04.0 Project Integration Management

The purpose of Integration Management is:

• To unify all the other processes in the project together
• You can think of Integration Management as the “conductor” in the “orchestra”. It is the Knowledge Area that syncs all the other processes together to create the final deliverable.
• Communications is the most important component of integration.

4.1 Develop Project Charter (Initiating Process Group)

A project charter establishes a partnership between the performing organization and the requesting organization (or customer, in the case of external projects). The approved project charter formally initiates the project.

• Includes the business case explaining why the project is necessary.
• It links the project to the ongoing work of the organization
• Formally authorizes the project manager to start the project and apply organizational resources to create the project deliverable. This means that a project does not exist without a project charter.
• Define the high-level scope
• Includes high-level budget
• Includes key stakeholders
• Includes preliminary risk register
• Assumptions and constraints
• An assumption is something that is believed to be true or false, but it has not yet been proven to be true or false.
• Assumptions that prove wrong can become risks for the project.
• All identified project assumptions are recorded in the assumption log for testing and analysis, and the outcomes are recorded.
• Signed off by the project sponsor
• Project Closure protocol
• The project charter is NOT a contract
• Project Statement of Works (SOW): Description of the products or services being supplied along with the business need, product scope description and strategic plan. External projects: SOW received from the customer. Internal projects: SOW provided by the sponsor or initiator of the project.
• Project Management Office (PMO) can provide expert judgement on how to structure the project charter
• Facilitation techniques may be used to draft the charter. These include brainstorming, conflict resolution, problem solving, meetings, etc.

4.2 Develop Project Management Plan (Planning Process Group)

• The project management plan is a formal written document that lies out how the project will the executed, monitored, and controlled.
• Management Plans: Management Plans specify how you will define, plan, manage and control each knowledge area. These all become part of the Project Management Plan.
• The PM plan unifies all subsidiary management plans together, including Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, and Stakeholders Management Plan. Takes results from other planning outputs to create a consistent document to guide both execution and control of project. Documents planning assumptions, decisions regarding alternatives chosen, facilitates communications, define key management reviews. Baseline for progress measurement and control.
• The project manager’s main task is to execute the project management plan successfully.
• The PM plan is signed off by the key sponsors before execution begins. A project or project phase cannot effectively start without formal approval of the project management plan
• Project Management plan includes:
• The management plans for scope, schedule, cost, quality, HR, communications, risk, and procurements
• Performance Measurement baseline i.e. Scope, schedule, and cost baselines
• Requirements management plan
• Change management plan
• Configuration management plan
• Process improvement plan
• Project Management Information System: Software that helps you manage project. This includes the configuration management system and the change control system.
• Changes are unavoidable. If a change needs to be made to the PM plan, the change needs to be approved by the Change Control Board (CCB).
• The final deliverable will be measured against the initial baselines.
• The scope baseline includes 3 components: scope statement, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and WBS dictionary.
• Baselines can change throughout the project as more information is known. Senior management and sponsor need to approve the new baseline.
• The project manager has access to contingency reserves. S/he does not have access to management reserves. The sponsor needs to approve the use of management reserves.
• Configuration management system documents all versions of the project management plan and other project documents.

4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work (Executing Process Group)

The project manager integrates all the executing processes into one coordinated effort to accomplish the project management plan and product the deliverables. In addition, it involves requesting changes and completing the work accompanying approved change requests.

• Creates the project deliverable
• Acquire/train/hire necessary people and other resources to complete the project work
• Solicit, procure, and manage third-party vendors
• Collect project data (used in monitoring and controlling for reporting)
• Implement approved change requests from CCB
• There are three types of change requests: corrective action, preventative action, and defect repair.
• Corrective Action: A change to bring the project performance back in line with the plan. Recommended Corrective Actions are generally outputs of the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Processes. Recommended Corrective Actions must be approved and implemented. 
• Preventative Action: Preventative actions are done in anticipation of problems that could cause project performance to deviate from the baseline. If these problems actually occurred, they would need Corrective Actions, but we're trying to head off this situation.
• Defect Repair: This is rework required when an output of the project does not meet specifications.
• Deviations from baseline are often due to incomplete risk identification and risk management. Therefore, what to do when a project deviates significantly from established baselines, answer is review the project’s risk management process.
• PM should implement ALL of the work and ONLY the work outlined in the PM plan.
• PM should avoid gold plating (adding extras for clients) and scope creep.
• Most of the time on the project is spent in execution.

4.4 Manage Project Knowledge

Manage Project Knowledge is the process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve the project’s objectives and contribute to organizational learning.

4.5 Monitor and Control Project Work (Monitoring & Controlling Process Group)

• Analyses raw project data to create project information. Project information will give the PM and stakeholder a sense of the project’s health. It compares the actual results in the project to the project baselines. It will tell the project team things such as whether the project is ahead or behind schedule, over or under budget, etc.
• Variance analysis is one technique used. However, variance analysis is not a forecasting method.
• Ensures validated change requests are implemented.
• The output of this process is used in many other M & C processes.

4.6 Perform Integrated Change Control (M & C Process Group)

• During execution, the project team may discover new information that makes it impossible for them to implement the PM plan. As a result, they issue a change request to change the PM plan. The change request is reviewed by the CCB. If the request is approved, the project team will implement the change. If not, it is discarded.
• All changes, no matter how small, must go through integrated change control for approval. The PM’s job when changes are suggested are to: 
• Evaluate change impact 
• Create options for minimizing change impact 
• Get approval from Change Control Board  (A panel of stakeholders who are responsible for reviewing and deciding which changes should be made to a project.)
• Get approval from customer (where required)
• All changes should be tracked on the change log
• Changes arise for a number of reasons – e.g. missed requirements, poor understanding of scope, change in project environment, unforeseen risks, etc.

4.7 Close Project or Phase (Closing Process Group)

• This process formally ends the project or project phase.
• Ensure all procurement contracts are closed before the project is formally closed.
• Give notice to the project team that the project is ending.
• Obtain formal sign off from project sponsors.
• Document lessons learned.
• Archive project documents for future projects. This is the Last activity.

Key Terms/ Concepts:

Project Selection:

Mathematical methods

1.       Linear programming,

2.       Nonlinear programming,

3.       Dynamic programming,

4.       Integer programming, and

5.       Multi-objective programming.

Comparative methods

1.       Murder Board – a panel of people who try to shoot down a new project idea

2.       Peer Review

3.       Scoring Models

4.       Economic Models

a.       Bigger Value/ Percentage is better

                                                               i.      Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)

                                                             ii.      Economic Value Add (EVA)

                                                            iii.      Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

                                                            iv.      Present Value (PV)

                                                              v.      Net Present Value (NPV)

                                                            vi.      Return of Investment (ROI)

                                                          vii.      Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) = Net Income after Tax ÷ Invested Capital

b.       Smaller Value / Percentage is better

                                                               i.      Opportunity Costs

                                                             ii.      Payback Period

Depreciation

·         Straight line depreciation – the same amount of depreciation is taken each year

·         Accelerated depreciation – product depreciates faster at the beginning. There are two types:

o    Double declining balance and

o    Sum of years digits.

Project Management Methodology

Methodology contains guiding processes for those who are doing project management. There are several project management methodologies; some of them are Agile , Traditional , Waterfall , Adaptive , Critical Path , Pert , Rational Unified Process , Critical Chain , Extreme , Scrum , Six Sigma and more . 

Change Management Plan

The change management plan describes how changes will be managed and controlled and may include:

·         Change control procedures

·         The approval levels for authorizing changes

·         The creation of a change control board to approve changes

·         A plan outlining how changes will be managed and controlled

·         Who should attend meetings regarding changes

·         The organizational tools to use to track and control changes

·         There is a change management plan for the project as a whole. There are also change management plans for each knowledge area, which are described in the individual management plans.

Process Improvement Plan

As part of planning, the project manager identifies existing processes to use on the project and may create some of their own. Planning in efforts to improve these processes is required part of project management, because good processes help the team complete work faster, cheaper, and with higher quality