by a high degree of content orientation but a low degree
of marketing orientation. The members of the project organizations concentrate mainly
on fulfilling the work packages. They do not realize that an appropriate communication
of the objectives, the content, and the organization of a project to the relevant project
environments is also necessary to ensure the project success.
When there is not enough project marketing, there is a risk that the project is not get-

ting enough management attention and is provided with inadequate resources. Not only is
the quality of the results of a project ensured by adequate communication but also their
acceptance. The success (S) of a project can be defined as the product of the quality (Q)
of the results of a project and its acceptance (A):
S = Q × A
If, in the extreme case, acceptance of the project results is zero despite good quality, the
project success is also zero.
Project marketing is a success factor in projects. It supports the management of the
project environment relationships. Objectives of project marketing include
● Ensuring appropriate management attention
● Ensuring adequate resources for the project
● Ensuring acceptance of the (intermediary) results of the project
● Minimizing conflicts in the project
● Promoting identification of the members of the project organization with the project