Closing a Programme
In MSP methodology this is covered in the chapter: Closing a Programme (19)
It may sound strange, given the title of this section, but not all programmes close.
Programmes are aligned to strategic objectives. Whilst these do change from time to time, it is more common, particularly in the present day environment of fast-moving continual change, that as a programme's projects deliver outputs and these are embedded into the organisation's way of doing things in order to deliver the desired benefits, other factors and policies will be exerting pressures for new business change, requiring a new round of projects to deliver new outputs.
Preparing for Handover
As each project nears completion the Project Manager and Benefits Manager should ensure that the organisation is prepared to take the end product of the project into an operations phase.
This may mean that the organisation's staff will have:
been organised into new teams where necessary
been given the chance to be involved in the design of any new working procedures
been given training in any new procedures
been given written policies and procedures to refer to whilst new working practices become familiar
a supply of any new sets of paperwork required for data capture or reporting or transactions
agreed roles and responsibilities and know their own and others' roles and responsibilities
had a chance to form relationships within any new teams
In order for these necessary arrangements to be in place the Project Manager and/or Benefits Manager will have undertaken some or all of the following activities as much in advance of the change to new working practices as the complexity of those practices requires:
arrange and chair meetings
champion the new methods and procedures
demonstrate and give presentations
organise and possibly deliver training workshops
prepare guidance manuals and procedure notes
drive change
deal with resistance
For this to occur towards the end of the final project in a programme may be expecting a little too much and it is quite common for programmes to evolve and tackle new business change whilst still involved in current transitions. However, some programmes may close and even where programmes continue, many of the same issues and priorities exist for ensuring that benefits are measured, realised and subsequently included as performance indicators within the normal cycle of continuous business process review.
There can be a temptation to dismantle a programme once the final project has delivered its outputs, but we have already discussed in the section on measuring benefits that it may take some considerable time before benefits are realised.
It is essential to ensure that all projects are transferred into operations. To ensure that there is no confusion as to the status of projects and their outputs it is strongly recommended that the projects are signed off as they deliver their outputs. This would include sign-off of the acceptance criteria by the senior user or user group. If the culture of an organisation would be challenged by individuals being asked to sign off a project in document form, it is usually less of a challenge for a meeting of the user group to agree that acceptance criteria have been met and a meeting of the steering group to agree that the project can be closed, in which case these decisions should be formally minuted.
The programme should clarify the difference between minor fixes and post project support to ensure a clean cut-off point. This is often facilitated by a fixed term of 'snagging', beyond which any problems encountered will not be the responsibility of the original project. Securing agreement from project managers and key team members to be included in Key Programme Review activities even after the project has been disbanded can be useful in case it becomes necessary to obtain their knowledgeable and experienced interpretation should expected benefits not be realised.
The programme can either continue post projects in order to monitor and measure benefits until they are clearly realised, or it can close once clear responsibility for that monitoring has been agreed and accepted by an individual or group.
Again it is recommended that the agreement that a programme can be closed is signed off or agreed at an appropriate level which, given the nature of programmes, can require top level management approval.
