Controlling the closure of a PRINCE2 project invovles both the Project Manager and the Project Board and is described as part of the process model on any PRINCE2 training course offered by Knowledge Train.
The decision to close the project is taken by the Project Board during Confirming Project Closure (DP5) either at the end of the final stage or prematurely during the project if they conclude that the Business Case is no longer viable. When this occurs, the Project Board are asked to approve a number of management products:
a: The Lessons Learned Report which summarises all the useful lessons to be learned from the project with the expectation that things can be done differently (better) on future projects.
b: Any outstanding Project Issues or risks are documented in a Follow-on Action Recommendations report. These can then be dealt with by appropriate persons after the project has closed. This is reviewed and approved by the Project Board and forwarded to those concerned.
c: The End Project Report which summarises what was achieved on the project for the total cost and time expended. This is reviewed and approved by the Project Board and circulated to interested parties.
d: A Post-Project Review Plan which describes who shall measure the expected benefits of the project, when and how they shall be measured. This is also reviewed and approved by the Project Board. After project closure, the Executive is expected to ensure this review takes place.
At this point, the Project Board can instruct the Project Manager to close the project and perform no more work on the project, and release all teams from the project.
This article was taken from the booklet Concise PRINCE2™ (PRINCE2 ™ is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce) which was offered to students as part of the PRINCE2 training course (version 2005) by Knowledge Train. This booklet has been based on OGC (PRINCE2™) material. Reproduced under licence from OGC.
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