Project Integration Management

•          Project Integration Management

–        Ensures that the project processes are properly coordinated

–        Tradeoffs between competing objectives and alternatives in order to meet stakeholder approval

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•          Project Plan Development

•          Project Plan Execution

•          Overall Change Control

–        These processes may occur repeatedly over the project duration

–        Historical Records are needed to perform project management well, they are inputs to continuous improvement

•          Files

•          Lessons Learned

•          Actual Costs

•          Time Estimates

•          WBS

•          Benchmarks

•          Risks

•          Project Plan Development

–        Uses outputs from other planning processes to create consistent document to guide project execution and control

–        Iterated several times

–        Documents planning assumptions

–        Documents planning decisions that are chosen

–        Facilitates communication

–        Defines key management reviews

–        Provides a baseline to track progress measurement and project control

•          Project Plan Development Inputs

–        Other planning outputs: primarily the planning process outputs (WBS, base documents, application area inputs)

–        Historical information – verify assumptions, records of past project performance

–        Organizational policies – quality management, personnel administration, Financial controls

–        Constraints – factors that limit performance, contractual provisions, budget

–        Assumptions – risk factors

•          Tools & Techniques for Plan Development

–        Project Planning Methodology – any structured approach (software, templates, forms, start-up meetings

–        Stakeholder Skills & Knowledge – tap into plan development; use expertise for reasonableness

–        PMIS – Out of the box approach to support all project aspects through closure

•          Project Plan Development Outputs

–        Project Plan is a collection that changes over time as more information about the project becomes available

–        Baseline will change only in response to approved scope change

–        Project Plan includes some or all of the following:

•          Project Charter

•          Project Management approach or strategy

•          Scope statement

•          Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

•          Budget, schedule, risks

•          Key Staff, Major Milestones

•          Change Control Plan, Management and Communications Plan

•          Cost Estimates, scheduled start dates and responsibility assignments

•          Performance measurement baselines

•          Major milestones and target dates

•          Required Staff

•          Risks, constraints and assumptions

•          Subsidiary management plans (scope, schedule)

•          Open Issues

•          Pending Decisions

•          Supporting Details to the Project Plan

–        Outputs from planning processes

–        Technical documentation

–        Business requirements, specifications, and designs

–        Relevant standards

–        Additional information not previously known

•          Project Plan Execution

–        Primary process for carrying out the project plan

–        Most costly aspect of project management

–        Direction of organizational resources and interfaces

•          Project Plan Execution Inputs:

–        Project Plan

–        Supporting Detail

–        Organizational Policies

–        Corrective Action – anything to bring expected performance in line with the project plan

•          Tools & Techniques for Plan Execution

–        General Management Skills

–        Product Skills and Knowledge – defined as part of planning, provided by staffing

–        Work Authorization System – formal procedure for sanctioning work to ensure completion – written or verbal authorization

–        Status review meetings – regular exchanges of information

–        Project Management Information System

–        Organizational Procedures

•          Project Plan Execution Outputs

–        Work results – the outcome of activities performed is fed into the performance reporting process

–        Change Requests – expand/shrink project scope, modify costs and schedule estimates

•          Overall Change Control

–        Influencing factors that create change to ensure beneficial results; ensure that change is beneficial

–        Determining that change has occurred

–        Managing actual changes as they occur

•          Evaluate impact of change

•          Meet with team to discuss alternatives

•          Meet with management to present decision

•          Change control requires

–        Maintaining integrity of performance measurement baselines (project plan)

–        Ensuring changes to scope are accurately recorded

–        Coordinating changes across knowledge areas (scheduling, risk, cost, quality, etc.)

–        Determine all factors that control change and pro-actively preventing the occurrence; evaluate the impact of change

•          Inputs to Change Control

–        Project Plan – baseline performance

–        Performance Reports – issue tracking, risk management

–        Change Requests – orally or written, externally or internally initiates, legally mandated or optional

•          Change Control Tools & Techniques

–        All Changes must be evaluated before a decision can be reached

–        Change Control System – collection of formal procedures, paperwork, tracking systems, approval levels

–        Change Control Board – decision making authority

–        Configuration Management – documented procedure to apply technical and administrative direction

•          ID and document functional and physical characteristics

•          Control changes to these characteristics

•          Record and report change and implementation status

•          Audit items and system to verify requirements

•          Change Control Tools & Techniques

–        Performance Measurement – earned value, plan variance analysis

–        Additional Planning – revised cost estimates, modify activity sequences, plan adjustments

–        Project Management Information System

–        Change Control System may have

•          Change Control Plan

•          Change Control Board

•          Change Control Procedures, Corrective Action plans

•          Performance Statistics, Reports, Change forms

•          Specification reviews, Demonstrations, Testing, Meetings

–        Configuration Management

•          Change Control Outputs

–        Project Plan Updates

–        Corrective Actions

–        Lessons Learned – variance causes and reasoning documented for historical purposes

•          Configuration Management

–        Rigorous Change Management as it relates to scope

•          Subset of the change control system

•          Work Authorization System

–        Controls “gold plating”; defines what task is/is not

•          Meetings

–        Most are inefficient; keep minutes

–        Status can be determined without meeting

•          Lessons Learned

–        Project is not complete until a Lessons Learned is completed

–        What have we done, how can we do it better

•          Technical Aspects of the project

•          Project Management (WBS, plans, etc.)

•          Overall Management (communications, leadership)

•          Best to have whole team complete and made available

•          Also called “Post – Mortem”

•          Integration is a result of need for communication within a project

•          Primary responsibility to decide what changes are necessary is Management

•          Project Managers must pro-actively define and solve problems before reporting to superiors