Customer Problem: Learning from history and the relevance of project closure!

In this episode of the 4PM Podcast, host Mounir Ajam explores one of the most overlooked yet critical aspects of project management: project closure. Too often, projects are rushed to an end, leaving behind lost knowledge, missed opportunities for improvement, and no lasting organizational learning.

Drawing on decades of global project management experience, Mounir highlights why learning from history matters and how neglecting closure can set organizations up to repeat past mistakes. He then introduces how the Uruk Platform addresses this challenge with practical solutions—such as staged closures, completion reports, captured lessons learned, and success measurement—ensuring that projects don’t just finish, but leave behind valuable insights for future success.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn every project into a stepping stone for organizational growth, this episode is for you.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the 4PM Podcast
• 1:20 The Problem with Project Closeout
• 3:08 Uruk Platform's Digital Solution Approach
• 5:00 Benefits and Final Thoughts
• 6:19 Call to Action and Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the 4 pm podcast, where ideas take shape and strategies find purpose.

Speaker 1: 0:10

I am Mounir Ajam, founder and CEO of Rook Project Management, and I have a deep-seated passion for project management and community development, growing on decades of global experience across diverse industries and roles. I am here to guide you through the transformative power of the 4PMs project program, product and portfolio management and our focus on business integrated project management. Let's explore how integration unlocks unparalleled value for you and your organization. Unparalleled value for you and your organization. Good day, welcome back to the 4PM Podcast. I am Munir Ajam, your host, and I'm grateful you're joining me for another episode. Today's discussion is part of our series on a customer problem and how we solve it. We'll focus on a recurring challenge in project management project closure and why learning from history is critical for future success. More importantly, we'll explore how the Uruk platform addresses this gap with practical solutions that ensure projects don't just end but leave behind valuable lessons for the organization. As we build the Uruk platform, we reflect on decades of experience on real projects worldwide and in different industries. These projects range from micro to mega simple to incredibly complex. During these decades, we have learned from the good, bad and even ugly practices. One day we will share many of these stories.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Part one the problem. One area we observed as a weakness was project closeout. Properly closing a project is often ignored, forgotten or rushed, for example, facility to the operation team, the implementation team is demobilized, disbanded and the project and history they had is likely lost as they leave the project. In today's post we will not explain the importance of proper closure. I think many PM guide make that case. We will say it is vital for continual organizational learning. Most of us have probably heard a variation of this. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Project closure is one mechanism for learning from history. Part 2, solving the Problem. How are we solving this problem?

Speaker 1: 3:10

In the Uruk platform, we have many features to counter this problem and we will briefly share them here. Number 1, digital Solution. The Uruk platform is a digital solution. The Rook platform is a digital solution. Therefore, the default is that all project information is automatically stored in the system and not lost.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Number two closing stages. Instead of waiting to close the project at the end after handover, we included a process for closing every stage before the stage team members leave the project. Number three completion report. In the last stage of the project. We insist on generating a completion report. The closeout report will be in the future, after the final success assessment. The project completion report includes many steps. By the way, we insist on closing every project, even those terminated, before completion.

Speaker 1: 4:12

Number four captured lessons Learned. The Uruk platform includes a module for capturing and using lessons learned on a project. Capturing and using lessons learned on a project Lessons are captured throughout the project. There is no need to wait for closure. Accordingly, each project contributes to learning and improving future projects. In addition, while planning each stage in the current project, the team can review the lesson from past projects and embrace the learning.

Speaker 1: 4:45

Number five project success. We also incorporated project success in the Rook platform with a dedicated module using the Rook way for dimension of project success. Project success support the learning from history and facilitate the project closure. Number six exit report. Every team member leaving the project will complete a project exit report to capture their thoughts before disappearing. There are many other subtle features throughout the Uruk platform. The cumulative benefits of these features include are Ensuring project completion and closure action are carried out promptly and not losing history. We are ensuring quality information to support organizational learning. As you can see, we are not business tech people building software. We are project management practitioners with decades of global experience. It was natural for us to build the Uruk platform using our learned history. Remember, success can be predetermined, cultivated and achieved. This episode resonated with you. I encourage you to subscribe, share it with your teams and explore more at europepmcom. You can also connect with me directly on linkedin. This is munir ajam for the4 pm podcast until next, until next time, keep learning, keep leading and always deliver with purpose.