Directing a project

• Purpose
• Objective
• Context
• Activities
  • Overview
  • Authorize initiation
  • Authorize the project
  • Authorize a Stage or Exception Plan
  • Give ad hoc direction
  • Authorize project closure

Key sections

• Introduction
• Business case
• Organization
• Quality
• Plans
• Risk
• Change
• Progress
• Introduction to processes
• Starting up a projectDirecting a project
• Initiating a project
• Controlling a stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project
• Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
• Directing Projects with PRINCE2

Activities

Authorize project closure

The controlled close of a project is as important as the controlled start.
There must be a point when the objectives set out in the original and current versions of the Project Initiation Documentation and Project Plan are assessed in order to understand:

• Whether the objectives have been achieved
• How the project has deviated from its initial basis
• That the project has nothing more to contribute

Without this approach, the project may never end; a project can become business as usual and the original focus on benefits will be lost.

Authorizing closure of the project is the last activity undertaken by the Project Board, prior to its own disbandment, and may require endorsement from corporate or programme management.

The Project Board may appoint Project Assurance to undertake some of the reviewing and assessing actions (e.g. inspecting the End Project Report to confirm it is accurate).

Diagram 1 shows the inputs to, and outputs from, this activity.

© Crown copyright 2005 Reproduced under licence from OGC

Diagram 1

PRINCE2® recommends the following actions:

• Review the original and current versions of the Project Initiation Documentation to understand the project’s initial baseline, and current strategies and controls
• Review and approve the End Project Report to:
• Understand the project’s actual performance against its initial basis, including a summary of any deviations from the approved plans
• Confirm who should receive which follow-on action recommendation as summarized in the End Project Report (in some instances it may be necessary to review the detailed recommendation for some of the follow-on actions). Ensure that the appropriate groups (for example, operations or maintenance) have been made aware of their responsibility for taking any recommended actions forward
• Review the Lessons Report and agree who should receive it. Ensure that the appropriate groups (for example, corporate or programme management, or a centre of excellence) have been made aware of their responsibility for taking any recommendations forward
• Verify that the handover of the project’s products was in accordance with the Configuration Management Strategy and, in particular, that user acceptance, and operational and maintenance acceptance, exist for each product. Ensure that, where appropriate, the resulting changes in the business are supported and sustainable
• Ensure that the post-project benefits review covers the performance of the project’s products in operational use in order to identify whether there have been any side-effects (beneficial or adverse)
• Review and gain approval for the updated Benefits Review Plan, ensuring that it addresses the expected benefits that cannot yet be confirmed. As the Benefits Review Plan includes resources beyond the life of the project, responsibility for this plan needs to transfer to corporate or programme management
• Confirm the updated Business Case by comparing actual and forecast benefits, costs and risks against the original Business Case that was used to justify the project (it may not be possible to confirm all the benefits as some will not be realized until after the project is closed)
• Review and issue a project closure notification in accordance with the Communication Management Strategy. The Project Board advises those who have provided the support infrastructure and resources for the project that these can now be withdrawn. This should indicate a closing date for costs being charged to the project

Diagram 2 shows the responsibilities for this activity.

© Crown copyright 2005 Reproduced under licence from OGC

Diagram 2