What steps do you take to close out a project?

People are usually pretty good about starting projects, but many may not know how to close out the project properly. An interviewer will ask you this question to understand your approach to this and determine how important you think finalizing a project is. As an experienced IT project manager, you should be able to describe step by step how you go about closing out a project so that the client is satisfied and the organization can account for the project costs and properly.

For xample: "Finalizing a project and closing it out properly is one of the most important steps in managing a project. If not done correctly, it could result in less than optimal client satisfaction and challenges in assigning the costs related to the project. My approach to this is to first call a meeting of all the stakeholders after the project has been completed to review the entire project, including any deviations from the original plan, and a summary of the results we attained. We then review all the project costs and how they were allocated. Finally, I solicit feedback from both the project stakeholders and the project team about what we could have done better. Their input is invaluable, and I include it in my planning for the next project. The last step is to submit a summary of the project costs to the finance organization so the costs can be allocated, the vendors paid, and the budget closed."