Applicability of Traditional Project Closeout Approaches in Agile Developed IT Projects

This article investigates the applicability and compatibility of project closeout processes defined in traditional project management frameworks in cases of agile-developed IT projects. Based on a literature review analysis of three project management frameworks, the hypothesis is formed that traditional project closeout processes are critical in agile developed IT projects. The developed hypothesis suggests an unclear indication of how to trigger a project closeout, the inapplicability of scope fulfillment for closeout trigger, and critical transitions between closed projects and ongoing agile software improvement and maintenance. All three parts of the hypothesis are then individually evaluated by an online survey with 85 participants. As a result of this survey, all three hypotheses are falsified. For most project management practitioners in agile projects, closeout processes are not critical, scope fulfillment is still the most relevant closeout trigger, and the transition to a continues-improvement and maintenance process is seen as principally uncritical.