Hi Paul, Would welcome your feedback.
At the handover and closeout phase of the project, there are some distinct activities that must take place. Specifically at handover these include:
Acceptance: This is the formal procedure that says to the sponsor and the users that the project has discharged its obligations and delivered everything required of it. This is normally managed within an acceptance procedure that documents the criteria for products in the contract from the outset. If there are no criteria defined within the contract, acceptance criteria are usually defined within the Project Management Plan. It is normal for the sponsor and / or users to sign an acceptance certificate, confirming that the products delivered meet the criteria.
Commissioning: This is where users take on the products and become familiar with how to operate them. The products are transformed from a “raw” product into an operational asset. Commissioning can vary hugely in time. For a large war ship, for example, commissioning can last several months, for a software programme, commissioning may require less time. For example, once the IT Technicians are trained in the programme’s use, the software can be used within the organisation.
Transfer of responsibility: Is where users take over formal ownership of the products. For this to happen, users must ensure they have everything in place to not continually refer back to the project team.
Once handover is complete, the project team move to the closeout phase. Here a number of activities must take place. These include:
Team dissolution: Where the project team will need to be disbanded and redeployed in a co-ordinated and controlled manner. Most projects seek to disband the team in a gradual way, rather than all members leave the project at once.
Disposal of project facilities and assets: This requires all office facilities, computers, coffee machines etc to be returned to their owners, sold or disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. All documents must be carefully indexed and archived for future use.
I sent Adrian an e-mail last night, let see if he remembers.
Alright, will remind him next week. Thank you for the reply 🙂
Hi
the total float is not normally shown on a Gantt chart, if can be done in MS project by drawing a bar from early finish to late finish. Adrian (you trainer) will show you next week if you ask him. I will try to remind him to explain it.
Hi Paul, thank you for your reply.
I am looking very much forward to the course, and thank you for the coat advice. I hope it will be a bit more warmer than Denmark.
Very good first attempt (sorry to hear you had problems accessing the study group). A very good first go but the only thing I would improve is the second part. The guidance notes say state must be a complete sentence. So it needs to say
In addition to choosing the response strategy state four actions that a project manager should take when preparing responses to top priority risks.
1. Include the risks into the project plan this ensure that they get assigned a budget and are track like any other risk
2. Create Contingency plan for the major risks that could occur. Idealy this should be considered before the risk occur.
3. Continually review risks, to identify new risk that may emerge or to evaluate the impact of the risk reduction measures of the risk exposure.
4. Keep the team continuously aware of the risks, by scheduling regular reviews of the key project risks.
I hope you are looking forward to next week’s course; the weather in London is a bit mixed at the moment so pack a coat.
Laila
You seem the have the hang of this, your answer shows a good understanding of the topic. I can not really add anything.
By the way it is wet and cold in London today.
Peter, Its is a bit hard with out the picture, but assuming the drawing was as in the book it look fine
Hi, this is how I have answered, any feedback would be appreciated.
Project Scope is defining what project will deliver, when the project is going to deliver it and what quality it will be delivered in. It defines the boundaries of what will be delivered at the end of the project, and what will not be included in this project delivery. The project scope is defined during the concept Phase and will be based on the business case and its requirements.
The following are key components that help in developing the project plan and scheduling:
Product Breakdown Structure (PBS): It is decomposition of the main product into sub components, a hierarchical breakdown of the main product. It is recommended to start by doing this as it is a good practice to understand the product and what you plan to deliver. The outcome of PBS can be considered as a product delivery list.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Decomposing the overall work into smaller tasks, providing a clear definition and understanding of what needs to be done to produce the final product. It is the same idea as with PBS, but focusing on the work to be done to implement the final product. I think it can also provide an opportunity to identify possible risks, needed skills and resources.
Organisation Breakdown Structure (OBS): It is an organisation chart for the project. It gives an overview of the people involved in the project, identifying their roles and responsibilities. It also demonstrates the reporting hierarchy for the project. It is combined with WBS to create a matrix of roles: Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS): This is a way to map across from the cost in WBS to the finance system. CBS would be broken down to Manpower, overheads, materials and will be associated to the work package.
Thanks for the feedback, I am glad you like the pod casts. They are quite good at covering the topic in more detail. I know we didn’t do every topic, some are a bit difficult in this format. We also have been a bit busy recently. May be I can get John and me around the microphone soon. What topic would you like the most.
Thank you Paul, and yes closed book. I have been listening to the podcasts and they are very helpful in providing a clear understanding to the topics. I wonder though there is not one on this topic. But then again the book is very good in that one.
Laila
Yes that is a fine answer, did you do it closed book. I am very please with the answers you have done, enjoy next week in London.
Paul
Hi, here is my answer, feedback would be appreciated.
The purpose of the Handover and Closeout Phase is to involve the users, and is a key for a successful transition of the product from the project environment to the operational environment.
The following take place during the handover Phase:
Acceptance: This is a process where the sponsor and user sign an acceptance certificate to confirm that the product delivered lives up to the requirements and acceptance criteria documented either in the contract or in the Project Management Plan.
Commissioning: A transition period from where the user receives the product and put it to use. It is a time period that can vary from one project type to another, where the user familiarise themselves with the product and able to implement it into the organisation. This can be achieved through training, or having a test period with live data.
Transfer of responsibility: Passing the responsibility from the project team to the users, making sure that the users have everything needed to be able to cope with the product on their own. A support agreement might be arranged to make sure that the users are confident enough to be on their own.
Now that responsibility is transferred, the project team can continue with the Closeout Phase:
Team Dissolution: now that the product is delivered and the project has ended, the team members will need to be reallocated to other projects and might be working with different team members. This should be done in a coordinated and sympathetic way since the team has worked together for a period of time and might need to adjust to the change of teams.
All Project Facilities and Assets disposed of: this can be thought of as a cleaning up process, where any equipment and devices are either disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner or returned to their owners. All documentation should be indexed and archived according to the archiving principles so that it is easy to find for future use.
Post Project Review: A post project review is held to ensure that all the project requirements have been met and that the project team is released from any obligations. It is also to understand what has happened in the project, and if there are any lessons learned to be taken into account.