PROJECT INTEGRATION

MANAGEMENT
COMP.6213 Project Management
Semester 2, 2021
■ Project integration management helps a project manager coordinate differing project
activities.
■ During the course of a project, a project manager may have to schedule tasks, purchase
products, address risks, replace project team members, re-schedule tasks, and accomplish
many, many other things necessary to ensure successful project completion.
■ Keeping track of these tasks can be overwhelming, and knowing how to manage outcomes
when different project processes overlap is crucial.
• Project integration management is one of the ten project management knowledge areas and is the
element that coordinates all aspects of a project.

• Project integration management touches all five phases of a project:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and controlling
5. Closing

• When properly performed, project integration management ensures smoothly run and integrated project
processes.
• Like all knowledge areas in project management, project integration has specific processes the project
manager will use.
• Processes are the actions and steps taken to achieve a certain result.
• For instance, a technician is proficient in the knowledge area of appliance repair. The technician uses
specific steps, or processes, to evaluate the machine, such as unplugging it before opening the motor case.
Processes of Project Integration Management
In project integration management, there are six processes:
■ Develop project charter
■ Develop project management plan
■ Direct and manage project work
■ Monitor and control Project Work
■ Perform integrated change control
■ Close project or phase
Each of these processes contributes to overall project integration management and project
success. Let's take a closer look at each.
Develop Project Charter

■ The project charter (usually about three pages) serves as an informal contract between the project team and the
sponsor (who represents both senior management of the organization and the outside customer, if there is one).
■ The project charter reflects a common understanding and collaboration between the project sponsor and the
project manager
• The project charter formally authorizes the project
• It is important that each and every project has a project charter.
• The project charter is a high-level description of the project goals and the desired deliverables.
• The project charter identifies the project manager and gives him or her authority to request and manage
resources for the project.
■ For example, the project charter is equivalent to the owner calling the appliance repair shop and setting up an
appointment to have a washing machine looked at.
■ The repair shop agrees to send someone out, identifies the technician, and tells the owner any associated fees
for the service. This authorizes the repair shop to send someone and provides a high level description of what
will be accomplished.
Why Is a Project Charter Used?
■ The four major purposes for a charter are to:
■ Authorize the project manager to proceed
■ Help the project manager, sponsor, and team members, if any are already assigned,
develop a common understanding
■ Help the project manager, sponsor, and team members commit to the spirit of the project
■ Quickly screen out obviously poor projects
Develop Project Management Plan
■ The project management plan is the master plan that includes all planning documents for the
project, such as the budget, schedule, resources, and scope statement.
■ The project management plan is a summary and consolidation of the other management plans that
provides a quick overview of the entire project.
■ Additionally, it provides project baselines for schedule, cost, and scope. A baseline is the approved
project plan mainly consisting of scope, schedule, and cost. It is not normally altered unless a formal
change control request is approved for modifying these plans.
■ In our example, the repair shop will generally send an email confirmation of the phone request to
send a technician out to look at the broken washing machine. The email confirmation will generally
include the date and time of the appointment or the schedule, the technician assigned, what the
technician is coming to do, and any associated costs with the services. In the project management
world, these would be the budget, schedule, resources, and scope statement and baselines.
Direct and Manage Project Work
■ Direct and Manage Project Work is performing the work as defined in various
components of the project management plan, including approved changes with an intent
to accomplish project objectives.
■ The key benefit of this process is that it provides overall management of the project
work.
■ The primary source is the work package level of the work breakdown structure.
■ However, approved corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repairs may also
trigger work to be authorized.
Monitor and Control Project Work
■ Monitor and Control Project Work is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to
meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.
■ The key benefit of this process is that it allows stakeholders to understand the current state of the project,
the steps taken, and budget, schedule, and scope forecasts.
■ Monitoring refers to reviewing the progress and capturing project performance data with reference to
the project plan; developing performance measures; and communicating performance information.
■ Control means assessing actual performance obtained from monitoring a work element and comparing it
with planned performance.
o Analysing trends to identify and implement process improvements,
o Evaluating possible alternatives,
o Recommending appropriate corrective action as needed.
Perform Integrated Change Control
■ Perform Integrated Change Control is the process of reviewing all change requests;
approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, organizational process assets,
project documents, and the project management plan; and communicating their
disposition.
■ It reviews all requests for changes or modifications to project documents, deliverables,
baselines, or the project management plan and approves or rejects the changes.
■ The key benefit of this process is that it allows for documented changes within the
project to be considered in an integrated fashion while reducing project risk, which
often arises from changes made without consideration to the overall project objectives
or plans.
Project Integration Management