12.4 Close Procurements

The Close Procurement process finishes all procurement procedures and records agreements with supporting documentation.  It also provides a vehicle for terminating contracts and preparing against possible litigation. The Inputs, Tool & Techniques, and Outputs for this process are listed in figure 48. 

Figure 48. Develop Project Charter: Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs. Reprinted from "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 5th Edition" by Project Management Institute, 2013, p.386. Copyright 2013 by Project Management Institute, Inc. Reprinted without permission.

Process Definition

The administrative activities involved in the Close Procurement process are to finalize open claims and contracts; and update records to show that finalization. This includes agreements and contract fulfillment or renegotiation.  For project that terminate prior to completion this mean reconciling accounts, reviewing and exercising contractual terminations clauses and formulating termination agreement with contracts and contractors. Unresolved contracts may require preparation for litigation. Ensuring organized and complete records for legal teams are essential part of the process

Process Assessment

Closing procurements allows the project team to finalize procurement activities.  It provides a mean to establish legal safety nets for agreements and contracts by securing finalized agreements with contractors, suppliers and other stakeholders. And prepare to litigate missed contractual obligations.

Artifacts

Input

The Project Management Plan spells out the projects procurement objectives, plans and budget.  It is a starting point for closing the procurement processes because it establishes what the procurement process was supposed to look like.  The artifact included is the PMGT501 Project Management Plan. see 12.4.1   

Tools & Techniques

In PMGT614, after the group project was completed, we individually had to develop a Project Closure Plan.  This product is actually a Procurement Audit Checklist in that it is a review of procurement process, schedule, costs and changes to them. It also provides for the Customer to accept the process.  see 12.4.2

Output

In PMGT501 our comprehensive project management plan included an in depth closure package and review of the procurements, contracts and deliverables with an accepted signature page.  These would be completed contractual obligations for the project.  see 12.4.3