The Planning Processes Group: Integration Management

Introduction

With the subsidiary plans and baselines created, it’s time to bring them all together into a project
management plan. The project management plan consists of a compilation of these plans and baselines
and is an output of the Develop Project Management Plan process. This primary plan is presented to
key stakeholders for sign-off (if required). Once the plan is approved, the team can move forward to
execute it.

Learning Outcomes

Present the project management plan to the relevant stakeholders according to applicable policies and
procedures in order to obtain approval to proceed with project execution.

Develop Project Management Plan

Develop Project Management Plan is the first process in the Planning process group, and it’s part of the
Project Integration Management Knowledge Area. Although listed as the first Planning process, it is
not technically the first process carried out in practice. This process defines, coordinates, and integrates
all the various subsidiary project plans and baselines. The result is a project management plan
document that describes how the project outcomes will be executed, monitored, and controlled as the
project progresses and how the project will be closed out once it concludes.

Throughout the project, the project management plan will be updated to reflect approved project
changes. It will be used as an input to many of the project management processes, and as a result of
approved changes, it will also become an output of several processes.

3.1. Inputs of Develop Project Management Plan

Project Charter

Based on the high-level scope outlined in the project charter, the project team can start determining
which project management processes will be most beneficial for this particular project.

Outputs from Other Processes

Outputs from other project management processes are used to develop the project management plan. In
particular, the following outputs from the planning processes may be helpful inputs to develop
the project management plan:

 Any processes used that produce a baseline

 Any processes that produce a subsidiary management plan

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The following key elements of the environmental factors should be considered when choosing the
processes to perform for this project:

 Standards and regulations (both industry and governmental)

 Company culture and organizational structure
 Personnel administration
 Project management information system (PMIS)

The PMIS is an automated or manual system used to document the subsidiary plans and the project
management plan, facilitate the feedback process, and revise the documents.

Organizational Process Assets

The following key elements of the organizational process assets should be considered within this
process:

 Project management plan template

 Change control procedures
 Historical information
 Configuration management knowledge database that contains the official company policies,
standards, procedures, and other project documents

3.2. Tools and Techniques of Develop Project Management Plan

Expert Judgment

The following types of expert judgment are needed to complete this process:

 Tailoring techniques
 Understanding technical and management details that need to be included in the project
management plan
 Determining resources and assessing skill levels needed for project work
 Determining and defining the amount of configuration management to apply on the project
 Developing additional components of the plan as needed, based on the project
 Prioritizing the work of the project to ensure appropriate resource allocation

Data Gathering

The following data gathering techniques are used to formulate ideas and solutions for what the project
approach should be:

 Brainstorming
 Checklists
 Focus groups
 Interviews
Interpersonal and Team Skills

Conflict management, facilitation, and meeting management are examples of interpersonal and team
skills used to develop the project management plan. These various techniques help bring together
diverse stakeholders and help them reach mutual understanding and get buy-in.

Meetings

Meetings are often used to bring experts together, whether for workshops to develop the plan together
or to hold a kick-off meeting to mark the end of planning and start of execution. Look for additional
information on the kick-off meeting within this chapter.

3.3. Output of Develop Project Management Plan

The output of the Develop Project Management Plan process is the project management plan.

To put it simply, the project management plan contains all of the subsidiary management plans and
baselines discussed thus far. In more detailed terms, the project management plan addresses and
includes the following elements:

 Processes used to perform each phase of the project

 Life cycle used for the project and for each phase of the project when applicable
 Tailoring of results the project team defines
 Methods for executing the work of the project to fulfill the objectives
 Change management plan describing methods for monitoring and controlling change
 Configuration management
 Methods for determining and maintaining the validity of performance baselines
 Communication needs of the stakeholders and techniques to fulfill those needs
 Management reviews of content, issues, and pending decisions
 Project management plan summary

Subsidiary plan or document Description

This plan documents how the project requirements will be managed throughout
Requirements management the life of the project. It also addresses how the requirements will be analyzed and
plan documented.

This plan describes how scope will be identified, decomposed, validated, and
Scope management plan monitored throughout the project.

Schedule This plan identifies the scheduling format, tool, and methodology that will be
management plan used for creating and managing the project schedule.

This plan defines the criteria for planning, budgeting, estimating, and managing
Cost management plan the costs of the project. It also identifies the cost-related formats and tools that
will be used in the project.

This plan describes how the organization’s quality policies will be implemented
Quality management plan and addresses the following items: quality assurance, quality control, and process
improvement.

This plan documents how human resources should be defined, staffed, managed
Resource management plan and controlled, and released from the project.

This plan guides the communication for the project. It defines the communication
Communications management requirements of the stakeholders as well as the format, type, frequency, and
plan methods for project reports. It also lists report recipients and anything else
pertinent to project communication.

This plan defines how risk management activities will be carried out. It also
Risk management plan outlines the budget and time allotted for risk activities, risk roles and
responsibilities, risk categories, and how risks will be defined and assessed.

This plan describes how procurements will be managed, from make-or-buy

Procurement management plan decisions all the way through contract closure.
 Project management plan summary

Subsidiary plan or document Description

This plan identifies the management strategies necessary to effectively engage

Stakeholder engagement plan stakeholders.

This baseline is an approved version of the project schedule that will be used to
Schedule baseline compare and measure the planned schedule against the actual schedule.

This baseline contains an approved budget that is used to measure, monitor, and
Cost baseline control the planned budget against the actual amount of funds used.

This baseline provides scope boundaries for the project and consists of the project
Scope baseline scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the WBS dictionary.

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Develop project management plan

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