End Project Report

The end project report is produced by the project manager towards the end of the project during the closing a project process and is used by the project board to evaluate the project before they make the decision to authorize closure. It is one of the main outputs of the Closing a Project process and will be read by the Project Board and it is seen as a report on the performance of the project.

The end project report is the project manager’s report to the project board that confirms delivery of outputs to the customer. It provides an overview of what went well and not so well, a review of the benefits as compared to the expected benefits that were listed in the business case, and a review of how well the project went according to the project plan. It can also confirm that products have been accepted by the customer.

The following image is an example of the End Project Report from the PEN Sample Project:

The End Project Report is derived from the following:

• Project Initiation Documentation (from the initiation stage)
• Business Case (from the initiation stage and last stage)
• Project Plan (from the initiation stage and last stage)
• Benefits Management Approach (from the initiation stage and last update)
• Registers (Issue Register, Quality Register and Risk Register)
• Lessons Report that was created during the Closing a Project process

Format of the End Project Report

• The End Project Report can take a number of formats:
• E.g., A presentation to the Project Board (physical meeting or conference call)
• A document (e.g., word / PDF)
• Or email (for smaller projects)
• A report in a project management tool.

End Project Report Quality Criteria

• Project Managers summary of the performance of the project in their words
• Review of the Business Case (compare the versions) and comment on benefits and changes to ROI.
• Comment on the six-project objective: Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Benefits and Risk
• Comment on Team Performance
• Comment on products: Current status, quality information, how products were tracked, handover process, …
• Overview of lessons
• Summary of issues and risks

Tips from Frank

• Ask the Project Board how they would like to receive the End Project Report and suggest presenting it.
• Keep the report as simple as possible
• Use the existing project information to create the End Project Report
• Check if the Project Board bothered to read it.