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Project Integration Management

What is Project Integration Management?


Project Integration is the only area that has activities in all five of the PMI process groups. The following six processes and the primary goals of these processes as found in the PMBOK® Guide Sixth edition:

  • Develop project charter.  Goal: the project charter
  • Develop project management plan.  Goal: the project management plan
  • Direct and Manage Project Work.  Goal: deliverables
  • Monitor and control project work. Goal: change requests, work performance reports
  • Perform integrated change control. Goal: approved change requests, change log
  • Close project or phase. Goal:  Final product, service, or result transition

From A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Sixth edition, Project Management Institute, Inc. 2018

Project Integration Management

Contrary to how many businesses do this, a project charter is a brief two or three page document (at most) that imparts high-level information about the project: The project description, project manager and their authority level, a high-level business case, stakeholders, high-level deliverables list, high-level project risks, defined project objectives, project approval requirements and formal sign off are all part of the project charter. Projects are initiated by someone external to the project such as a sponsor or other management function (e.g. portfolio manager, PMO, VP, etc.)

In one sense, the project charter functions as an excellent executive summary of the project. For the exam, know that a charter is a required element that must be completed and signed off before further project work can begin. The charter elements may include, but are not limited to:

  • Project title
  • Project manager assigned and authority level
  • Business need
  • Project justification/business case
  • Initial resources pre-assigned
  • Stakeholders
  • Initial scope and requirements
  • Project/product description and deliverables
  • Initial constraints and assumptions
  • May include S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-bound)*
  • High level budget estimate
  • Sponsor Signature/signoff

Statement of Work

The project SOW is a high-level description of the products or services the project will create. It is usually created by the customer/sponsor. Fundamental elements of an SOW include:
  • Business need
  • Product scope description
  • Strategic plan
Usually a summary if the work is being performed internally – the detail is developed in the WBS.
For external services procured, the SOW is called the ’Procurement Statement of Work’ (Details will be addressed in Section 12 on Procurement). In regards to the project charter, the Project Statement of Work is more of a high-level summary. According to PMI, it is a narrative that describes products or services that are delivered by the project. (PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, p. 75). For an internal project, work is actually detailed in the work breakdown structure (WBS) and the WBS dictionary.

A contractor procurement statement of work is a legal document that requires a legal review and review by contract administration professionals. Contract statements of work can run many thousands of pages on a large project, and legally obligates the vendor to deliver exactly what is in the contract statement of work.

Business Case and Agreements

The business case, in its most simple terms, tells us why the business organization is attempting the project at all. It is usually completed by a business analyst and includes the business need as well as the cost-benefit analysis. PMI states the business case is created due to one or more of the following:

  • Market demand
  • Organizational need
  • Customer request
  • Technological advance
  • Legal requirement
  • Ecological impact
  • Social need
An agreement can take the form of a contract, service level agreement (SLA), letter of agreement (LOA), letter of intent (LOI), or a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Contracts are usually employed when the project is undertaken for an external customer

PMP Exam Tip

Know what these terms mean for the exam:

  • Sunk costs – what you have spent. Should not be considered when deciding whether to continue with a troubled projectLaw of diminishing returns – the more you put in, the less you get in return
  • Working capital – assets minus liabilities; what the company has to invest in projectsDepreciation – know these for the exam
  • Straight-line depreciation
  • Accelerated depreciation
  • Double declining balance
  • Sum of the Years

PMP Certification Exam - Project Integration Management - Memory Check


  • ___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

A. The process of defining, preparing, and coordinating all of the subsidiary plans and integrating them into a comprehensive whole. 

B. The process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting project progress against the performance objectives defined in the project management plan

C. The process of developing a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities

D. The process of finalizing all activities across all of the project management process groups

E. The process of leading and performing the work defined in the project management plan and implementing approved changes to achieve the project's objectives

F. The process of reviewing all change requests, approving changes and managing changes to deliverables

Materials in this exam are based on the text, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Sixth edition, Project Management Institute, Inc. 2018
Question 1: The most critical activity of the project manager on the project is to:

a. Manage the project team
b. Protect the Project from unnecessary changes
c. Perform Integration
d. Create the project management plan

Question 2: The project has been running smoothly; initiation phase is complete and the team is working on all aspects of planning. You had meetings with stakeholders several times to collect requirements and as a result, requirements documentation is almost complete, as are high-level and detailed design documents. As construction begins on the project, several stakeholders have indicated the need for changes to the requirements set. They are claiming these elements were missed in the initial requirements collection process, and they want you to add these elements to the project immediately. You perform an impact assessment and get it back to them only to hear that they are not going to allow any changes in the project budget or the timeline to complete these additional elements. What is the most effective tool that you could use to prevent this instance of scope creep?

a. Change control system
b. Configuration management system
c. Murder Board
d. Work Authorization System

Question 3: Which of the following is true about change requests that result in corrective or preventive actions

a. They result in changes to scope
b. They result in changes to the project plan
c. They significantly increase risk
d. They do not usually affect project baselines

Question 4: The project you are managing involves 11 different teams scattered geographically across the country. The project sponsor is worried about how the work of 11 non-co-located teams is going to be coordinated for the project. You assure the sponsor that all relevant documentation will be captured in the corporate PMIS (project management information system). Within what key input does the PMIS reside?

a. Project Management Plan
b. Enterprise Environmental Factors
c. Organizational Process Assets
d. Work Authorization System
Answer: C – All the answers are correct – a PM does all these things. However the most critical aspect is the PM functioning as an integrator: putting all the parts and pieces of the project into an integrated whole.

Answer: D – One of the defined uses of a work authorization system is for the control of scope creep

Answer: D – They do not normally affect the project baselines. PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition.

Answer: B – The PMIS is an enterprise environmental factor
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