PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT

Project integration management includes the processes required to ensure that the various
elements of the project are properly coordinated. It involves making tradeoffs among competing
objectives and alternatives to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations. While all
project management processes are integrative to some extent, the processes described in this
chapter are primarily integrative.
The major processes of project integration management are
Project plan development
Project plan execution
Integrated change control
These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other knowledge areas as
well. Each process may involve effort from one or more individuals or groups of individuals,
based on the needs of the project. Each process generally occurs at least once in every project
phase.
The processes, tools, and techniques used to integrate project management processes are the
focus of this chapter. For example, project integration management comes into play when a cost
estimate is needed for a contingency plan, or when risks associated with various staffing
alternatives must be identified. However, for a project to be completed successfully, integration
must also occur in a number of other areas as well.
1. Project plan development
Project plan development uses the outputs of the other planning processes, including strategic
planning, to create a consistent, coherent document that can be used to guide both project
execution and project control. This process is almost always iterated several times. For example,
the initial draft may include generic resource requirements and an undated sequence of activities
while the subsequent versions of the plan will include specific resources and explicit dates. The
project scope of work is an iterative process that is generally done by the project team with the
use of a work breakdown structure (WBS), allowing the team to capture and then decompose all
of the work of the project. All of the defined work must be planned, estimated and scheduled,
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and authorized with the use of detailed integrated management control plans sometimes called
Control Account Plans, or CAPs, in the EVM process. The sum of all the integrated management
control plans will constitute the total project scope.
The project plan is used to:

Guide project execution

Document project planning assumptions
Document project planning decisions regarding alternatives chosen
Facilitate communication among stakeholders
Define key management reviews as to content, extent and timing
Provide a baseline for progress measurement and project control

Attributes of Project Plans

Just as projects are unique, so are project plans
Plans should be dynamic or flexible
Plans should be updated as changes occur
Plans should first and foremost guide project execution

1.1 Inputs to project plan development

1. Other planning outputs. All of the outputs of the planning processes in the knowledge areas
are inputs to developing the project plan. Other planning outputs include both vase
documents such as the WBS and the supporting detail.
2. Historical information. The available historical information (e.g estimating databases,
records of past project performance) should have been consulted during the other project
planning processes.
3. Organizational policies. Any and all of the organizations involved in the project may have
formal and informal policies whose effects must be considered. Organizational policies that
typically must be considered include, but are not limited to:
a. Quality management process audits, continuous improvement targets
b. Personnel administration- hiring and firing guidelines, employee performance reviews
c. Financial controls time reporting, required expenditure and disbursement reviews,
accounting codes
4. Constraints. A constraint is an applicable restriction that will affect the performance of the
project. For example, a predefined budget is a constraint that highly likely to limit the teams
options regarding scope, staffing and scheduling.
5. Assumptions. Assumptions are factors that, for planning purposes, are considered to be true,
real, or certain. Assumptions affect all aspects of project planning, and are part of the
progressive elaboration of the project.
1.2 Tools and techniques for project plan development
1. Project planning methodology. A project planning methodology is any structure approach
used to guide the project team during development of the project plan. It may be as simple as
standard forms and templates or as complex as a series of required simulations. Most project
planning methodologies make use of a combination of hard tools, such as project
management software and soft tools, such as facilitated startup meetings.
2. Stakeholder skills and knowledge. Every stakeholder has skills and knowledge that may be
useful in developing the project plan. The project management team must create an
environment in which the stakeholders can contribute appropriately.
3. Project management information system (PMIS). A PMIS consists of the tools and
techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management
processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and
can include both manual and automated systems.

4. Earned value management. A technique used to integrate the projects scope, schedule, and
resources and to measure and report project performance from initiation to closeout.

1.3 Outputs from project plan development

1. Project plan. The project plan is a formal, approved document used to management project
execution. The project schedule lists planned dates for performing activities and meeting
milestones identified in the project plan. The project plan and schedule should be distributed as
defined in the communications management plan. In some application areas, the term integrated
project plan is used to refer to this document.
2. Supporting detail. Supporting detail for the project plan includes
o Outputs from other planning processes that are not included in the project plan
o Additional information or documentation generated during the project plan
o Technical documentation; such as a history of all requirements, specification and
conceptual designs
o Documentation of relevant standards
2. Project plan execution
Project plan execution is the primary process for carrying out the project plan the vast
majority of the projects budget will be expended in performing the process. In this process,
the project manager and the project management must coordinate and direct the various
technical and organizational interfaces that exist in the project. It is the project process that is
most directly affected by the project application area in that the product of the project is
actually created here. Performance against the project baseline must be continuously
monitored so that corrective actions can be taken based on actual performance against the
project plan.

2.1 Inputs to project plan execution

1. Project plan. The subsidiary management plans (scope management plan, risk
management plan, procurement management plan, configuration management plan,
etc.) and the performance measurement baselines are key inputs to project plan
execution.
2. Supporting detail.
3. Organizational policies. Any and all of the organizations involved in the project may
have formal and informal policies that may affect project plan execution.
4. Preventive action. Preventive action is anything that reduces the probability of
potential consequences of project risk events.
5. Corrective action. Corrective action is anything done to bring expected future
project performance in line with the project plan. corrective action is an output of the
various control processes- as an input here it completes the feedback loop needed to
ensure affective project management
2.2 Tools and techniques for project plan execution
1. General management skill. General management skill such as leadership,
communicating, and negotiating are essential to effective project plan execution.
2. Product skills and knowledge. The project team must have access to an
appropriate set of skills and knowledge about the projects product. The necessary
skills are defined as part of planning and are provided through the staff acquisition
process.
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3. Work authorization system. A work authorization system is a formal procedure

for sanctioning project work to ensure that work is done at the right time and in
the proper sequence. The primary mechanism is typically a written authorization
to begin work on a specific activity or work package.
4. Status review meetings. Status review meetings are regularly scheduled meetings
held to exchange information about the project. On most projects, status review
meetings will be held at various frequencies and on different levels.
5. Project management information system. The PIMS already explained
6. Organizational procedure. It also already explained
2.3 Outputs from project plan execution
1. Work results. Work results are the outcomes of the activities performed to accomplish the
project. Information on work results which deliverables have been completed and
which have not, to what extent quality standards are being met, what costs have been
incurred or committed etc. is collected as part of project plan execution and fed into the
performance reporting process.
2. Change requests. Change requests (e.g, to expand or contract project scope, to modify
cost [budgets], or schedule estimates [dates, ets.] ) are often identified while the work of
the project is being done.
3. Integrated change control
Integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes
throughout the project life cycle
Three main objectives of change control:
Influence the factors that create changes to ensure they are beneficial
Determine that a change has occurred
Manage actual changes when and as they occur
Integrated Change Control Process

Change Control System

It is a collection of formal, documented procedures that defines how project performance will be
monitored and evaluated, and includes the steps by which official project documents may be
changed.
A formal, documented process that describes when and how official project documents
and work may be changed
Describes who is authorized to make changes and how to make them
Often includes a change control board (CCB), configuration management, and a process
for communicating changes
Change Control Boards (CCBs)
A formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project
Provides guidelines for preparing change requests, evaluates them, and manages the
implementation of approved changes
Includes stakeholders from the entire organization
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Configuration Management
Ensures that the products and their descriptions are correct and complete
Concentrates on the management of technology by identifying and controlling the
functional and physical design characteristics of products
Configuration management specialists identify and document configuration requirements,
control changes, record and report changes, and audit the products to verify conformance
to requirements