WHAT Delivery means

Delivery is a series of tasks to formally close out your consulting work. It is here that you pass on the torch to those who will actually be executing your big idea and making it a reality.

WHEN Delivery Happens

The Delivery phase commences when there is a final solution proposal that the client is ready to forge ahead with.

WHO Delivery Involves

As a consultant, your role in this phase is quite small; really just the tip of the iceberg. Your team will be involved in the very early stages of the Delivery phase and then designers, developers, architects, and vendors alike, will carry on with the remainder of the project until the very end. Key client stakeholders will also be involved to sign off on your final deliverables as you wrap things up.

WHY The Delivery Phase Is Important

This phase is important because it gives the awaiting teams/stakeholders the formal green light  to begin their work on the project. It also helps to bring closure to your team and your portion of the project. The Delivery phase allows your team to tie up and loose ends and be able to walk away from the project feeling like you’ve fulfilled what was expected of you.

HOW to Navigate Through Delivery

Now that the presentation is done and the appropriate revisions have been incorporated into the final report, the Delivery phase brings all the pieces together. This phase is where you submit the final report to the client as your last deliverable and to your professor for grading.

The report, as outlined by the ‘Guidelines for the Group Project’, should detail the company and industry analysis, the findings, as well as the solution (and alternatives) being proposed. While the implementation of the solution is not part of the project, the implementation plan is expected to be included in the report. Once the report has been shared with the client, expect some additional discussions and, ultimately, a sign off of the project/report.

In some cases, the client may choose to keep in contact and request your assistance if they proceed to implementation of the solution. While this isn’t a requirement for the Capstone project, it is a great opportunity to build relationships with professionals and companies, which may lead to future employment.

At the end of the project, after the report has been submitted and in the midst of celebration, it’s important to take the time for close-out activities. This is the opportunity as a group to discuss the learnings from the project, as well as bring the relationship with your client to an end.

Gather with your group and key client contact(s) and do a project post-mortem activity. Through this session, the main objective should be to answer the following questions relating to the entire project lifespan:

• Were all goals achieved? Why/why not?
• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• What can we conclude by comparing progress against the project scope?

As the project wraps up, this activity will level-set all aspects of the relationship and suggest areas of improvement and growth for all parties. In addition, conclude conversations with your client by ensuring they have the tools and contacts they need if they choose to proceed with the proposed solution.

As Smartsheet outlines, the client will also have a few things to do in order to effectively close out this portion of the project. “Once the project is complete, PMs still have a few tasks to complete. They will need to create a project punchlist of things that didn’t get accomplished during the project and work with remaining team members to complete them. They’ll also need to perform a final project budget and prepare a final project report. Finally, they will collect all project documents and deliverables and store them in a single place.”^[1]

If there is interest, you can explore other opportunities with the client and continue your working relationship. Keep in mind that as an unpaid student consultant who’s about to graduate, you’ll want to ensure that the proper transition into a professional working relationship takes place. By this point, you will have earned your stripes, so there should be no need (unless it’s something you really want to do) to continue to volunteer yourself to your client.