The results of a stage should be reported back to those who provided the resources and approved its execution so that progress is clearly visible to the project management team.
This sub-process involves a review of the impact of the stage on the Project Plan, the Business Case and the identified risks.
If follows the earlier Managing Stage Boundaries (SB) sub-processes and consolidates their information in a report that is assess by the Project Board in the sub-process Authorising a Stage or Exception Plan (DP3).
This sub-process should happen as close as possible to the actual end of a stage.
The results of the stage are presented in the End Stage Report.
The report compares the actual results of the stage in terms of costs, target dated achieved and products produced with the original Stage Plan.
A statement is made comparing the results with the agreed tolerances for the stage.
The Project Manager gives a view on the continuing ability of the project to meet the Project Plan and Business Case, and assesses the overall risk situation.
Feedback is given of the quality control activities undertaken and the results of that work.
A summary is given of all Project Issues received during the stage and what has happened to them.
A configuration audit is performed to check the information in the Configuration Item Records against the actual status of all products and to rectify any discrepancies.
The report is modified if an Exception Plan has triggered it, but it s still needed.
Such a report would describe the results to date of the current stage, the tolerance and Project Issue situation and then summarise the Exception Report and discussions that led to the Exception Plan.
The next Stage Plan and the revised Project Plan (if there is a revision) accompany the End Stage Report.
The report identifies any variations from the previous versions of these plans and assesses any changes to the risk situation.
If the project is still viable in the Project Manager’s view, a request to proceed to the next stage will accompany the End Stage Report.
Any lessons learned during the stage are added to the Lessons Learned Log.
Any lessons from the current stage are summarised in the End Stage Report.
The Communication Plan is examined and information created and sent as required.
The Project Manager is responsible for this sub-process, assisted by Project Support.
Informal agreement to the report’s data and conclusions should be obtained from those responsible for Project Assurance.
The Configuration Librarian will assist Project Assurance in performing the configuration audit.
Management information | Usage | Explanation |
---|---|---|
Current Stage Plan | Input | Contains information about the products, cost and dates of the current stage. |
Business Case | Input | Used to review the contribution of the current stage towards achievement of the benefits. |
Issue Log | Input | Identifies the Project Issues raised during the stage and reports on how they were dealt with. |
Risk Log | Input | Source of information about the status of current risks. |
Quality Log | Input | Source of information about the quality checking activities and results from those who reviewed products for quality. |
Communication Plan | Update | May contain a requirement to send information to an external interested party at this time. May need updating for new interested parties, for example new suppliers or new Project Assurance. |
New Stage Plan or Exception Plan | Input / Output | Future impact on the project for the End Stage Report. |
Lessons Learned Log | Update | Updated with any new lessons learned during this stage. |
Configuration Item Records | Update | Checked to establish that all products are complete and approved. Also checked to ensure details such as version number are correct. Updated where the information in the records does not match the real state of the products. |
Request for authorisation to proceed | Output | This may be formal or informal according to the project’s situation. |
End Stage Report | Output | Performance of the stage against plan. |
These are given in tabular form in the file ‘SB5 reporting stage end.doc’ in the product package.
The Project Manager should keep the Project Board aware of what the End Stage Report will say, so that there are no surprises.
If possible, problems should be resolved before the report is presented.
The level of formality of the presentation will depend on the project size and the will of the Project Board.
If the project is part of a programme the Project Support Office should examine the End Stage Report, the next Stage Plan and the updated Project Plan to ensure that the project stays in line with the programme.