Project Integration
Management
Information Technology
Project Management
The Key to Overall Project Success:
Good Project Integration Management
Project managers must coordinate all of the other
knowledge areas throughout a project’s life cycle
Many new project managers have trouble looking
at the “big picture” and want to focus on too many
details
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Project Integration Management
Processes
1. Developing the project charter involves working
with stakeholders to create the document that
formally authorizes a project—the charter.
2. Developing the project management plan
involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a
consistent, coherent document—the project
management plan.
3. Directing and managing project work involves
carrying out the project management plan by
performing the activities included in it.
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Project Integration Management
Processes (cont’d)
Monitoring and controlling project work involves
overseeing activities to meet the performance
objectives of the project
Performing integrated change control involves
identifying, evaluating, and managing changes
throughout the project life cycle.
Closing the project or phase involves finalizing all
activities to formally close the project or phase.
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Project Integration Management
Summary
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Mind Map of a SWOT Analysis to Help
Identify Potential Projects
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Information Technology Planning
Process
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Methods for Selecting Projects
There are usually more projects than available
time and resources to implement them
Methods for selecting projects include:
◦ focusing on broad organizational needs
◦ categorizing information technology projects
◦ performing net present value or other financial
analyses
◦ using a weighted scoring model
◦ implementing a balanced scorecard
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Focusing on Broad
Organizational Needs
It is often difficult to provide strong justification for
many IT projects, but everyone agrees they have
a high value
“It is better to measure gold roughly than to count
pennies precisely”
Three important criteria for projects:
◦ There is a need for the project
◦ There are funds available
◦ There’s a strong will to make the project succeed
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Categorizing IT Projects
One categorization is whether the project
addresses
◦ a problem
◦ an opportunity, or
◦ a directive
Another categorization is how long it will take to
do and when it is needed
Another is the overall priority of the project
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Developing a Project Charter
After deciding what project to work on, it is
important to let the rest of the organization know
A project charter is a document that formally
recognizes the existence of a project and
provides direction on the project’s objectives and
management
Key project stakeholders should sign a project
charter to acknowledge agreement on the need
and intent of the project; a signed charter is a key
output of project integration management
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Inputs for Developing a Project
Charter
A project statement of work
A business case
Agreements
Enterprise environmental factors
Organizational process assets, which include
formal and informal plans, policies, procedures,
guidelines, information systems, financial
systems, management systems, lessons learned,
and historical information
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Developing a Project Management
Plan
A project management plan is a document used
to coordinate all project planning documents and
help guide a project’s execution and control
Plans created in the other knowledge areas are
subsidiary parts of the overall project
management plan
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Common Elements of a Project
Management Plan
Introduction or overview of the project
Description of how the project is organized
Management and technical processes used on
the project
Work to be done, schedule, and budget
information
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Sample Contents for a Software Project
Management Plan (SPMP)
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Directing and Managing Project Work
Involves managing and performing the work
described in the project management plan
The majority of time and money is usually spent
on execution
The application area of the project directly affects
project execution because the products of the
project are produced during execution
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Coordinating Planning and Execution
Project planning and execution are intertwined
and inseparable activities
Those who will do the work should help to plan the
work
Project managers must solicit input from the team
to develop realistic plans
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Providing Leadership and a
Supportive Culture
Project managers must lead by example to
demonstrate the importance of creating and then
following good project plans
Organizational culture can help project execution by
◦ providing guidelines and templates
◦ tracking performance based on plans
Project managers may still need to break the rules
to meet project goals, and senior managers must
support those actions
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Capitalizing on Product, Business,
and Application Area Knowledge
It is often helpful for IT project managers to have
prior technical experience
On small projects, the project manager may be
required to perform some of the technical work or
mentor team members to complete the projects
On large projects, the project manager must
understand the business and application area of
the project
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Project Execution Tools and
Techniques
Expert judgment: Experts can help project managers and
their teams make many decisions related to project
execution
Meetings: Meetings allow people to develop relationships,
pick up on important body language or tone of voice, and
have a dialogue to help resolve problems.
Project management information systems: There are
hundreds of project management software products
available on the market today, and many organizations are
moving toward powerful enterprise project management
systems that are accessible via the Internet
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Monitoring and Controlling Project
Work
Changes are inevitable on most projects, so it’s
important to develop and follow a process to
monitor and control changes
Monitoring project work includes collecting,
measuring, and disseminating performance
information
A baseline is the approved project management
plan plus approved changes
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Media Snapshot
The 2002 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympics took five years
to plan and cost more than $1.9 billion. PMI awarded the Salt Lake
Organizing Committee (SLOC) the Project of the Year award for
delivering world-class games.
Four years before the Games began, the SLOC used a Primavera
software-based system with a cascading color-coded WBS to integrate
planning…The SLOC also used an Executive Roadmap, a one-page
list of the top 100 Games-wide activities, to keep executives apprised
of progress. Activities were tied to detailed project information within
each department’s schedule. A 90-day highlighter showed which
managers were accountable for each integrated activity.
Fraser Bullock, SLOC Chief Operating Officer and Chief, said, “We
knew when we were on and off schedule and where we had to apply
additional resources. The interrelation of the functions meant they
could not run in isolation—it was a smoothly running machine.”*
*Foti, Ross, “The Best Winter Olympics, Period,” PM Network (January 2004) 23.
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Performing Integrated Change
Control
Three main objectives are:
◦ Influencing the factors that create changes to
ensure that changes are beneficial
◦ Determining that a change has occurred
◦ Managing actual changes as they occur
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Change Control on Information
Technology Projects
Former view: The project team should strive to do
exactly what was planned on time and within
budget
Problem: Stakeholders rarely agreed up-front on
the project scope, and time and cost estimates
were inaccurate
Modern view: Project management is a process of
constant communication and negotiation
Solution: Changes are often beneficial, and the
project team should plan for them
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Change Control System
A change control system is 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
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Change Control Board (CCB)
A change control board is a formal group of
people responsible for approving or rejecting
changes on a project
CCBs provide guidelines for preparing change
requests, evaluate change requests, and manage
the implementation of approved changes
Includes stakeholders from the entire organization
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Making Timely Changes
Some CCBs only meet occasionally, so it may
take too long for changes to occur
Some organizations have policies in place for
time-sensitive changes
◦ “48-hour policy” allows project team members to make
decisions, then they have 48 hours to reverse the
decision pending senior management approval
◦ Delegate changes to the lowest level possible, but keep
everyone informed of changes
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Configuration Management
Configuration management ensures that the
descriptions of the project’s products are correct
and complete
Involves identifying and controlling the functional
and physical design characteristics of products
and their support documentation
Configuration management specialists identify
and document configuration requirements, control
changes, record and report changes, and audit
the products to verify conformance to
requirements
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Suggestions for Performing
Integrated Change Control
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Closing Projects or Phases
To close a project or phase, you must finalize all
activities and transfer the completed or cancelled
work to the appropriate people
Main outputs include
◦ Final product, service, or result transition
◦ Organizational process asset updates
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