PROJECT TERMINATION QUALITY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS

Project Management activities have become an integral part of almost every organization. Most
of the effort on a project tends to occur in the middle of a project with a substantial focus on the
planning and execution phases, but with limited emphasis on the closing or termination aspect.
Terminating a project has intrinsic and extrinsic organizational effects that need to be
acknowledged and addressed at the end of a project lifecycle. Even successfully completed
projects require post-project analysis to fully realize the benefit of the experience attained at the
end of a project. The learning that occurs augments or improves business processes,
technological capabilities, senior management trust, and can mitigate current and future
stakeholder issues. This dissertation intends to heighten the awareness of the importance
of project termination activities to insight commitment of resources from organizations for
closing efforts. The intention of this dissertation is to measure the effects of project termination
quality from the viewpoint of the project management community. Execution of a quality
project termination promotes organizational learning that strengthens the relationship between
organization’s capabilities and future project management success.