What it means
A Post-Completion Review is an important step in project management and finance. After a project is completed, it's crucial to look back and evaluate its outcomes against the original objectives.
This involves assessing whether the project met its goals, stayed within budget, and delivered the expected benefits. This review matters because it provides valuable insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of a project.
It helps organisations identify areas for improvement, ensuring that future projects are better planned and executed. Learning from past experiences can lead to more successful outcomes.
In practice, a Post-Completion Review involves gathering data on project performance, including financial results and feedback from stakeholders. This information is then analysed to identify successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
Conducting regular Post-Completion Reviews can lead to more informed decision-making and better resource allocation in future projects. It also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within an organisation.
Think of a Post-Completion Review like a sports team's post-match analysis. After the game, the team reviews what strategies worked, what didn't, and how they can improve for the next match.
In practice
Real-world examples
Example 1
An entrepreneur launches a new e-commerce website with a budget of $10,000. After completion, a review shows that sales met the target of $20,000, but the project exceeded its budget by $2,000, which is 20%, because of unexpected marketing costs. The review helps the entrepreneur plan more accurately for future projects.
Example 2
A small manufacturing business installs a new production line costing $50,000. The Post-Completion Review reveals that the line increased output by 20%, but it also increased maintenance costs by $5,000 a year. The managers use the finding to revisit their maintenance strategy and optimise costs.
Example 3
A local council completes a $200,000 park renovation. The review highlights strong community satisfaction and a 30% increase in park usage, but it also notes that the project took two months longer than planned. The council uses the finding to improve timeline management on its next project.
Think of it
Think of a Post-Completion Review like a sports team's post-match analysis. After the game, the team reviews what strategies worked, what didn't, and how they can improve for the next match.
Formula
Calculation
Cost Variance = Actual Cost - Budgeted Cost
Cost Variance % = Cost Variance / Budgeted Cost x 100
Payback Period = Project Cost / Annual Benefit
Example: A project had a budget of $50,000 and an expected annual cost saving of $20,000. The final cost came in at $56,000 and the saving achieved in the first year was $17,000.
Cost Variance = 56,000 - 50,000 = $6,000 over budget, and Cost Variance % = 6,000 / 50,000 x 100 = 12%. The benefit shortfall is 20,000 - 17,000 = $3,000, which is 15% below plan.
The planned payback period was 50,000 / 20,000 = 2.5 years. The actual payback period is 56,000 / 17,000 = about 3.3 years, so the project takes roughly 10 months longer to pay for itself than expected. A review that puts these numbers side by side shows leadership exactly where the plan was wrong.Case study
Seen in the real world
This is a fictional, illustrative scenario. GreenTech Ltd, a small fictional renewable energy company, completed a $500,000 solar panel installation project. The Post-Completion Review, held three months after handover, showed that the project achieved the expected 15% increase in energy efficiency. It also found a delay caused by supply chain issues and a budget overrun of $20,000, which is 4%, caused by unforeseen regulatory costs.
The review team interviewed the site crew, the supplier and the customer, and recorded their comments alongside the financial figures. They found that the supplier contract had no penalty for late delivery and that the original budget included no contingency (a reserve for unexpected costs). Those two gaps, not bad luck, explained most of the problems. As a result, GreenTech added delivery penalties to its supplier contracts and began adding a 5% contingency to project budgets.
On a $500,000 project that reserve is $25,000, which would have covered the $20,000 overrun in full. Later projects ran more smoothly, and the lessons learned document became a standard input to every new project plan. Managers also agreed to schedule each Post-Completion Review in the project plan from day one, with a named owner and a fixed date, so that the exercise could not be quietly dropped once the team moved on to its next job.
Watch out
Common mistakes
- Failing to conduct a Post-Completion Review at all, which can lead to missed learning opportunities.
- Only focusing on financial outcomes, ignoring qualitative feedback and stakeholder insights.
- Not documenting the lessons learned, making it difficult to apply them to future projects.
Questions
People also ask
Why is a Post-Completion Review important?
It provides insights into a project's success and areas for improvement, helping to enhance future project planning and execution.
How often should Post-Completion Reviews be conducted?
They should be conducted after the completion of every significant project to ensure continuous improvement.
What should be included in a Post-Completion Review?
Include an evaluation of project goals, budget adherence, stakeholder feedback, and any lessons learned.