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Project Clarification

Perfecting the project completion criteria

October 6, 2022 by Mark Donais Leave a Comment

project completion perfected
Project completion perfected

Detailing the project completion criteria is very difficult and is probably the most overlooked and under documented detail written into the project definition. The results if not completed prior to starting the project can have disastrous results and create the never-ending project. In this case the customer or the service provider seldom win.

The question now becomes how do you know when your project deliverable has come to an end? How do you define when the project is complete? Where is the defined definition stored and most importantly what should it contain?

It may sound onerous to the project service team, project sponsor, and even the executives but the following below needs to be documented in fine detail. The project manager will require a good understanding of the project specific requirements, can negotiate with customers, team members, and management. They will also require having the ability and foresight needed to identify possible pitfalls and risks. Does this sound like a tall glass of water? Well… because it is. That is why project managers need to be highly skilled individuals and compensated accordingly. Being a project manager is not for the faint-hearted.

Project success criteria – (Critical)

This is the definition that sets the stage for project closure. Without this, all parties including project managers, project team, and the customer will more than likely have a mitt full of assumptions and varied definition as to when the project is complete. Have you ever been faced with a never-ending project? If you have then you will know first hand how defeating it can become.

In-scope items

This section should be short concise sentences in bullet point format. Review this data with the ALL of the project stakeholders for buy-in. The project team will feel more inclusive and motivated. Once this is complete move on to the next section (the one I feel can be most important) called out of scope.

Out-of-scope items 

A well documented out-of-scope definition can eliminate most if not all assumptions and is key to finalizing the project success criteria. It’s perfectly normal to fill out the out-of-scope items while you are capturing the in-scope definition. In fact, this is more often the case. The in-scope definition process often reveals many of the out-of-scope item so document them in tandem.

There are many other areas within the project charter and project task planning that help to define the project definition in detail, but the items listed above are paramount to ensure a successful and satisfying project completion milestone. This is the most important milestone of all. The point I’m trying to drive home is you can have a perfect task Gantt chart plan, all milestones laid out, project team fully engaged and still be faced with a huge failure at the end, when you can’t seem to agree on the end.

Sample Charter Scope and Project Completion Criteria

This sample is an actual project that included creating a B2B web commerce store for the purposes of ordering fine chemical compounds from a chemical supplier. Their customers are compounding dispensaries. The dispensaries will use the website B2B store to place orders with the chemical supplier.

 Project Scope

IN SCOPE OUT OF SCOPE
Design a new background look and feel Re-scanning photographs of devices or create a new logo
Re-design and implement a new navigation bar Will not support older browser version prior to 2021 release
Correlate a button beside the chemical that will display the MSDS according to that chemical Access data from thumb drive only (98% of MSDS info)
Enable shopping basket style commerce for the general and professional compounder clients Will not facilitate on-line credit approval through merchant system
Create a log-in environment at a tiered permissions level. General customer has access to brochure, pricing, and ordering for chemicals. Professional compounder has access to a wider range of device products Maintain HTML catalogue updates
Communicate orders as they are received to Pilot email address Send back response to Pilot’s customer. Pilot will have several canned responses for several situations. Pilot will respond to the customer
Host the service on an approved hosting center server at Queens Ave Dedicate one server completely to Pilot
Provide location for pdf file for catalogue Create and maintain pdf file updates
Create an environment where current browsers can operate the Pilot site including Mac Solve or support Pilot customer PC related issues including browser settings, ISP issues etc.
Create and publish a frequently asked questions page (FAQ)

 

Project Completion Criteria

This project will be considered complete and Pilot will accept the implementation when:

  1. The e-commerce web site is deployed, available, and functional via approved browsers
  2. Pilot can update product and pricing database via approved browsers
  3. Pilot can update HTML content via the internet securely
  4. Pilot customers will have the ability to access a secure web session (SSL 128 bit) and place an order shopping basket style
  5. Pilot customers can communicate to Pilot via web portal page sending an email alert.

Your customers may display visible signals that they are becoming more at ease as you go through the project charter documentation process. A strong, well defined project definition process can make an intangible service delivery appear to be tangible. Your customers will feel more in control and have a deep understanding of the deliverables and their duties that are required of them for success. You can also effectively use this process during the sales cycle to improve your close rate.

Contact our consulting team at Entry Software if you would like to see the TeamHeadquarters project charter process and project management system in action or get a comprehensive TeamHeadquarters demo.

Filed Under: Project Clarification, project delays, Project Management, Project Management Software, Project Scope Tagged With: projectclosed, projectcomplete, projectdone

Project Completion Criteria: How do you Know You are Done

June 12, 2017 by Mark Donais

Completing the project
Project managers reviewing the project completion criteria with the project sponsor

This probably sounds like a strange question in the hopefully very organized world of project management, but it really isn’t all that strange. How do you know when your project engagement has come to an end? What is your project completion critera?

[Read more…] about Project Completion Criteria: How do you Know You are Done

Filed Under: Project Clarification, Project Management Tagged With: project closed

Four Key Roles of the Project Manager

June 12, 2017 by Mark Donais


Project managers wear a variety of hats on nearly every project they manage. Exactly what hats they wear usually depends on several things – the complexity of the project, the culture of the organization, how much authority the PM is given, and sometimes even how the customer wants the project manager to lead the project (important customers tend to have a lot of weight on some projects). I’ve asked around, started discussions in forums and social media, and the roles that seem to come up the most often in people’s minds are these four…so I’d like to discuss them here and get your feedback as well. The four that are often mentioned are:

[Read more…] about Four Key Roles of the Project Manager

Filed Under: Project Clarification, Project Management, Project Management Engagement, Project Manager Communication Tagged With: project manager roles

Project Management Communication Tips

June 12, 2017 by Mark Donais


One essential factor of successful project management is proper communication. Sometimes, IT managers and personnel find it difficult to communicate project goals and progress with a non-technical audience, simply due to the nature of the work involved.

A foundational study by the Standish Group found that IT project success is dependent upon good communication. Three main success factors are: participation, management support and clear requirements. [Read more…] about Project Management Communication Tips

Filed Under: Project Clarification, Project Management, Project Manager Communication Tagged With: proejct tips, project communications

Top Four Reasons Most Projects Fail

June 12, 2017 by Mark Donais


Since more projects fail than succeed, it’s OK to go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room. After all, we can all benefit from each other’s failure stories and learn lessons on how to deal with failures and possibly avoid them. [Read more…] about Top Four Reasons Most Projects Fail

Filed Under: Project Clarification, Project Management Tagged With: project failure

3 Tips for Ensuring Your Project Team is Fully Engaged

June 12, 2017 by Mark Donais

Project Engagement Tips

Wouldn’t it be great to have everyone’s attention all the time keeping the project team engaged?  At every meeting you see individuals on the edge of their seats, hanging on your every word.  What you say drives what they do.  How well they do it helps define your success. It’s like a well-oiled machine.  The whole is much bigger than the sum of the parts…never the other way around. Business like it was meant to be.

This, of course, is hard to achieve. Why?   Because not all employees and team members buy into the all-for-one, one for all concept. Not all feel the warmth of working toward a common goal. Some are more focused on personal gain or feel like they know better and can do it better (and no one says that isn’t true, we just need to acknowledge that as a team, not rogue individuals).

So how do we ensure that everyone is on the same page?  How do we make sure that our team members are fully engaged and working toward the common goals of the project?  [Read more…] about 3 Tips for Ensuring Your Project Team is Fully Engaged

Filed Under: Project Clarification, Project Management Tagged With: project team, project tips

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