Unit 1 Assignment: Planning the End of a Project
In this assignment, you will be assessed based on the following Outcome:
GM594-1: Create a structured plan for the closing phase of the project life cycle.
In this assignment you will prepare a plan for the closing phase of the project life cycle and then analyze a specific project to determine the extent to which all elements of the plan were executed. Please note that many project managers often fail to close projects. When this happens, procurements may stay open, and lessons learned are ignored. The point here is that properly closing projects is a best practice that must be followed.
Prepare a 5–7-page current APA style paper with the following titled sections:
• Introduction
• Overview of Project
Select a project from your experience or from your research in the Library or the Internet. Describe the project.
• Project Closing Phase Plan
Prepare and populate a table that follows the model below and contains all column headings, row identifiers, and the words listed in the second column. Expand the third column as required to contain the necessary text. Populate the table you create so that there are no blank cells. Embed the table you create and fully populate in accordance with these instructions in your document in the titled “Project Closing Phase Plan” section so that it is visible and readable without the reader referring to other files or manipulating or opening any embedded objects or links.
Note: You must create the table using the Insert Table function in Microsoft® Word or by creating a table in Excel and moving it to your Word document. The below table is for instructional purposes only. It is not a template for you to modify or use in creating your paper. You may need to use the section break and landscape layout functions in Microsoft Word to ensure your reader can clearly read all elements of your table.
Activity Area Numerical Identifier Closing Phase Activity Area Brief summary of actions that should have been taken in this area for this specific project Estimated duration of time needed Predecessors (Use Numerical Identifier)
1 Procurements
2 Quality
3 Contracts
4 Team member performance reviews
5 Stakeholder communications
6 Cost
7 Lessons Learned
• Procurements
• Quality
• Contracts
• Team member performance reviews
• Stakeholder communications
• Cost
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion
In each of the above titled sections, explain in detail what should have been done in this area for this specific project in the closing phase of the project life cycle: Procurements, Quality, Contracts, Team Member Performance Reviews, Stakeholder Communications, Cost, and Lessons Learned. Analyze and discuss the extent to which these actions were taken. Discuss the impact on stakeholders if the actions were not taken.
Components
• Title page formatted in current APA style with the following information: Title of the paper, your name, course number and section number, and date.
• A table of contents using the following headers: Introduction, Procurements, Quality, Contracts, Team Member Performance Reviews, Stakeholder Communications, Cost, Lessons Learned, Conclusion, and References.
• A minimum of three scholarly journal and textbook source references cited and credited according to current APA formatting style using a minimum of six in-text citations. With help with APA, go to the Writing Center under Academic Tools.
• The paper should be focused and to the point, containing between 600–800 words (minimum 5-pages) specific to the table of contents items, excluding references.
