Different ways to terminate a project
There are four fundamentally different ways to terminate a project
Termination extinction. The project may be stopped because it has been either successful, or unsuccessful. Examples of successful projects include the launch of a software program; the inauguration of an automobile production line; and, the completion of a new school building. Unsuccessful projects may include a drug manufacture that has failed efficacy tests; a project that is no longer cost-effective; and, a disposal site that has failed to meet environmental standards.
Termination addition. This is where a project is made more or less an external, but full-fledged addition to the parent organization. For example, a new department of a university would be built as an extension of existing university facilities, to operate with substantial independence from other segments of the institution.
Termination integration. This is the most common way of dealing with successful projects, and the most complex. The output of the project becomes part-and-parcel of the operating systems of the parent or client, becoming embedded in day-to-day operations. This requires thorough integration with primary operations at various levels, distributing the output among existing functions.
Termination starvation. As the term suggests, the financial, human, and material resources needed to execute the project are curtailed or withheld. The project is effectively dead, and merely on minimal life-support system for legal reasons. Termination murder, or “projecticide” is an interesting variation, where the incomplete project is terminated without warning.
Termination suspension. In some cases, a project may be suspended or shelved for a period, and resumed at some future point. A pharmaceutical product that needs input from the product of a forthcoming project is an example where it is pointless to continue the project until the key ingredient is available.