An Overview of Evaluating and Terminating a Project
The eighth chapter in the textbook takes a look at what goes into evaluating and terminating a project (Mantel 272-290). Evaluation and termination are the final stages of a project. Evaluation of a project looks at “the progress and performance relative to the project’s initial or revised plan” (Mantel 272). This should be done at the end of the project, but it is also important to evaluate the project throughout the project life cycle since it gives management the data needed for decision and control purposes (Mantel 273).
Different methods can be used in the evaluation; however, the major criteria used in evaluation should center on success factors like: efficiency, customer impact and satisfaction, business and direct success, and future potential (Mantel 273-274). The project should also be evaluated based upon the reasons why the project was selected in the first place, contributions to overall business goals, team member goals accomplished, and other factors that contributed to the strengths and weaknesses of the project. The true problem can lie in measuring the evaluation, especially when looking at earned values and expenditures. Therefore, it is important for the team to determine the measurement criteria before the project starts.
One type of evaluation is the project audit which goes beyond just a financial audit. Audits early in the project tend to focus on technical specifications, while the later audits look more at budget and schedule. The audit committee has to build trust with the project team since they might be leery of this review, especially since the audit team has access to all of the project records. The audit group works together to deve...
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...e an audit process on more routine projects since it will not be essential or cost-effective.
I would hope that most of our projects would be terminated-by-extinction after we have met all of the specifications within the budget and schedule. I will make sure that the PM is someone who can take the project to success by working with efficiency and ensuring customer satisfaction. He or she must also put together a project final report to account for his or her opinion of the project performance. I would like to make sure that we use the lessons learned to help our team become more effective and efficient for the next project.
Works Cited
Mantel, Samuel J., Jack R. Meredith, Scott M. Shafer, and Margaret M. Sutton. "Chapter 8 – Evaluating and Terminating the Project." Project Management in Practice. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons, 2011. 272-290. Print.
The initiation phase of a project is not complete without a clearly defined goal and realistic, measurable objectives that describe the business benefits which are expected to be delivered upon completion of a project (Laureate Educatio...
Objectivity also needs to be evaluated to make sure the internal audit is reliable. The internal audit needs to be free of conflicting responsibilities as well
Gastmans et al, 1998; Cronquest et al. 2004; Tuckett, 1999 & 2005; Patistea, 1999; van Hooft 1999; Covington 20
This project belongs in the engineering-efficiency category; therefore, it has to fit at least 3 of 4 performance hurdles, which are 1. Impact on EPS; 2.Payback; 3.Discounted cash flow and 4. Internal rate of return.
Siobhan D. Tiernan , Patrick C. Flood , Eamonn P. Murphy & Stephen J. Carroll (2002)
Making an investment towards a new project/product/company is hardly a simple process. Numerous factors including costs, benefits, time, and resources need to be taken into account before a decision to pursue a new project should be ventured into. At the end of the day prioritising projects and investing funds into projects that have the most potential towards favourable return on investment should be considered. Investment appraisal should not only be used for projects with a monetary return, it is also pertinent to use the tools where the return may not be easy to quantify such as training or development programs. Investment
By coupling the balanced scorecard and the key performance indicators the managers were given a clear picture of what was important throughout the projects development (Basu, 2009). By paying more attention to the learning and growth perspective of their balanced scorecard the managers were able to ensure that their agreed upon timeline would be met. It also ensured that they were able to keep their quality and compliance standards
This process is aimed at ensuring the project being pursued has a potential of delivering by adhering to the allocated time, sticking to the budget and very important, meeting customers specifications (Mott McDonald, 2002). It involves assessing the projects at critical stages (also referred to as gates) in its lifecycle and thus assuring it can advance to the next stage successfully. This function is performed by an independent experienced team, after which they assure the Senior Responsible Owners that the project can progress successfully (National Academies US & National Research US, 2004). There are six critical stages (gateways) in the lifecycle of a project that the independent gateway review team will evaluate and thus provide th...
...arations needed during implementation of the project while the final phase is meant for overall evaluation.
Ed. Kathleen Daniel et al. Austin, TX: Holt, 2003. 282-86. The. Print.
First is to examine each of those projects to the corporate objectives, compare and contrasting project selection criteria and justify why a project meets the selection criteria.
Evaluate solutions on the basis of quality, acceptability, and standards: solutions should be judged on two major criteria: how good they are, and how acceptable they will be to those who have to implement them.
No one of the above financial measures is adequate for project prioritisation. Most firms use two or more of these financial measures to prioritise projects. Since economic evaluations are done using spreadsheets, there is no reason not to calculate all these financial measures, and then use the appropriate ones during project prioritisation.
Westerveld, E., The Project Excellence Model®: linking success criteria and critical success factors, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 21, Issue 6, August 2003, Pages 411-418. Science Direct [Accessed 10th February 2014]
ed. Ed. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2005. 1556-1619.