When is a project finished?

Question

Options

• AAfter verbal acceptance of the customer or sponsor
• BAfter lessons learned have been documented in contract closure
• CWhen the project objectives have been met
• DAfter resources have been released

• A
  9% (3)
• B
  3% (1)
• C
  85% (28)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

A project is finished when its objectives have been met (C) because the entire purpose of a project is to achieve specific goals - once those goals are accomplished, the project has fulfilled its reason for existing, regardless of what administrative steps follow.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (verbal acceptance): Acceptance should be formal and documented, not verbal, and acceptance is a sign the objectives were met - not the definition of completion itself.
• B (lessons learned/contract closure): These are closing processes that happen after the project is finished, not the event that defines its end.
• D (resources released): Releasing resources is also a closing activity that follows completion - you release resources because the project is done, not the other way around.

Memory tip: Think of a project like a mission. The mission is over when the objective is achieved - not when the debrief happens, the crew goes home, or the paperwork is filed. Those are all downstream of success, not success itself.

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