Project Termination:

The Day the Project Died

• Project termination is one of the most serious decisions a project
management team and its control board have to take.

• Every project has to officially end sometime. A project may be

terminated for a variety of reasons, including successful completion
of the endeavor.

Project Termination Factors:

• Low Probability
➢ Technical Objectives
➢ Commercial Viability
➢ Return of Investment Achieved
• No Solution
➢ Engineering Design
➢ Lasting Process
• Intellectual Property Issues
 Project termination types:
there are two types of project termination – “natural
termination” and “unnatural termination”

 Natural Termination:
Natural termination” means that the aims of the project has
been completed. successful completion

 Unnatural termination”
When the organization is no longer willing to invest the time
and cost required to complete the project
Types of Project Termination

Termination of Project
Termination
Project

Natural Unnatural Emotional

Types Termination Termination Issues

Product Life Constraints:

Project
Reasons Completion
Cycle Performance,
Completion Resources etc.
 Concept of Termination

• In general, all the activities are closed as per the predefined

strategies and procedures.
• Similarly, the running projects sometimes stopped because of the
following reasons:
• The excessive cost incurred for the competition of the project,
• Schedule overruns,
• Failure to accomplish their performance expectations.
• The expected outcomes no longer have a “strategic fit”
• Competition of Product life cycle
 Contd…..
• Whatever be the reason for the “termination” such termination
should come out from the project monitoring, evaluation, and
control process activities.

Project

Success Failure

Direct Increment Partial Complete

Termination in Project Termination Termination
Varieties of Project Termination
There are various business, technical and political reasons to terminate a
project. In this post I will focus on the different ways to close or terminate a
project. They are as follows:

Extinction
• The project has successfully completed scope and the client has accepted it.
• It has been superseded by the external developments like technological
advancement, market crisis etc
• It has failed to achieve it’s goal.

It has no longer support from the Senior Management.

• The project may end because it has been successful and achieved its goals
• The project may also be stopped because it is unsuccessful or has been
superseded
• A special case of termination by extinction is “termination by murder” which
can range from political assassination to accidental projecticide
Addition
• The project is a major success. It becomes the formal part of the parent
organization.
• The transition or transfer of the resources such as the project personnel,
materials and equipment to the newly created unit within the parent
organization
• If a project is a major success, it may be terminated by institutionalizing it as
a formal part of the parent organization
• Project personnel, property, and equipment are often simply transferred
from the dying project to the newly born division
• The transition from project to division demands a superior level of political
sensitivity for successful accomplishment

Integration
• The project is successfully completed. The project product is integrated to
the operations of the client.
• This is the most common mode and most complex operation. The resources
are released and distributed in the parent organization
by Starvation
• The project is terminated by budget decrement.
• It is also known as withdrawal of “life support”.

The reason of this termination is generally to shadow the failure of non-

accomplishment of the goals. This can save face of the senior management and
avoid embarrassment.
• If a project is a major success, it may be terminated by institutionalizing it as a
formal part of the parent organization

• Project personnel, property, and equipment are often simply transferred from the
dying project to the newly born division

The transition from project to division demands a superior level of political sensitivity for
successful accomplishment
When to Terminate a Project:
Some questions to ask when considering termination:
• Has the project been obviated by technical advances?
• Is the output of the project still cost-effective?
• Is it time to integrate or add the project as a part of regular operations?
• Are there better alternative uses for the funds, time and personnel devoted
to the project?
• Has a change in the environment altered the need for the project’s output?

Reasons projects fail:

• Project organization is not required
• Insufficient support from senior management
• Wrong person as project manager
• Poor planning
 Common Reasons for the Project Termination
• Project Scheduling,
• Project Costing,
• Non availability of resources,
• Premature abandonment due to technical grounds that impede
achievement of core goals,
• Similar results in same core area of interest publishing by
competitors,
• Resign by the principal investigator or any member without whom the
project can’t be accomplished,
• Unanticipated loss of Resources,
• Forcefully termination, and
• On the basis of interim review committee suggestions.

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The Termination Process
Components of termination process
Whether or not to terminate
Goal/Objective-based
or
Qualification factors
If terminate:
Carry out termination procedures
Planned
Orderly
Procedures vary
 Steps for the Termination
• Decide for the termination.
• Communicate the decision to all concerned
Termination
Decision • Identify final team activities that need to be completed.

• Get sponsor and customer approvals.

Approval • Perform a post-performance analysis (PPA).

• Schedule a closure event (usually a meeting to share the learning

outcomes and recommendations for the future projects)
Formal
Closing • Release and reassign staff as needed

• Publish the final report and disposition equipment, software,

documentation, and any other materials
Final
Closure • Perform financial administrative closure.
Emotional issues for Project Termination
• Fear of no future work
• Loss of interest in task remaining
• Loss of project-driven motivation
• Loss of team identity
• Selection of personnel to be reassigned
• Reassignment methodology
• Division of interest

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Strategic Implications while Project Termination
• Does the project continue to have a strategic fit in the design and
execution of organizational strategies?
• Does the project continue to complement a strength of the
organization?
• Correspondingly, does the project avoid a dependence on a
weakness of the organization?
• Are the project results likely to be consistent with the strategy of
the sponsoring organization?
• Will the project continue to help that organization achieve its
objectives?

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Contd…..
• Will the completion of the project help that organization
accomplish its goals?
• If the project results are put into an operating mode, will these
results provide a competitive advantage to the sponsoring
organization?
• Is the project consistent with other projects and programs that
are related to the strategic mission, objectives, and goals of the
sponsoring organization?
• Can the project owner continue to assume the financial and other
risks associated with the project?
• Does the project continue to represent a specific step along the
way to the accomplishment of the project owner's objectives and
mission?

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 Termination Procedures
• Comprehensive checklists may be used as aids in planning and
controlling the work necessary to terminate a project.
• Benefits of using such checklists to do the following:
• Clearly indicate the closeout functions and responsibilities,
reducing ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Reduce overlooking of important factors.
• Permit closeout progress to be monitored.
• Aid project team members with little or no experience in closing
out a project.
• Inform project team members about the activities of others
during the closeout phase.
Contd…..

• Kerzner and Thamhain suggest a sample listing of typical

activities in six areas to consider in managing the affairs of
project closeout and transfer:
• Documentation
• Contract administration
• Financial management
• Program management
• Marketing
• Final management review
 Contd…..
• When projects are terminated, frequently, certain post-
termination activities are necessary to the project.

• Continuing service, maintenance, and logistic support may be

an opportunity for future work. In some industries the follow-up
service and maintenance contract work can be more profitable
than the work of completing the project itself.

• Audits can be a post-completion activity. It is essential that the

project managers ensure that adequate records are retained to
support any post-audit activity that is initiated.
Termination Strategy
 The Final Report
• Focus areas

• Focus area recommendations

• Lessons learned

• Goal: Future project management improvement

Presentation By Bilawal Khan
 Project Completion Review
Purpose
To identify lessons learned, review successes, harvest learning from failures, and
plan for embedding learning in subsequent projects

Presentation By Bilawal Khan