This guide covers everything you need to know about the final report in PMBOK 8. The final report is the definitive closure document that summarizes what the project set out to accomplish, what it actually delivered, how it performed against its baselines, and what the organization learned. It is the official record of the project’s history.
What Is the Final Report?
The final report — also called the project closure report — is a comprehensive document prepared at the end of the project or phase that summarizes the project’s performance and outcomes. It covers scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, and stakeholder results, comparing actuals to baselines and documenting the reasons for any significant variances.
Beyond performance measurement, the final report captures lessons learned, documents the final status of all deliverables, records how project issues were resolved, and summarizes the benefits delivered against the business case. It serves as both an accountability document for the current project and a knowledge asset for future projects.
The final report is presented to the project sponsor, key stakeholders, and the PMO. It provides the information needed to confirm formal project closure and release the project’s resources.
Final Report in PMBOK 8 — Domain and Process
In the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, the final report belongs to the Governance Performance Domain and is produced during the Close Project or Phase process. PMBOK 8 emphasizes that closure is a critical project management activity, not a formality, and that the final report is the centerpiece of a structured closure process.
The final report draws on the project management plan, all performance reports, the lessons learned register, the issue log, and the change log. It provides the foundation for the organization’s historical database and informs future project planning.
Key Elements of the Final Report
A well-structured final report typically includes:
- Project Summary — objectives, scope, key stakeholders, and final outcomes in brief
- Performance Against Baselines — scope, schedule, and cost actuals compared to approved baselines
- Deliverables Summary — list of all deliverables with their acceptance status
- Issues and Changes Summary — significant issues encountered and change requests processed
- Risk Summary — risks that materialized, mitigation results, and residual risks transferred to operations
- Lessons Learned Summary — key findings from the lessons learned register
- Closure Approval — formal sign-off from the sponsor confirming project closure
Final Report Example — Project Phoenix
Alex Morgan presented the Project Phoenix Final Report to sponsor Riley Park on May 15, 2024. The report documented a project that delivered all seven major deliverables on time, with a final cost of $68,847 against a $72,250 budget — a 4.7% savings. The schedule ended three weeks ahead of the original baseline due to efficient execution during the development phase.
The report highlighted three key lessons: that fixed-price vendor contracts (like BrightFrame’s) significantly reduce cost uncertainty; that early UAT involvement by the client prevents late-stage rework; and that a 30-day post-launch hypercare period should be included in the baseline schedule for future web projects. Riley Park signed the closure approval on May 15, formally releasing the project team and archiving all project documents in TechCorp’s SharePoint repository.
You can download the complete filled-in example below — it shows exactly how the final report was structured for a real project.
Download Free Final Report Template and Example
We have prepared two free resources to help you write the final report on your own projects:
- Download the Final Report Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to fill in)
- Download the Final Report Example — Project Phoenix (filled in for a real $72K website launch)
Both are free downloads — no registration required.
Final Report — Best Practices and Common Mistakes
Start drafting the final report in the last 20% of the project, not the last week. Use data from your performance reports, issue log, and lessons learned register — the final report should be a synthesis, not a from-scratch writing exercise. Be honest about variances and what caused them; a whitewashed final report destroys its value as a learning asset.
The final report is most effective when it includes both quantitative performance data and qualitative narrative about what went well and what did not. Teams that skip or rush this document lose institutional knowledge that would have made the next project faster and cheaper.
Want to master project management with PMBOK 8? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference. Get your copy and use it alongside these free resources.
Project Management