Wrapping up a creative project is a time for celebration… but the job isn’t over yet. To make sure that your project is wrapped up comprehensively and your hard work was worth it, you’ve got to have a plan. A project completion checklist can help you. Here’s a deeper look at what a project completion checklist is and how you can kick the stress out of your project completion phase.

Project Completion – A Checklist for Digital Projects

When your project is coming to its final stages, you will want to go through each of the points in this checklist to confirm that everything is completed.

1. Has every stakeholder reviewed deliverables?

It is essential that each stakeholder has the opportunity to give their approval on a given project. This may sound obvious but depending on the structure of your agency/company, this can vary. You will want to confirm the following people have had their final say:



Art directors

Copywriters

Agency directors

Department heads

Internal senior stakeholders

External stakeholders

2. Has the project scope been met?

At the beginning of your project, you will have created a robust project scope that was used to shape your project and guide it to completion. Has the project scope statement been met entirely? If not, will that be an issue? This period of reflection can be useful for every stakeholder involved in the project.

3. Has a post-project report been completed and reviewed?

A post-project report details the overall process that was followed and the results that were achieved. This report can help you to take key lessons from the project and also identify any areas that can be improved for the next round. This report should be shared among your organization for maximum effectiveness.

4. Have all costs been charged to the project?

It is important that all of the relevant costs associated with your project are charged to it. This will help to tidy up loose ends, ensure that your organization gets its money, and avoid any potential confusion in the future with late invoices or bills.

5. Have all files been organized?

Throughout the project, you probably created a lot of files and versions of deliverables. While those might seem useless now, it’s vital that they are properly cataloged and filed away for later on the off-chance that they are needed.

How You Can Reduce the Stress of Completing a Digital Project

Completing a digital project can be stressful. There is a lot of potential for loose ends, and you don’t want to have left an error or mistake in the work. Here is how to control these areas and reduce any stress associated with the end of a digital project.

1. Make the review process simple

Your deliverables are 99% there, but last-minute changes may be requested. You cannot afford to inject confusion into the project here, so it’s essential that your review process is incredibly transparent and clear. To make sure that this is the case, you’ll want to streamline your review and approval process with a tool like Filestage.



2. Take your time

Now that the finish line is in sight, it can be very tempting to rush toward it with arms outstretched in victory. But now is the time to be methodical and cautious – slowly work your way through your project completion template and resist the temptation for premature celebration. The project will be wrapped up before you know it!

3. Share feedback

With the project wrapping up, this is the perfect time to deliver feedback on performance with the rest of your team. This can galvanize and motivate them, making sure that they give this last final push of the project their all. You can also take this opportunity to excite them for the future and the next big project.

4. Keep your team mentally engaged

Your team knows that the project has almost been completed and they’re ready to breathe a large collective sigh of relief. As the project manager, it’s your job to make sure that every member of your team remains engaged and vigilant. Final tweaks and thedelivery of materials is a very delicate stage of the project, so you want your team at their best.

5. Enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done

Of course, you should also take the time to look back at the project and admire the work that you and your team have accomplished. This can keep you motivated and show you just how far you’ve come – important fuel to keep you rocketing through amazing digital projects.

Project Completion Template

The checklist of tasks to be completed at the end of a project can seem obvious, but you want a list to refer to. Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 astronaut, went as far to call his crew’s mission checklists the “fourth crew member”. Here’s a project completion template to help you glide to success:



Project Completion Report

After having completed the project, you’ll want to produce a report for your superiors and the rest of the team. This can help you to assess the positives and negatives that appeared along the way and refine your approach for future projects. Here’s a project completion report template that you can use:



Conclusion

We hope that this post has helped you look at project completion in a new light. It’s a challenging yet rewarding part of the project management process that can help you to add the perfect final touches to your amazing project.