At this point, the sponsor has to make a new go/no-go decision based on the revised plans. They may make the decision by themselves, or arrange it with others such as the portfolio management team.

If the decision is made to stop the project, the project closure activities will be run, and the sponsor should decide whether or not to enter the post-project management cycle.

Purpose

The goal is to make sure the project is still justifiable and to remind everyone that there’s a goal for the project higher than the sum of isolated specialist activities.

Common pitfalls

The sponsor has to take this management activity seriously and not just approve the project automatically without inspection. It’s important for everyone to understand that canceling projects is a sign of good project management.

Sometimes, a project may be justifiable when evaluated in isolation, but it may not be as justifiable as other possible projects that you can run. As a result, a holistic perspective is necessary when evaluating the continuous justification of the project, and it’s best done within a single portfolio management system that oversees all the projects in the organization.

Principles

The following principles play a significant role in this management activity:

• NUP3: Always be proactive.
• NUP5: Don’t do anything without a clear purpose.