Module 12 of 12 · Async + Virtual · 1.5 hours
Closeout and Debriefing
Module 12 resources. Start with the video, then the written lesson. Then open the Grace Closeout Checklist on your project closest to closeout, and the Phase Debrief form before your current phase ends.
Module 12 throughline: You own closeout. Admin, Accounting and the Storyteller perform steps, and you confirm that each of the five areas is complete before you ask for the archive. The debrief produces an action with an owner and a date. Following through on that action is what makes the lesson useful.Module Video
One video, Close and Debrief the Project. The five areas of closeout, the five question debrief at each phase end and at closeout, and the readiness check before the archive.
Available Open →Module Overview
The five areas, the eight ways closeout breaks, the five question debrief with the research behind it, and the Oakhaven project at closeout with two exercises. One read, about 15 minutes.
Available Open →Quick Reference Guide
The job aid. Print it. 7 things to do, 7 to watch out for, 7 to avoid, the five areas with the question you answer before the archive, and the five debrief questions.
Available Open →The Grace Closeout Checklist
The tool for this week. 17 closeout steps across the five areas, who performs each one, and what you confirm. Check the rows on screen for your project, or print it.
Available Open →Additional Materials
- The Grace Closeout ChecklistHTMLPDF
- Project Debrief formPDFWord
- Phase Debrief formPDFWord
- Phase Debrief form, Academy reflection for Onsite 2PDFWord
- AR Guide, Module 3HTML
- A3 Storyteller TemplatePDF
- Module 12 Live DiscussionComing soon
Live session, Thursday, October 22, 2:00 PM ET. Bring one record from a recent phase: the phase plan, the change log or the QC Form. You will use it to practice a debrief.
What you will be able to do
- ✓Check a project against the five areas, name every item still open, and leave the archive request until the checklist is complete.
- ✓State who performs each closeout step and what the Project Manager confirms.
- ✓Lead a debrief with the five questions, at a phase end and at closeout, against the project records.
- ✓End a debrief with an action, an owner and a date, send it to the right person, and check at the next review that it happened.
Tools & resources
Tools & resources you will use
- Grace Closeout Checklist (on screen and PDF)
- Project Debrief form (PDF and Word)
- Phase Debrief form, with the Academy reflection version
- AR Guide (Module 3)
- A3 Storyteller Template
- Module 12 Quick Reference
What your cohort found at Onsite 1
At Onsite 1, 20 groups ranked 44 Project Manager responsibilities by the size of the gap. Every group flagged the archive request, and lessons learned ranked 4th of 44 in the firm. The steps the contractor and the owner push rank lowest.
| Card | Closeout responsibility | Firm rank, of 44 | Groups that flagged it, of 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Complete lessons learned and transfer knowledge to the team | 4 | 19 |
| 38 | Obtain final client feedback, measured as relationship health | 9 | 15 |
| 45 | Archive project records and store project emails in Centerline | 23 | 19 |
| 43 | Finalize the Project A3 and conduct the post occupancy or project review | 25 | 18 |
| 46 | Request the Centerline archive zip and validate deliverables against the original scope | 29 | 20 |
| 44 | Complete financial closeout and resolve AR | 33 | 9 |
| 40 | Identify future opportunities and cultivate the repeat client | 36 | 2 |
| 39 | Create and complete the punchlist, manage Substantial Completion, warranties, final payment | 40 | 3 |
| 42 | Review closeout submittals, O&M manuals, warranties, record drawings, and start the G704 | 43 | 1 |
The Archetype Lens
At closeout, the Competent Coordinator reports the open items and requests the archive anyway.
The status report says closeout items are outstanding. The project shows closed in Centerline. The record is incomplete, and nobody owns what is left.
Competent Coordinator
Logs and documents instead of intervening. Assumes someone else has the task.
Obsessed Designer
Optimizes for the design. Treats budget, client ops, and team load as someone else’s problem.
People Pleaser
Leads with relationship. Says yes, softens bad news, absorbs cost to dodge the hard conversation.
Accountable Owner
Owns the intersections. Reads signals early, stops work, presents options, protects the outcome.
The last punchlist item closed 3 weeks ago. Two team members still have project email in their inboxes, nobody has asked the client for feedback, and the A3 is a Storyteller draft you have not checked. A new project needs everyone on Monday.
Writes the open items in the status report and asks Admin for the archive zip so the project shows closed.
Runs the checklist, names the 3 open items with an owner and a date each, holds the debrief this week while the team is still together, and asks for the zip after the record is complete.