3.8 Following up the report The evaluation report will often contain recommendations for further actions and these may lead to new project ideas. Recommendations may relate to processes and procedures within the organisation. Project evaluation and debriefing can be a learning experience for the organisation as a whole, as well as for individuals. For example, British Petroleum gathers the lessons learnt from post-project appraisals in a series of booklets that are then used as guidance for writing project proposals. In
6 Let's eat! This section aims to make help you become aware of the variety of food in the UK and the world. Make notes on what 3.6 Collecting and interpreting data In many projects it can be difficult to make comparisons with anything similar. However, there may be quality standards that can be used for one of more of the outcomes, perhaps alongside different targets for time-scales and resource use. Benchmarks are another possible source of comparative data; they have been established for many processes, and data are available from industry, sector and professional support bodies. 3.3 Evaluation during implementation of a project At this stage the project activities are monitored to determine how their timing, quality and cost match the plan. The results of this monitoring are reviewed to see whether the plan needs to be modified. New environmental conditions may indicate the need to change the organisation's strategic direction. It might be necessary in that case to re-align the project, so that the outcomes relate to the new direction. In some cases it may be necessary to abort the project, if it is no longer approp 3.2 Evaluation during the planning stage Evaluation at this stage is usually concerned with whether plans represent good value for money. It may be appropriate to evaluate inputs to the project, to ensure that their quality and quantities are sufficient to achieve the objectives. In large building projects, many specialist tasks are subcontracted. Specifications are developed, and potential contractors are invited to tender for work. The element of competition can lead to problems if some tenderers are over-anxious to win contracts. 2.4 Problems in closure Projects do not always go according to plan. If problems develop during the closure period there are particular difficulties. The following story is told by an integration manager of an IT project. The closure meeting The final meeting is a time for celebrating successful completion. It could have a similar format to the launch meeting, and involve many of the same people. It might include: reviewing the outputs or outcomes; confirming the arrangements for any follow-up work; thanking the team, the sponsor(s) and the stakeholders for their support; presenting the completion report for approval and sign-off. 2.3 Closing the project Closing a project can be quite an emotional experience for team members who have worked together for some time, particularly if close bonds have developed. The manager of a project has some obligations to staff who have worked for some time on it. Build into the plan a closure interview with each member of staff, so that their contribution can be formally recognised and recorded. Staff may need help to recognise the skills and experience that they have gained and how these have been evidenced Closure checklists It is helpful to consider closure as, in effect, a mini-project, and to plan for it as a distinct set of activities. We have seen that, once the project has been recognised as successful and all of the key milestones have been achieved, reaching the final milestone – closing the project – can seem an anticlimax. One way to focus attention on the work that still needs to be done is to prepare a detailed checklist. 2.2 Closure tasks The closing stages of a project need as much, if not more, attention as the early stages. Many of the final tasks in a project may seem rather tedious ‘housekeeping’ once the project's main purpose has been achieved. Nevertheless, there are a number of actions that must be taken to close the project and ensure that any necessary maintenance arrangements have been made. Make sure that all project staff actually stop work on the project. 1.3 Delivering with style You can deliver the outcomes agreed with the minimum of fuss or celebration – or you can deliver with style. A project that is delivered so that it meets the outcome requirements exactly and is on time and within the budget allowed will usually be well received. In many projects the moment of final delivery may not be clearly defined, as different elements may have different times and modes of delivery. However, each delivery offers an opportunity to please the client by making the pr 1.1 Formal handover The outputs of a project should be defined at the planning stage, including any conditions that will be required for a smooth transfer. Each outcome should be formally handed over to the sponsor who should confirm their delivery (‘sign them off’) so that there is no dispute about whether outcomes have been completed. A closure list is likely to have sections to include the following groups of tasks, but each project will have different features to consider. A list of suggested areas Learning outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: explain the key components of project closure and their importance plan an effective project closure ensure that the project activities have been completed recognise problems that may need to be resolved at the closure stage contribute to evaluating a project. Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence Course image: Author(s): References Keep on learning   There are more than 800 courses on OpenLearn for you t Conclusion The project brief is a summary of previous discussions and research. If there is earlier documentation, the project brief can refer to these documents and summarise the key points rather than repeat everything. For example, there may have been previous documentation outlining the business case for the project so that commitment could be gained in earlier stages of the decision-making process. Similarly, there may be documentation that outlines the background to the project and the reasons for 8 A basis for action and the project brief Once the initial discussions about the purpose and feasibility of the project have confirmed that the project is worth carrying out, it is essential to establish the basic agreement as a document. The document will provide the reference point for all future work on the project and will be the basis for all judgements about whether the project is finally successful or not. This document is sometimes called the terms of reference, but usually incorporates some additional information in the form 7.3 Risk and contingency planning Risk in projects may be defined as ‘an event or situation … which can endanger all or part of the project’ (Nickson and Siddons, 1997). Risk management is fundamental to project management and has an impact on estimates of time and effort required for the project. It is concerned with assessing the kinds of risk associated with trying to make something happen, for example the possibil 7.2 Feasibility studies For some projects, particularly large or innovative ones, it may be appropriate to carry out a feasibility study before beginning the detailed work of planning and implementation. Alternatively, or in addition, it may be possible or desirable to try out an idea on a small scale, as a pilot project, before the main project begins. It may also be appropriate to carry out a feasibility study when there are still a number of options that would all appear to offer appropriate solutions to t
Activity 22 The Great British Menu
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