13.2 Closing a Project
Key Takeaways
- Closing a Project is performed by the Project Manager at the end of the final stage, triggered when the Project Board authorises closure.
- It provides a controlled closure: verify acceptance of products, hand over to operational use, evaluate the project, capture lessons, and recommend closure to the board.
- Planned closure confirms accepted products and finalises benefits; premature closure handles partial products and follow-on action recommendations for work that will not be completed.
- The End Project Report (which in v7 carries the follow-on action recommendations), the updated Benefits Management Approach, and lessons captured in the Project Log are the key closure outputs.
When the Process Runs
Closing a Project (CP) is performed by the Project Manager at the end of the final stage. It is triggered when the Project Board authorises closure — either because the project's products have been delivered (planned closure) or because the board has decided to stop the project early (premature closure). The PM does not close the project unilaterally; the board's authorisation is required.
A controlled closure matters because without it the project's products may never be formally accepted, benefits may never be measured, and lessons may be lost. PRINCE2 treats closure as a deliberate, managed activity rather than something that just happens when the work runs out.
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of Closing a Project is to provide a controlled closure so that the project:
- Verifies acceptance of all products by the user(s) and operational owners.
- Hands over products to operational use and support.
- Reviews the project's performance against its Business Case and plans.
- Captures lessons for future projects.
- Archives the project's management products and records.
- Recommends project closure to the Project Board, which then formally authorises it.
Activities and Outputs
| Activity | What the PM does | Primary output |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare planned closure | Confirm all products accepted; update Project Plan and Business Case to show final status | Accepted products, finalised Project Plan/Business Case |
| Prepare premature closure (if applicable) | Identify partial products; agree what can be salvaged; record follow-on action recommendations for anything not completed | Salvage decisions; follow-on action recommendations (recorded within the End Project Report in v7) |
| Hand over products | Transfer products to operational use and support | Hand-over records |
| Evaluate the project | Compile the End Project Report; update the Benefits Management Approach | End Project Report, updated Benefits Management Approach |
| Recommend project closure | Put the closure recommendation to the board | Recommendation to the board |
| Capture lessons | Update the Lessons Log and the Project Log | Updated Lessons Log, Project Log |
Planned vs Premature Closure
Planned closure is the normal case: the project has delivered its products, they have been accepted, and the project is wrapping up. The PM confirms acceptance, finalises the Project Plan and Business Case status, produces the End Project Report, and updates the Benefits Management Approach so that benefits realisation can continue after the project team disperses.
Premature closure is triggered when the Project Board decides to stop the project before the planned products are complete — for example because the Business Case is no longer viable, or because an Exception Report has shown that tolerances cannot be recovered. The PM must then handle partial products: some products may be usable and worth handing over, while others will be incomplete. For anything incomplete, the PM records Follow-on Action Recommendations — guidance for what would need to happen if those products were ever to be completed or salvaged by another initiative. The End Project Report still gets produced, but it explains why the project was stopped early.
What the End Project Report Contains
The End Project Report is the closure counterpart of the End Stage Report, but it covers the whole project. It typically includes:
- A summary of what the project set out to deliver versus what it actually delivered.
- The final Project Plan status (actual costs, durations, scope against baseline).
- A review of the Business Case — were the expected benefits still realistic, and what has been realised so far?
- An updated Benefits Management Approach describing how and when remaining benefits will be measured post-project.
- Key risks, issues, and lessons arising from the project.
- The PM's recommendation that the board authorise closure.
What Happens to Benefits at Closure
Benefits rarely finish when the project does. The PM updates the Benefits Management Approach so that the operational owners who inherit the products have a clear, scheduled mechanism for measuring benefits realisation after the project team has been disbanded. This is why the Benefits Management Approach is one of the process's headline outputs: it ensures the project's investment thesis is not abandoned the day the project closes.
Exam-relevant distinctions
- What triggers Closing a Project? The Project Board authorising closure (planned or premature). It is not triggered by the PM simply finishing the work.
- What is the difference between planned and premature closure? Planned closure confirms completed, accepted products; premature closure must also handle partial products and produce Follow-on Action Recommendations.
- What does the End Project Report contain? Project-wide performance against plan and Business Case, plus the closure recommendation — it is not just a re-statement of the last End Stage Report.
- Who authorises closure? The Project Board, on the PM's recommendation.
A project is halted halfway through because the Business Case is no longer viable, and the Project Board authorises premature closure. Which task must the Project Manager perform that a planned closure would NOT require?
Who has the authority to formally authorise closure of a PRINCE2 project?