PROJECT EVALUATION REPORT TEMPLATE

<PROJECT NAME>

TEAM # - TEAM NAME

GORDON ZHOU – PROJECT SPONSOR
TEAM MEMBER NAME # 1 - PROJECT MANAGER
TEAM MEMBER NAME # 2 – ROLE
TEAM MEMBER NAME # 3 - ROLE

Revision History
Date Author Version Change Description Approved by

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. PROJECT SUMMARY................................................................................................................. 3
2. PROJECT TEAM AND STAFFING...................................................................................................3
3. PROJECT DELIVERABLES (PLANNED VS. ACTUAL)............................................................................4
4. TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS..................................................................................................... 5
5. PROJECT COSTS.......................................................................................................................6
6. PROJECT SCHEDULE..................................................................................................................8
7. RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................9

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1. PROJECT SUMMARY
This section should provide a summary of the project which was completed. It is important
that this summary captures the scope of the project and contains enough detail to provide a
full understanding of the project. Since this document will communicate what went right
and wrong with the project, as well as lessons learned and recommendations for future
projects, it is imperative that this section provide enough background information to base
the details in the rest of the document on.

Example: Cable Tech recently completed the MicroFiber Cable Project which has been
transitioned to the operations group for manufacturing. This marks the end of a difficult but
successful project for the Cable Tech research and development (R&D) group.

The objective of this project was to design a new optical fiber cable which is smaller than our
current line of cable products without sacrificing any performance parameters. The purpose
of this is to reduce material costs by utilizing less material in the manufacturing of smaller
cables and to grow our customer base by providing smaller cables which are able to fit in
smaller or congested ducts and conduits.

The scope of this project included a phased approach for the design, testing, customer trials,
and transition to manufacturing for the new MicroFiber Cable Project. Project success was
defined as designing and manufacturing a MicroFiber cable product which passed all
performance and mechanical testing, achieved the goal of smaller cable diameters, received
positive customer feedback in trials, and was able to be transitioned to production without
significant capital investments.

2. PROJECT TEAM AND STAFFING

This section provides information about who the project team consisted of. This usually
includes names, titles, project role, and contact information. This information is useful
when questions may arise on future projects which are similar in nature. It also provides a
useful list of points of contact should more information be needed on lessons learned from
the project.

Example: The Cable Tech MicroFiber Project consisted of a skilled and knowledgeable team.
The chart below provides information about MicroFiber Project team members:

Name Title Project Role Contact

A. Smith VP Technology Project Sponsor a.smith@mf.org
B. White Asst Mgr PMO Project Manager b.white@mf.org
C. Black Design Tech Design Engineer c.black@mf.org

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D. Green Testing Tech Testing Engineer d.green@mf.org
E. Blue Material Tech Materials Engineer e.blue@mf.org
F. Brown Production Tech Production Engineer f.brown@mf.org

MicroFiber project team members utilized standard project management methodologies to

successfully complete the project. The project team was a matrixed organization with full
support from functional managers and senior leadership. Effective communication, detailed
planning, stakeholder involvement, project management tools, and organizational structure
all played key roles in the project’s success.

Staffing lessons from previous projects were used in building the project team. Rather than
allocate too many resources, as some past projects have done, the MicroFiber team was
staffed with one resource per development area. The project sponsor made clear to the
project manager that if any additional resources were required, they must be requested
through standard Cable Tech channels and the impact on project cost and schedule would
need to be defined.

3. PROJECT DELIVERABLES (PLANNED VS. ACTUAL)

This section describes the expected outcomes of the project as it was originally planned and
compares these outcomes against the actual outcomes. This is beneficial in defining any
occurrences of scope creep or whether a project may not have been completed as planned.
This is helpful information for lessons learned and for future project teams conducting
similar projects.

Example: The Cable Tech MicroFiber Project has been completed successfully. There were
planned deliverables for each phase of this project as well as for the completed product.
This section highlights the planned deliverables and compares them to actual deliverables as
they occurred.

MicroFiber Design
Planned Deliverable Actual Deliverable Summary
Complete cable specification Complete cable specification This deliverable was
kit and design parameter kit and design parameter completed as planned
package package

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 MicroFiber Production (Prototype)
Planned Deliverable Actual Deliverable Summary
Range of prototype Range of prototype This deliverable was
MicroFiber cables for testing MicroFiber cables for testing completed as planned
and customer trials and customer trials

MicroFiber Testing
Planned Deliverable Actual Deliverable Summary
Testing documentation Testing documentation This deliverable was
package establishing all package establishing all completed as planned
product limits and thresholds product limits and thresholds

MicroFiber Final Project Deliverables

Planned Deliverable Actual Deliverable Summary
Final cable product line with Final cable product line with This deliverable was
standard performance standard performance completed as planned
criteria and diameters criteria and diameters
reduced by 10% reduced by 10%
MicroFiber production MicroFiber production This deliverable was
guidelines and specifications guidelines and specifications completed as planned
for operational for operational
manufacturing manufacturing
Completed Technical Technical Reference Package Material and vendor list is
Reference Package for for product users with under review with legal
product users exception of approved department and will be
material/vendor list added upon approval

In summary all documented project deliverables have been met by the MicroFiber project
team. All stakeholders have submitted their feedback and acknowledge that there are no
deliverables which were missed or omitted for this project.

4. TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS
This section describes the transition of the project to operations upon completion. This
section should include any difficulties or challenges faced during this transition. This section
should also highlight what went right during the transition so future projects may reference
and use best practices to improve project performance.

Example: Transition of a project to an operational environment can be a challenging task

for many organizations. Cable Tech ensures that R&D and operations leadership practice

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 effective communication throughout a project’s duration to ensure continuity once the
transition takes place. Additionally, Cable Tech encourages that all project managers
include senior operations leadership as stakeholders in all projects.

The MicroFiber project was successfully transitioned to operations as a direct result of

effective communication and detailed planning. The inclusion of the Vice President of
Operations, shift managers, and business unit leaders as stakeholders ensured a collective
approach to the creation of an improved product which could be transitioned smoothly to a
manufacturing environment.

Future projects can benefit by involving operations staff early in the project planning phase
and soliciting input from operations team members on important considerations for the
project from an operational perspective. The MicroFiber team was not only successful in
communicating and planning with operations staff but they leveraged these strengths to
determine expectations of what operations required as part of the transition. In this case,
the project team was able to develop complete technical data packages and process
specifications for operations to use in the manufacturing of the MicroFiber product. This
resulted in an almost seamless transition of product lines on the manufacturing floor. If the
operations staff had not been included as stakeholders nor participated in the project
planning, it is likely this step would have been overlooked and the project would have
encountered delays and additional costs.

One area of improvement would be to build all prototype products on manufacturing lines
with operations personnel assisting as opposed to R&D personnel building products in the
R&D lab. This would have allowed operations personnel to gain familiarity with the product
earlier in the project’s lifecycle and facilitated an even smoother transition period.

5. PROJECT COSTS
This section should describe how the planned or budgeted costs for the project compare
with the actual costs. Costs may be affected by scope creep, poor planning, schedule
delays, progressive elaboration, or many other factors. This section should highlight
whether or not costs were controlled adequately and if there were additional or excessive
costs the reasons should be stated. It is important to communicate why costs were met or
may have been higher than planned so future projects can benefit from this information in
building a more effective project management methodology within the organization.

Example: The budgeted cost for the Cable Tech MicroFiber Project was set at $6,600,000.
This cost was broken out by project phase in the following chart with actual costs compared
to the planned/budgeted cost.

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Project Phase Budgeted Cost Actual Cost Comments
Product Design $1,100,000 $1,050,000 Design costs came in
under budget
Prototype Builds $2,000,000 $2,075,000 Prototype builds
were over budget
due to errors
resulting in the
rebuilding of one
cable
Testing $250,000 $250,000 Testing costs were on
budget
Trial Cable Builds and $2,500,000 $2,400,000 Trial cables were
Installation built and installed
under budget
Transition to $750,000 $750,000 Transition costs were
Operations on budget

Total actual costs of the MicroFiber Project amounted to $6,525,000. The MicroFiber
project was not only successful in meeting all of its objectives and deliverables, but by
completing under budget, it also allowed Cable Tech to allocate $75,000 to other important
initiatives.

Product design was completed under budget. This was due primarily to the fact that the
MicroFiber product’s performance specifications are identical to our previous product line
and that the only required change was reducing the cable size and diameter. This resulted
in slightly less design work than anticipated.

Prototype builds was completed over budget. The reason for this was that one of the cable
lines malfunctioned during the build and a cable had to be re-built. The line time, labor, and
material waste were not included in the budgeted amount for this portion of the project
resulting in an overrun.

Trial cable builds and installation was completed under budget. The primary reason for this
is that the smaller cable diameters allowed for easier installation of the cables at trial
customer premises. This resulted in taking less time for installation which resulted in lower
actual cost for this portion of the project.

Testing and transition to operations completed on budget for this project. Past project
documentation was used in developing our budgets for these portions of the project. By

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 utilizing Cable Tech project archives and standard best practices we were able to plan
accurately and complete the work according to plan.

6. PROJECT SCHEDULE
This section describes the project’s planned schedule or timeline and how the project
measured against this plan. This information is helpful in identifying and understanding
what may have contributed to project delays or allowed the project to complete early or on
time. This can then be used by the team members on future projects or be referenced by
other project teams for use on future projects. Archiving project information during the
project closure phase is one of the best ways for an organization to improve its project
management methodologies and effectiveness.

Example: The Cable Tech MicroFiber Project schedule called for a one year project with
initiation beginning on January 1, 2011 and project closeout ending on December 31, 2011.
There were initial concerns by the project team that the schedule would potentially slip due
to the small number of resources assigned to the project. The below chart shows each
phase of the project lifecycle, the planned schedule dates, and the actual completion dates
of each phase.

Project Phase Scheduled Completion Actual Completion Comments

Initiation January 15, 20xx January 15, 20xx Completed on time
Design February 28, 20xx February 28, 20xx Completed on time
Prototype Build April 30, 20xx April 30, 20xx Completed on time
Testing June 30, 20xx June 30, 20xx Completed on time
Trial Build/Install September 30, 20xx September 30, 20xx Completed on time
Transition to Ops November 30, 20xx November 30, 20xx Completed on time
Project Closure December 31, 20xx TBD Progressing on time

Many Cable Tech projects do not complete a thorough project closure phase. This is usually
due to earlier project phases completing late which results in having to cut short or omit this
important final phase. The MicroFiber Project successfully completed each phase on time
which can be attributed to effective planning and communication as well as sponsor and
executive level support of this important initiative. Throughout the project there was a
strong sense of cooperation across the organization as the importance of this project was
stressed and its benefits were realized.

During the initiation and planning phases there was concern among the team members that
there were inadequate resources assigned to this project. However, due to the many
similarities between MicroFiber and the previous product line, additional resources were not

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 needed and the assigned staff was adequate to complete all work packages in the planned
timeframes.

The only project phase which encountered schedule problems was the prototype build
phase. This was due to a cable line malfunctioning and a prototype cable having to be
rebuilt. The project team was able to reallocate its resources and complete the rebuild
within the planned timeframe.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS
This section should highlight any recommendations and lessons learned which would be of
use on future projects. This is a valuable part of the project closeout phase and
organizational project archives. In the project planning phase one of the first steps is to
research organizational archives to identify useful information for planning and executing a
project. These recommendations and lessons learned are one of the most important pieces
or project success in any effective project management group.

Example: The MicroFiber Project was an example of a carefully planned and successfully
executed project for Cable Tech. However, it is not without its recommendations or lessons
learned.

Recommendation #1:
Involve operations personnel during the initiation phase for new product development
projects so they are involved during every step of the planning and execution process. This
is imperative in establishing familiarity with the product and processes as well as
establishing expectations of what operations will require during transition.

Recommendation #2:
Build prototype products on actual manufacturing lines with operations support. In addition
to the familiarity discussed in recommendation #1, this would provide verification that
manufacturing lines are configured and capable of manufacturing the new product prior to
transition to operations.

Recommendation #3:
Researching Cable Tech project archives was extremely beneficial in establishing budgets
and schedules for project phases. As a result of studying documentation from similar past
projects the MicroFiber project team was able to accurately determine budgets, work
packages required, and resource allocation.

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SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE

Approved by the Project Sponsor:

___________________________________________ Date:____________________
<Project Sponsor>
<Project Sponsor Title>

Reviewed by the Project Manager:

___________________________________________ Date:____________________
<Project Manager Name>
Project Manager (Author)

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