Strategic Finance – Meaning and Important Concepts
Introduction For an organization to succeed in the global and competitive world, it needs to have a robust strategic plan in place. The strategic plan is made of several definite targets it aspires to achieve. Some of the targets are internal (Productivity improvement, sound finance discipline, etc.) as well as external (EPS, Stockholder value, etc.). […]
Planning Functionality of an ERP System – Setting up of Planning Engine
In customer centric business environment, it is critical to have an effective plan to manage production capacity, materials availability and shipment schedules. The planning functionality of an ERP system provides organizations the means of meeting such customer centric approach. Planners are able to simulate alternate scenario planning wherefrom they determine which assemblies and components to […]
Why Companies Living Quarter to Quarter is Both a Good as well as a Bad Idea
Living for the Next Quarter Of late, many publicly listed companies have been living “quarter to quarter” or the practice of setting targets, tracking them for progress, and closing out sales and revenue generating items based on the next quarter which is a short term imperative rather than planning for the longer term. This has […]
Communications Management during Project Planning
Communications planning involves identifying the information and communication needs of the stakeholders. This includes determining what needs to be communicated, to whom, when, with what method and how frequently. This is a very proactive approach. The PMBOK guide often suggests work to be done in a more structured way than many project managers previously thought […]
How to Create a Detailed Process Map ?
Step 1: Decide Between a Normal Process Map v/s Swim Lanes Process maps can be built in the usual way wherein sequence is the primary concern or in the swim lane pattern. In the swim lane pattern along with sequence, accountability is also formally recorded. This is because each group of participants is recorded separately […]
Project integration management refers to the process of tying everything in place. Integration management deals with: Developing the Project Charter and Project Scope statement (Initiating Process Group), Develop Project Management Plan (Planning process group), Direct and Manage project execution (Executing Process group). Hence this is process that integrates all the disparate processes and provides a focus for the project.
As noted above, the deliverables out of the integration management are the Project Scope, Project Charter and the Project management plan. We shall discuss each of these components. The first component that is the Project Scope refers to the document that details what is the work to be done and what are the boundaries of the work that is to be executed.
As we discussed in the article related to Project Scope, “scope creep” is something that the project manager has to watch out for when dealing with this component.
The next deliverable out of the project integration management is the Project Charter. This is an expression of the document that deals with listing out the details of the project, the relevant sponsors and the functions of each. The project charter can be thought of as a document that kicks off the project with the expression of interest that contains the details of the project sponsors along with the role of the project manager. The last document from the integration management process is the project management plan.
The PMP is the most important document in a project and contains the details of the project like scope, time, cost and quality along with the other aspects that are needed for the effective execution of the project. The PMP is prepared by the Project manager and is the repository of all information pertaining to the project. As we have discussed, the integration management is the domain of the project manager and hence the project manager can be thought of as the integrator who takes into account all the relevant details and ties them in together.
If you were asked, “What is the main role of the project manager?” what would you say? The answer is to perform integration.
While the work of the project is being done, it is the team members’ role to concentrate on completing the work packages. The project sponsor should be protecting the project from changes and loss of resources. It is the project manager’s role to put all the pieces of the project together into one cohesive whole that gets the project done faster, cheaper and with fewer resources while meeting the project objectives.
The project management processes do not happen independently. A cost estimate needs to take into account risk reserves. A new resource added to the project may require changes in cost or schedule.
In dealing with each situation the project manager is integrating the processes of project management. Integration management refers to the act of bringing together the disparate processes of the project management into one cohesive whole with the aim of developing a framework to develop the project management process.
The integration management deals with: Developing the Project Charter and Project Scope statement (Initiating Process Group), Develop Project Management Plan (Planning process group), Direct and Manage project execution (Executing Process group).
Hence, the Project Integration refers to the complete set of processes that span across the process groups and the aim of which is to ensure that the project is driven by one common purpose. Hence, the project management process.
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Costs in Project Management – Costs associated with the Projects
February 12, 2025
