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.

Explore more project management insights at www.urukpm.com

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the 4 pm podcast, where ideas take shape
and strategies find purpose.
I am Mounir Ajam, founder andCEO of Rook Project Management,
and I have a deep-seated passionfor project management and
community development, growingon decades of global experience

(00:24):
across diverse industries androles.
I am here to guide you throughthe transformative power of the
4PMs project program, productand portfolio management and our
focus on business integratedproject management.
Let's explore how integrationunlocks unparalleled value for
you and your organization.
Unparalleled value for you andyour organization.

(00:51):
Good day, welcome back to the4PM Podcast.
I am Munir Ajam, your host, andI'm grateful you're joining me
for another episode.
Today's discussion is part ofour series on a customer problem
and how we solve it.
We'll focus on a recurringchallenge in project management
project closure and why learningfrom history is critical for
future success.
More importantly, we'll explorehow the Uruk platform addresses

(01:16):
this gap with practicalsolutions that ensure projects
don't just end but leave behindvaluable lessons for the
organization.
As we build the Uruk platform,we reflect on decades of
experience on real projectsworldwide and in different

(01:39):
industries.
These projects range from microto mega simple to incredibly
complex.
During these decades, we havelearned from the good, bad and
even ugly practices.
One day we will share many ofthese stories.

(02:00):
Part one the problem.
One area we observed as aweakness was project closeout.
Properly closing a project isoften ignored, forgotten or
rushed, for example, facility tothe operation team, the

(02:34):
implementation team isdemobilized, disbanded and the
project and history they had islikely lost as they leave the
project.
In today's post we will notexplain the importance of proper
closure.
I think many PM guide make thatcase.
We will say it is vital forcontinual organizational
learning.
Most of us have probably hearda variation of this.
Those who do not learn fromhistory are doomed to repeat it.
Project closure is onemechanism for learning from

(02:58):
history.
Part 2, solving the Problem.
How are we solving this problem?
In the Uruk platform, we havemany features to counter this
problem and we will brieflyshare them here.
Number 1, digital Solution.

(03:19):
The Uruk platform is a digitalsolution.
The Rook platform is a digitalsolution.
Therefore, the default is thatall project information is
automatically stored in thesystem and not lost.
Number two closing stages.
Instead of waiting to close theproject at the end after

(03:40):
handover, we included a processfor closing every stage before
the stage team members leave theproject.
Number three completion report.
In the last stage of theproject.
We insist on generating acompletion report.
The closeout report will be inthe future, after the final
success assessment.

(04:01):
The project completion reportincludes many steps.
By the way, we insist onclosing every project, even
those terminated, beforecompletion.
Number four captured lessonsLearned.
The Uruk platform includes amodule for capturing and using

(04:21):
lessons learned on a project.
Capturing and using lessonslearned on a project Lessons are
captured throughout the project.
There is no need to wait forclosure.
Accordingly, each projectcontributes to learning and
improving future projects.
In addition, while planningeach stage in the current
project, the team can review thelesson from past projects and

(04:43):
embrace the learning.
Number five project success.
We also incorporated projectsuccess in the Rook platform
with a dedicated module usingthe Rook way for dimension of
project success.
Project success support thelearning from history and
facilitate the project closure.

(05:04):
Number six exit report.
Every team member leaving theproject will complete a project
exit report to capture theirthoughts before disappearing.
There are many other subtlefeatures throughout the Uruk
platform.
The cumulative benefits ofthese features include are

(05:26):
Ensuring project completion andclosure action are carried out
promptly and not losing history.
We are ensuring qualityinformation to support
organizational learning.
As you can see, we are notbusiness tech people building

(05:48):
software.
We are project managementpractitioners with decades of
global experience.
It was natural for us to buildthe Uruk platform using our
learned history.
Remember, success can bepredetermined, cultivated and
achieved.
This episode resonated with you.

(06:19):
I encourage you to subscribe,share it with your teams and
explore more at europepmcom.
You can also connect with medirectly on linkedin.
This is munir ajam for the4 pmpodcast until next, until next
time, keep learning, keepleading and always deliver with
purpose.