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Closing the Plan

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05 Closing The Plan


Closing Process Group — Accepted Work Order

The Closing Process Group formally completes the project or a phase and transfers the final product, service, or result to operations or the requesting organization. During Closing, we confirm the work has been completed to standard, the definition of success has been met, and formal acceptance is secured. See References.

Most importantly, this is also where resources tied up in the project are released: human resources return to their home teams, funds earmarked for the effort are reconciled, and capital assets (such as computers or equipment) are relinquished. Closing is also where the team consolidates lessons learned and archives project information for audit, knowledge reuse, and organizational learning. See References.

Closing is not a “nice-to-have.” Without it, teams can drift from one effort to the next with no clear handoff, open contracts, unresolved documentation, and missed opportunities to improve. A disciplined closeout provides clarity for stakeholders, financial accuracy for the organization, and actionable insights for future projects. See References.

Key Processes in the Closing Group

According to PMI, the Closing Process Group includes the following processes References:

  1. Confirm Final Acceptance — Obtain formal sign-off from the authorized customer/sponsor.
  2. Close Project or Phase — Complete financials, archive documents, update assets, and release resources.
  3. Close Procurements — Verify all contracts are completed, deliverables accepted, and obligations met.
  4. Capture and Share Lessons Learned — Document what worked, what didn’t, and recommendations for the future.

Closing turns deliverables into accepted value, and experience into organizational knowledge. — Adapted from PMI guidance, see References

Acceptance, Handover, and Learning

Successful Closing requires clear acceptance criteria—defined in Planning and verified during Executing and Monitoring & Controlling. Handover to operations (or the customer) should be planned, with training, access, and support arrangements documented.

Lessons learned should be gathered from the entire stakeholder set, not just the core team, and stored where they can be discovered and reused by others. See References.

Example in Practice

In CMPA 3302, Closing happens when we actually submit the documents and deliverables created during the week to Canvas for the instructor to grade. The project is not over until the instructor accepts the submission, evaluates it against the rubric, and provides feedback. Only then is final acceptance secured.

Afterward, we capture lessons learned—what worked, what didn’t—and apply them to planning for the next week so the same mistakes aren’t repeated.

Closing also involves deciding what to do with project artifacts: transcripts, notes, drafts, or working files. These may be designated as trash and discarded, or formally archived for retrieval when useful later.

Just finishing the product or deliverables does not close the project; there are multiple steps—submission, acceptance, feedback, lessons learned, and archival—that must be completed before the project can truly be terminated.

The Closing Procedure

Image of Closing the project—acceptance, handoff, and lessons learned

Closing verifies acceptance, completes administration, and captures learning for the next effort.

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