The Varieties of Project Termination

THE VARIETIES OF PROJECT TERMINATION

A project can be said to be terminated

1. When work on the substance of the project has ceased or slowed

to the point that further progress on the project is no longer
possible,
2. When the project has been indefinitely delayed, when its resources
have been converted to other projects.
Termination by Extinction
When the project achieve its goals, there termination of the project by
extinction.
The project may also be terminated when it is deemed to be

unsuccessful. The project may be unsuccessful when
1. If It fails in its efficiancy tests;

2. There are availability of better alternatives
3. Or it will cost too much and take long time to get the desired
performance
A special case of termination by extinction is “termination by murder”
When the project is terminated due to political and Internal conflict such
as Promotion of senior executives, or conflict in management body, there
is termination of the project by murder.
Two important characteristics of termination by murder are
Suddenness of arising the problems and the lack of previous indicators.
Termination by Addition
If a project has a major success, it may be terminated by adding new

features.
Project personnel, property, and equipment are often simply transferred

from the dying project to the newly born division. The new project will
be integrated as an operation.
Termination by Integration
When the complex and general projects are combines in one project, it is
called termination of the project by integration.
The property, equipment, material, personnel, and functions of the

project are distributed among the existing elementcs of the parent
organization.
The more important aspects of the transition from project to an
integrated operation
1. Personnel
It answer the question, Where will the existing project team go and who
will perform the new tasks.
2. Manufacturing
Are inputs and materials available? If there is any need for replanning the
production system layout.
3. Accounting/Finance
Have the project accounts been closed and audited or new accounts
been created?
5. Information Systems
Has the new system been thoroughly tested and fully adjusted with
current systems?
6. Marketing
Wheather the new marketing strategies are taken or not.
7. Purchasing, Distribution, Legal, etc
8. Risk Identification and Management
New project risk should be identified and properly analysed to deal with
accordingly.
Termination by Starvation
The country may often face the worse situation like recession or inflation.
During recession, the budget needs to be decremented.
Actually, it is not a “termination” at all. It is “slow starvation by budget

decrement.” The management and the team members have to cope with
budget cuts or decrements.
WHEN TO TERMINATE A PROJECT
While these questions were aimed at R & D projects, they have wide,
general applicability. Paraphrased and slightly modifi ed to broaden
and extend them beyond R&D projects, they are:
• Is the project still consistent with organizational goals?

• Is it practical and useful?
• Is the scope of the project consistent with the organization’s financial

strength?
• Is the project team enthusiastic about success?

• Is management sufficiently enthusiastic about the implementation of
the project
• Does the project have the support of all the departments (e.g., finance,
manufacturing, marketing, IT, legal, etc.) are Needed .
• Is support of this individual project sufficient for success?
• Could the project be farmed out without loss of quality?

• Is the current project team properly qualified to continue the project?
• Is the project team still innovative, or has it gone stale?

• Does the organization have the required skills to achieve full
implementation or exploitation of the project?
Fundamental reasons for earlier failing or termination of the project
projects (Buell’s questions)
1. A Project Organization Is Not Required
In certain circumstances or Particular tasks, the use of the project form

of organization is useless. Therefore, there is earlier termination of the
project.
2. Insufficient Support from Senior Management
The project manager and the team members usually need collaboration
of senior management to get access in technology or its resources. If
there is not sufficient supports from the senior management, the project
will be terminated early.
3. Naming the Wrong Person as Project Manager
It is a common risk of selecting a wrong person as project manager.

Often, The pm has to deal with comparative and complex situations . If
the project manager is inept, the project is bound to fail earlier.
4. Poor Planning
Planning is very essential for a project . The project can not achieve its
success if the plan is not taken appropriately. If there is problems in
planning, the project may be terminated early.
Reasons, are the base causes of most project failures.
• No use was made of earlier project Final Reports t
• Time/cost estimates were not prepared by those who had responsibility

for doing the work.
• Starting late, the PM jumped into the tasks without adequate planning.
• Project personnel were moved without adjusting the schedule,.
• Project auditors/evaluators were reluctant to conduct careful, detailed

meaningful
evaluations.
Evaluations failed to determine why problems were arising

Political terminations
As it is mentioned mentioned earlier, When the project is terminated

due to political and Internal conflicts , it is called “termination by
murder. Termination by murder happens in two ways.
Suddenness of arising the problems and the lack of previous indicators.
Cross-cultural terminations
Multinational projects sometimes fail because the different cultural

groups do not or can not communicate well, mesh.
The cross-cultural forces affects the project’s marketing and

engineering, technical and other activities.
Senescence terminations
When the senior managers are not so interested and enthusiastic about
the success of the project
The project has neither failed nor succeeded. It simply happens due to
getting new ideas for new project.
The primary duties of the termination manager
1. Ensure completion of the work, including tasks performed by

subcontractors.
2. Notify the client about the completion of the project and ensure that
the delivery is accomplished. Acceptance of the project must be
acknowledged by the client.
3. Ensure that documentation and the project’s Final Reports are

prepared
4. Clear for final billings and oversee preparation of the final invoices
sent to the client.
Oversee the closing of the project’s books

Determine what records (manuals, reports, and other paperwork) to be
kept.
Redistribute resources such as personnel, materials, equipment and

other materials to the appropriate places
Ascertain any product support requirements if needed.
The project final report.
1. Project Performance
The actual performance will be compared with the planned performance.

This comparison also includes explanations of all significant deviations of
actual from plan. Appropriate recommendations for future projects will
be taken.
2. Administrative Performance
Administrative performance of senior personnel and management will be
identified. The employee who particularly performed well or poorly
should be highlighted.
3. Organizational Structure
There are various organizational forms are available for the use of the
project. Such as, projectitized, operational and matrix forms of project.
The final report should include which form was used and merits and
demerits of them. This will suggest for using in the future again.
4. Project and Administrative Teams
The project and administrative teams and their individual

perforformances should be highlited
The effective administrative and operating team will be kept in the future
projects and poorly performing personnel may be suggested to retrench.
5. Techniques of Project Management
This section will evaluate and show which forecasts, budgets, and
schedules were taken. If they are not reasonably
accurate, recommendations for improvement should be made.
The techniques used for planning, control, and risk management should
also be subject to this section.

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THE VARIETIES OF PROJECT TERMINATION

A project can be said to be terminated

1. When work on the substance of the project has ceased or slowed

The project may also be terminated when it is deemed to be

1. If It fails in its efficiancy tests;

Two important characteristics of termination by murder are

Suddenness of arising the problems and the lack of previous indicators.

If a project has a major success, it may be terminated by adding new

Project personnel, property, and equipment are often simply transferred

The property, equipment, material, personnel, and functions of the

Wheather the new marketing strategies are taken or not.

7. Purchasing, Distribution, Legal, etc

8. Risk Identification and Management

Actually, it is not a “termination” at all. It is “slow starvation by budget

• Is the project still consistent with organizational goals?

• Is the scope of the project consistent with the organization’s financial

• Is the project team enthusiastic about success?

• Is support of this individual project sufficient for success?

• Could the project be farmed out without loss of quality?

• Is the project team still innovative, or has it gone stale?

1. A Project Organization Is Not Required

In certain circumstances or Particular tasks, the use of the project form

2. Insufficient Support from Senior Management

It is a common risk of selecting a wrong person as project manager.

Reasons, are the base causes of most project failures.

• No use was made of earlier project Final Reports t

• Time/cost estimates were not prepared by those who had responsibility

• Project auditors/evaluators were reluctant to conduct careful, detailed

Evaluations failed to determine why problems were arising

As it is mentioned mentioned earlier, When the project is terminated

Suddenness of arising the problems and the lack of previous indicators.

Multinational projects sometimes fail because the different cultural

The cross-cultural forces affects the project’s marketing and

1. Ensure completion of the work, including tasks performed by

3. Ensure that documentation and the project’s Final Reports are

Oversee the closing of the project’s books

Redistribute resources such as personnel, materials, equipment and

Ascertain any product support requirements if needed.

The project final report.

The actual performance will be compared with the planned performance.

4. Project and Administrative Teams

The project and administrative teams and their individual

5. Techniques of Project Management

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