2. Integration Management

What Is Project Integration Management?

The other nine knowledge areas in the PMBOK Guide focus on a specific knowledge area and have key inputs from, and provide outputs for, other knowledge areas. Project Integration Management is the only knowledge area that actually works across all the other knowledge areas. It has been described as the forest whereas the other knowledge areas are the trees. It is very much a coordination process that recognizes that none of the PMBOK Guide knowledge areas are isolated and discrete. Project Integration Management recognizes that the knowledge areas are all interdependent and rely on each other to a greater or lesser extent. They are also able to affect each other; as such, when defining, planning, executing, and controlling the project, a project manager must recognize this and take an integrated point of view. This is true of activity between knowledge areas and also between processes in the same knowledge area. They can also be highly iterative and are not necessarily a direct linear progression from one process to another.

For example, when preparing a cost estimate, you need to have a defined project scope and also be aware of resources available, risks, and any other factors from the other knowledge areas that may affect the cost estimate. If you consider each knowledge area as a separate and discrete activity, then developing cost estimates in isolation would result in highly inaccurate estimates. Project Integration Management reminds us that all knowledge areas and processes are connected.

The Project Integration Management knowledge area produces the project charter (Develop Project Charter), which is a foundational document for the project and most of the other processes. It also delivers the project management plan in its many iterations (Develop Project Management Plan), takes a coordinated and high-level view of all the work being done on the project to achieve the plans (Direct and Manage Project Work), checks the project progress (Monitor and Control Project Work), and assesses, influences, and controls changes as they occur (Perform Integrated Change Control). In addition to providing the foundational documents that initiate the project, this knowledge area also manages the closure of the project or a phase in a project (Close Project or Phase).

Additionally, the Project Integration Management knowledge area reinforces the fact that there are many successful ways to manage a project. Projects vary considerably in terms of depth, complexity, size, industry, and deliverables. As such, the level of interaction between selected processes is also different. The process called tailoring involves selecting those processes that are appropriate to a project and ensuring throughout the life of the project that constant checking is done to ensure that the selected processes and their application are still appropriate. Having broad oversight of the project via the Project Integration Management knowledge area helps in selecting the right processes and applying them appropriately.

Real World

I am a big advocate of tailoring tools, techniques, and processes to appropriately fit your organization and your project. All sorts of potential problems can arise from applying too many, or too few, project management practices to a project. Take the time at the beginning of the project to choose those processes, tools, and techniques that will actually add value to your project, and throughout the life of the project be prepared to reexamine your decisions to ensure that they are still correct. For example, during one small IT project I worked on, our project management methodology was tailored to be flexible and very simple because the project was simple and took place over a short time frame. A larger IT project I worked on had a very rigid methodology with many processes, reflecting the complexity of the project.

Exam Tip

A high proportion of questions on the PMP exam expect you to know how one process or knowledge area interacts with, or is dependent on, other processes or knowledge areas. Do not be surprised if you have to read a question several times to determine exactly how many, and which, processes it is referring to. You should also get used to looking not just at the entire process, but also at the way in which inputs become outputs with the application of selected tools and techniques.

Develop Project Charter

More Info

Develop Project Charter

You can read more about the Develop Project Charter process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.1. Table 2-1 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-1.

Develop Project Charter Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project statement of work • Business case • Agreements • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Facilitation techniques	• Project charter

The Develop Project Charter process is an initiating process with a single output—not surprisingly, given the name of the process, it is the project charter. The Develop Project Charter process is one of only two initiating processes in the PMBOK Guide.

Domain Task Alignment

The Develop Project Charter process covers the following eight initiating domain tasks:

Task 1: Perform project assessment based on available information, lessons learned from previous projects, and meetings with relevant stakeholders, in order to support the evaluation of the feasibility of new products or services in the given assumptions and/or constraints.
Task 2: Identify key deliverables based on the business requirements, in order to manage customer expectations and direct the achievement of project goals.
Task 4: Identify high-level risks, assumptions, and constraints based on the current environment, organizational factors, historical data, and expert judgment, in order to propose an implementation strategy.
Task 5: Participate in the development of the project charter by compiling and analyzing gathered information, in order to ensure that project stakeholders are in agreement on its elements.
Task 6: Obtain project charter approval from the sponsor, in order to formalize the authority assigned to the project manager and gain commitment and acceptance for the project.
Task 7: Conduct benefit analysis with stakeholders (including sponsor, customer, and subject matter experts), in order to validate project alignment with organizational strategy and expected business value.
Task 8: Inform stakeholders of the approved project charter, in order to ensure common understanding of the key deliverables, milestones, and their roles and responsibilities.

It is the first process to be completed and the one that kicks off a project. Unlike most of the other processes in the PMBOK Guide, the Develop Project Charter process features inputs that are not outputs from other processes. In this case, the inputs come from either the project sponsor (for example, any contracts or agreements, a business case, or the known project statement of work) or the organization or the environment in which the project must work and is constrained by (enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets). The project sponsor is critical to this process, because the sponsor takes responsibility not only for providing some necessary inputs into this process but also for initiating and signing off on the development of the project charter.

The project manager may not always be directly responsible for preparation of the project charter. In a perfect world, they would be, but they are often handed a completed project charter and expected to then complete detailed planning.

Exam Tip

The Develop Project Charter process is one of two initiating processes in the PMBOK Guide. The other is the Identify Stakeholders process from Project Stakeholder Identification Management. Because the project charter is an input into the Identify Stakeholders process, it must be done first.

Broadly speaking, many of the inputs used in this process are part of a project-selection process that assesses any potential project against the organizational strategic goals and also against financial and non-financial criteria to help the organization make decisions about which projects it will undertake and which it won’t. Understanding this process will assist your understanding of the Develop Project Charter process. Only projects that are of a compliance nature, or emergency works, should be able to bypass this project-selection process, which is illustrated in Figure 2-1. Examples of compliance projects are those that are necessitated when legal reporting requirements are changed and your organization must comply with them, even though there is no business value in doing so. An example of emergency work could be the work you must do after a natural disaster strikes, to get your organization up and running again. There is not time to go through a formal process to justify these types of projects.

Figure 2-1.

Project-selection process

Figure 2-1 shows that after an organization has identified all the potential projects it could undertake, it must put each project through a series of filters and criteria to enable it to choose the ones it will undertake. From this approved portfolio of projects, it can then prioritize them and begin to develop a project charter. The first step in this selection process is for an organization to only choose those projects that align with and deliver its strategic goals. This is because they will help an organization stay in business and meets its goals, and also because those strategic goals represent the organization’s core competencies.

Real World

The profession of project management is seen as a critical strategic enabler for organizations. This is because most organizations seek to deliver their strategic goals, and therefore the success or failure of the projects undertaken is a critical indicator of whether organizations will achieve their strategic goals.

After a project has been confirmed as meeting the strategic goals of an organization, it may go through either financial or non-financial criteria processes, or both, that either deny or further refine and approve projects that will be undertaken as part of the organization’s approved portfolio of projects. This is usually done during the preparation of a business case.

The following list describes the most common financial criteria that can be used to determine which projects are suitable:

Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) A ratio that looks at the financially quantifiable benefits expected from the project and weighs them against the cost of achieving those benefits. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then the project can be given the go-ahead.
Economic Value Add (EVA) The profit earned by the organization after the cost of capital has been subtracted. Many organizations set a target for this and only approve projects that meet or exceed this target.
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) The rate of return after external factors affecting cash flow (for example, interest or cost of capital, and inflation) have been deducted. The higher the IRR, the better the project.
Present Value (PV) The value of future cash flows in today’s dollars. The formula for calculating PV is
$PVkern0.5em =kern0.5em frac{FV}{{left(1kern0.5em +kern0.5em r ight)}^n}$
where FV equals the future value of cash flows, r equals the interest rate, and n equals the number of time periods.
Net Present Value (NPV) The value in today’s dollars of future benefits minus the costs to achieve the benefits. The organization’s own discount rate is applied to future cash flows to calculate today’s value. A positive NPV is good, whereas a negative NPV is bad. NPV is calculated by subtracting the PV of costs from the PV of income and is the sum of all the PV calculations for income generated for a particular time period, subtracted from the initial spend on the project. To calculate NPV, simply add up all the PV calculations for the expected income and then subtract this PV from the initial spend. The formula is

NPV =	Initial Outlay +	Year 1 Income +	Year 2 Income +	Year 3 Income +	Year 4 Income
		(1 + r)	(1 + r)²	(1 + r)³	(1 + r)⁴

For example, if your project had an initial spend of $100,000 and was supposed to generate income of $30,000 in the first year, $35,000 in the second year, $37,000 in the third year, and $39,000 in the fourth year with a discount or interest rate of 10%, the NPV of the project would be $10,634.52.

Opportunity Cost The cost of not doing other projects and the profit, or financial surplus, they would bring the organization.
Payback Period The time taken to pay back the investment in the project. An organization may set a required Payback Period, such as five years, within which time the project must pay back the original investment. Payback Period is calculated by dividing the initial investment by the projected annual income.
Return on Investment (ROI) The cost of a project subtracted from dollar gains on a project, divided by the cost of the project, expressed as a percentage. An organization sets criteria specifying that a ROI must first be positive, and the higher the ROI the better. Often organizations also specify that the ROI must be greater than bank interest rates to reflect the risk in a project. Otherwise, from a commercial point of view, the organization is better off putting its money in a bank.
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) Used to describe in percentage terms how well an organization is using its money, or capital, on its projects. Positive is good, and the higher the better when it comes to selecting projects.
Future Value (FV) Used to calculate the future value of an asset with a known interest rate to measure accumulation of value over time.

Exam Tip

If you find linear programming or non-linear programming referred to in an exam question, the question is referring to a constrained optimization method for project selection. This is a complex mathematical process of maximizing the cost function of any calculation. The other category you will find is the benefit-measurement model, in which an organization seeks to compare benefits and features of a particular proposal and make the selection on that basis.

Inputs

The Develop Project Charter process uses some or all of the following inputs as part of the development of the project charter for the project.

Project Statement of Work

The project statement of work (SOW) is a high-level narrative description of the work to be done on a project. It reflects what is known about the project work at the early stage of initiating a project. The project SOW describes the known scope of work, the business needs, and the product or service to be delivered. The SOW may also refer to the ways in which the project aligns with and delivers the organization’s strategic goals. It may also contain information about known milestones and project constraints, as well as any preliminary budget and time estimates. In the absence of this information during this initiating process, the SOW may describe the work to be done to develop these estimates.

If you are using a SOW, then it leaves room for further definition of the project scope but gives enough information to authorize the project and do a preliminary assessment of time, cost, and other relevant factors. If a project is based on a signed contract or agreement, then the SOW is replaced by the project scope contained in the contract, which tends to be much more detailed in its description of the work to be done.

Exam Tip

The SOW is a primary input into the Develop Project Charter process but not a mandatory one. If a business case has been developed, or a fully defined contract or agreement is available, then there is no need for a SOW.

Business Case

A business case can be used as an input into the project charter or even as a project charter itself. Typically, the business case examines the financial and non-financial criteria that are used to assess whether the organization will commit to the project. These criteria are best used against a predefined expectation of what constitutes an acceptable project. For example, an organization might require a project to deliver a certain level of ROI or a certain percentage of increase in market share before approving it. Projects that don’t deliver these defined metrics are not considered for approval. These predefined metrics can also be further used to prioritize which projects are done first, with the project scoring better being done first. These financial criteria were discussed in greater detail earlier in the chapter.

Exam Tip

Assume that all projects must go through a rigorous and defined business case process prior to approval. This process considers strategic alignment and financial and non-financial matters, which are all captured in the business case.

The business case also looks at any predefined non-financial criteria that the organization wishes to consider. Examples of non-financial criteria an organization may consider are projects that increase market share, those that make it difficult for competitors to enter the market, projects that reduce dependencies on suppliers, and projects focused on delivering social, environmental, health, or educational benefits.

If the project is being executed in several phases with milestones between each phase, the business case can be revisited at these points to ensure that it is both still valid and delivering the expected outcomes.

A business case usually includes most of the following elements:

A description of the forecast or actual market demand for the product or service
A description the organizational need for the project
If it is for an external client, a description of the customer request
A description of any technical advances that are presenting the opportunity to undertake the project
Any legal or compliance requirements that are being addressed and met as a result of the project
Any ecological or natural environmental impacts
A description of the social need being fulfilled by the project

Clearly, the business case can be a very comprehensive document. If the project is large and complex, then the business case should reflect this. However, if the project is relatively simple and straightforward, the business case can be less complex .

Agreements

The project charter can be based on any type of agreement between a performing organization and a requesting organization, or customer. An agreement can take the form of a signed contract, which in turn may be the result of a procurement process run by an external organization as part of its own project processes. The agreement may also be in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) , letter of agreement, or heads of agreement. An exchange of email messages with an offer and acceptance is also a form of valid agreement. A valid agreement can also be formed via a verbal exchange, in which case you should document the exchange as part of the project charter process.

If an agreement with an external party is used as an input into the Develop Project Charter process, the external party should be able to review and agree to the eventual project charter as it relates to them. This does not mean they need to view the entire project charter, because there may be commercially sensitive information contained within it, but they should have the opportunity to comment on and agree to the content that relates to any agreement between the parties.

Note

Verbal Agreements

Projects that are undertaken with a simple verbal agreement must document the agreement at some point to ensure that all parties understand and agree to what was talked about and to ensure that everyone’s expectations are recorded and communicated. This is best done during the Develop Project Charter process before any planning work is done.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Enterprise environmental factors are some of the most common inputs used throughout the PMBOK Guide. They can refer to many separate and distinct factors that can affect, and be used as inputs to, projects. In the Develop Project Charter process, the specific enterprise environmental factors that can influence the project charter development are any relevant government or industry standards that the project must comply with, any organizational infrastructure issues or constraints, and any known or forecast market conditions affecting the project selection process.

Exam Tip

Enterprise environmental factors are some of the most widely used inputs throughout the PMBOK Guide. The term covers a lot of different factors that can influence a project. The environment referred to is not the ecological environment: it is the financial and human resource market environment, the legislative and legal environment, and the innovation and competitive environment, and it also includes external cultural factors. Take time to understand the variety of factors that are enterprise environmental factors and be able to differentiate them from organizational process assets. Very broadly, enterprise environmental factors can be considered as constraining the project, whereas organizational process assets can be considered as assisting the project.

Organizational Process Assets

An organizational process asset is any concept, process, or structure documented by the organization for use in project management. For the Develop Project Charter process, the relevant organizational process assets include any organizational processes relating to the project selection, business cases, and development of the project charter, including any templates the organization may have. It also includes any existing project management methodology the organization has. Organizational process assets that are useful in the initiation phase and the development of the project charter also include historical information and lessons learned from previous projects.

Exam Tip

The PMBOK Guide places a large emphasis on the importance of gathering and referring to historical information and lessons learned. You should always assume that this is done and available to you as a project manager. You should always assume that you will contribute to the development of an organization’s historical information and lessons-learned database as part of the project management activities completed on your project. This is an extremely important part of a closeout process and should be part of your closure checklist. You should look to complete closeout interviews and meetings with all stakeholders, complete post-implementation reviews, and also complete benefits-realization analysis to measure whether the intended benefits were achieved. All of this information becomes valuable lessons learned and historical information for future projects.

Tools and Techniques

The following tools and techniques are available to be used to develop the inputs into this process in order to produce the project charter.

Expert Judgment

Expert judgment is the most often-used tool in the PMBOK Guide. Using expert judgment to help you use and optimize the inputs in the process allows you to consult with and seek guidance from any person or group who you consider can contribute to the process. This expertise may come from within your organization, from individuals, or from the Project Management Office (PMO). You may also choose to seek expert judgment from external consultants, competitors, and trade associations with expertise in the particular area you need guidance on. For example, you may seek guidance from experts in financial analysis as part of the business case.

The client or customer is also a valuable source of expert judgment, because they have clear expectations and experience with the product or service being delivered. Professional organizations, such as the Project Management Institute, may be consulted, as well as industry groups and subject matter experts.

Facilitation Techniques

The purpose of facilitation techniques is to solicit information from team members and other key stakeholders who have a contribution to make in terms of using the process inputs and providing advice or further information to enable you to develop the project charter. Many facilitation techniques can be used; the most relevant for the Develop Project Charter process are as follows:

Brainstorming This involves holding structured workshops or sessions where participants are encouraged to think broadly about every possible action or consequence, no matter how strange it may seem. A process of elimination is then used to get to those ideas that are most useful.
Conflict resolution This uses a variety of techniques to ensure that any conflict of opinions between experts does not derail the process. Conflict resolution includes problem-solving techniques that use a wide variety of methods to directly address and permanently resolve any problems that arise.
Effective meeting management Getting your experts together and getting the best from them requires effective meeting-management techniques that include structured and purposeful meetings with defined outcomes.

Outputs

After applying the appropriate tools and techniques to the selected inputs, the Develop Project Charter process has the following output.

Project Charter

The Develop Project Charter process has only a single output—the project charter. The project charter is the foundational document for a project and is like the project’s birth certificate. It proves the project exists and has financial and political support from the organization and, if applicable, an external client. It should be issued once the project has been through an appropriate project-selection process.

The project charter authorizes the initial spend; defines the scope of work known at that time; lists any known constraints, risks, and milestones; and also identifies and authorizes the project manager and project sponsor. Ideally, the project manager is identified and authorized in the project charter and assists with its development; but if not, the project manager should definitely be identified before any of the project-planning processes begin.

Because the project charter is the foundational document for the project, changing it requires significant consideration and should not be done unless there are serious reasons. For this reason, it can be left broad enough to allow the normal process of change control to take place through the project without having to constantly change the project charter. Any potential changes to the project charter must be referred to the project sponsor.

Not all project charters are created equal, and the size and complexity of the project determines the size and complexity of the project charter. Additionally, if not much is known about the project, the charter may be big enough to authorize an investigation phase that is part of an iterative planning process. If the scope of the project is well known, the project charter may be a one-off—that is, a complete and complex business case.

Note

Project Charter

The foundational document for a project is the project charter. Although in a perfect world it would probably be called a project charter by everyone involved in project management, you may call it by other names, such as project mandate, business case, or work order. Remember, though, during the exam you must use the PMBOK Guide terminology.

Exam Tip

Always assume that a project has a project charter of some sort and that you will refer to it when seeking answers to why the project exists and what its original goals were.

The project charter is then a key input into the following processes, all of which are planning processes :

Plan Scope Management
Collect Requirements
Define Scope
Plan Schedule Management
Plan Cost Management
Plan Risk Management
Identify Stakeholders

Develop Project Management Plan

More Info

Develop Project Management Plan

You can read more about the Develop Project Management Plan process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.2. Table 2-2 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-2.

Develop Project Management Plan Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project charter • Outputs from other processes • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Facilitation techniques	• Project management plan

The Develop Project Management Plan process is a planning process that initiates and encompasses the planning activities of all the other knowledge areas. It is the only planning process for the Project Integration Management knowledge area, and one of 24 planning processes in total.

The Develop Project Management Plan process covers the broad range of work covered in other planning domain tasks but specifically includes the following planning domain tasks :

Task 9: Develop the change management plan by defining how changes will be addressed and controlled, in order to track and manage change.
Task 11: Present the project management plan to the relevant stakeholders according to applicable policies and procedures, in order to obtain approval to proceed with project execution.
Task 12: Conduct a kick-off meeting, communicating the start of the project, key milestones, and other relevant information, in order to inform and engage stakeholders and gain commitment.

The project management plan itself is a document made up of all the other plans, and it provides a centralized means of planning your project. It does not necessarily have to be contained in a single document, because different formats, such as word processing, spreadsheets, project management software, and other formats can be used to develop and record the different plans. The Develop Project Management Plan process is a highly iterative process that may start with blank templates that eventually become the project management plan for a project.

The primary purpose of this process is to record and document how your project is going to be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed. As such, it should contain plans for each of these elements in the relevant knowledge areas. When your project is underway, you can use the project management plan that has been developed to ensure that progress is as per the plan and act accordingly if there is a variance.

Real World

I have worked for organizations that have a single template for their project management plan: it has sections that need to be filled out and guidance as to how to do so. However, I have also worked for organizations for whom the project management plan was a series of disparate documents held in both hard and electronic document versions; when viewed together, they formed a consolidated plan for managing the project. It is important that a project management plan reflect the complexity, size, and industry of the project. Too small a project management plan for a large, complex project increases the chances of project failure. On the other hand, too large a project management plan for a simple project also increases the chances of project failure.

Inputs

The development of the project management plan uses some or all of the following four inputs.

Project Charter

The project charter is an output from the Develop Project Charter process. It can take many forms, depending on the size and complexity of a project. It acts as the starting point that authorizes and guides the development of the project management plan, because it contains the known description of the work to be done and any assumptions, constraints, and milestones.

Outputs from Other Processes

The Develop Project Management Plan process is an iterative process and uses many of the outputs from other knowledge areas as inputs.

Exam Tip

Take note of outputs from other planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing processes for project management plan updates that indicate that they will be used as inputs into the Develop Project Management Plan process.

These outputs include, but are not limited to, the successive iterations of the following:

The requirements management plan
The requirements documentation
The schedule management plan
The schedule baseline
The cost management plan
The cost baseline
The quality management plan
The process improvement plan
The human resource plan
The staffing management plan
The communications management plan
The risk management plan
The procurement management plan
The stakeholder management plan

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Enterprise environmental factors are both external and internal factors outside the realm of the project that a project manager does not have control over but that can influence the processes in a project. Specific enterprise environmental factors that can be used as inputs to aid the development of the project management plan may include the following:

Any relevant government standards, such as mandatory compliance standards.
Any relevant industry standards that the project must comply with.
Any software being used as part of the project management information systems to develop any aspect of the project management plan. Software is considered an external factor because it is generally licensed from a third party.
The organizational culture and structure of all organizations involved in the project. Organizational culture in terms of acceptable behaviors, attitudes toward risk, the amount of power and authority the project manager has, and a flat versus tall organizational structure are some of the external factors that can affect how a project management plan is developed.
Any internal organization policies for the recruitment and release of staff.

Organizational Process Assets

Organizational process assets are a very common input into many processes. It is also worth remembering that several processes have organizational process asset updates as outputs. The specific organizational process assets that can be used as inputs into the Develop Project Management Plan process include the following:

Any standard templates or checklists the organization has. For example, it may have a blank template for some or all of the content of a project management plan or a checklist for project closure.
Any processes or project management methodology the organization has that defines when, how, and by whom the project management plan is put together.
Any predefined change-control procedures and levels of delegated authority the project manager and team have.
The organization’s standard configuration management system that defines how different versions of documents are recorded, controlled, and updated. This is particularly important to ensure that you are always working on the correct version of any document in what can be a highly iterative process.
Any historical information from past projects that can be used to assist in the compilation of the current project management plan.

Exam Tip

The PMBOK Guide places a great deal of importance on the value of historical information, particularly lessons learned. Even if you work for an organization that does not currently collect historical information about projects, you must remember that it is considered one of the most valuable organizational process assets in project management.

Tools and Techniques

The following two tools and techniques are used on the inputs to deliver the project management plan.

Expert Judgment

Expert judgment is a great tool to use, and it is used several times as a tool to help take inputs and use them correctly and wisely in order to generate the outputs from a particular process. The experts providing the judgment can come from any source that is relevant to the needs at hand and can include you as project manager as well. In this instance, when you are developing the project management plan, expert judgment can first be used to tailor the processes that are applicable and useful to the development of your particular project management plan. You can also use expert judgment during successive iterations of the development of the project management plan to determine whether the inputs are still valid and applicable.

Expert judgment can also be used to help evaluate any other aspect of the inputs into this process, particularly the outputs from other processes. Because of the large number of outputs from other processes that can be used as inputs into the Develop Project Management Plan process, you may end up using several experts with skills and experience in different areas.

Real World

During my career as a project manager, I have made repeated and frequent use of experts with knowledge greater than my own. Not only does it assist with a better output, but it is also a great way to learn. Don’t hesitate to gather around you experts who can help you with any aspect of project management. Additionally, don’t discount your own experience when it comes to providing an expert opinion.

Facilitation Techniques

Facilitation techniques are used to gather information from individuals or groups of people in a constructive way that produces positive outcomes for your project. As the name suggests, they are means of facilitating information gathering from people. It is up to you as project manager to initiate, define, and lead many of these facilitation techniques. Depending on whether they are useful to you at this point, you may wish to consider using some or all the following facilitation techniques to help you make sense of, develop, redefine, and use the inputs into this process:

Brainstorming This involves gathering people together in a room and asking them to think about all possible ideas. The ideas can be as wide and as varied as possible with no limitation placed on the brainstorming process. After all possible options, no matter how seemingly irrelevant, have been gathered, you can then go through a process of refining them.
Conflict-resolution techniques These are important because dysfunctional conflict needs to be addressed promptly and dealt with and not swept under the carpet. The other element is using conflict to generate healthy debate, which often results in a more thought-out and considered end result. Problem solving, collaborating, compromise, smoothing, forcing, and withdrawing are all examples of conflict-resolution techniques.
Productive and effective meetings Meetings are also an excellent example of facilitation techniques. The use of and adherence to a clear agenda, rules for participants, and clear minutes and action points will greatly assist in gathering information relevant to the development of the project management plan.

Outputs

The Develop Project Management Plan process produces the following output.

Project Management Plan

There is only a single output from the Develop Project Management Plan process, and that is the project management plan in all of its many iterations. The project management plan can be many different things to many different people, depending on the project management maturity of the organization, the size and complexity of its projects, and the industry it is working in. The plan can be a single document or a collection of many documents in different formats. A mature organization will have established organizational process assets that help the project manager complete the project management plan.

Exam Tip

The project management plan is not a Gantt chart. It is not uncommon for people to think that the Gantt chart is the project management plan, but it is simply a scheduling and a communications tool.

The content and depth of the project management plan reflect what is known about the project at that time, because you can only plan what is known. As such, the development of the project management plan is a great example of progressive elaboration and rolling-wave planning on a lot of projects. The project management plan can contain all or some of the following plans and baselines :

The change-control process
The requirements management plan
The requirements documentation
The schedule management plan
The schedule baseline and milestone list
The cost management plan
The cost baseline
The quality management plan
The process improvement plan
The human resource plan
The resource calendar
The communications management plan
The risk management plan
The risk register
The procurement management plan
The stakeholder management plan

Real World

When putting together a project management plan, I always make sure it is appropriate to the size and complexity of the project I am working on. I also recognize that it is a highly iterative process and you can only plan for those parts of the project you can define. This means parts of the project off in the distance of time may not be able to be planned as well as parts of the project to be completed in the short term. It is important to communicate this well to stakeholders, who may think it is possible to plan a long-term project in its entirety.

Despite being a singular output, the project management plan is used, either in its entirety or in its component parts and subset plans , as an input into many other processes throughout the PMBOK Guide. The project management plan is a key input into the following processes:

Direct and Manage Project Work
Monitor and Control Project Work
Perform Integrated Change Control
Close Project or Phase
Plan Scope Management
Control Scope
Plan Schedule Management
Control Schedule
Plan Cost Management
Control Costs
Plan Quality Management
Plan Human Resource Management
Plan Communications Management
Control Communications
Plan Risk Management
Control Risks
Plan Procurement Management
Control Procurements
Close Procurements
Plan Stakeholder Management
Control Stakeholder Engagement

Quick Check

1.

Why is the project charter used as an input into the Develop Project Management Plan process?

2.

Why do project management plan updates feature so much as outputs from other the PMBOK Guide processes?

3.

Why does the development of the project management plan appear as part of the Project Integration Management knowledge area?

Quick Check Answers

1.

During the first iteration of the development of the project management plan, the project charter is the document that authorizes time, money, and energy being directed towards the development of the project management plan, and it contains the initial information on which to base the planning processes.

2.

The development of the project management plan is a highly iterative process and, as such, it receives constant updates from other processes as it is fully developed.

3.

The development of a project management plan requires the development of plans and baselines in all the other knowledge areas in the PMBOK Guide.

Direct and Manage Project Work

More Info

Direct and Manage Project Work

You can read more about the Direct and Manage Project Work process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.3. Table 2-3 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-3.

Direct and Manage Project Work Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project management plan • Approved change requests • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Project management information system • Meetings	• Deliverables • Work performance data • Change requests • Project management plan updates • Project document updates

The Direct and Manage Project Work process is an executing process. It is one of six processes in the Project Integration Management knowledge area, and one of a total of eight executing processes in the PMBOK Guide.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process covers the following executing domain tasks :

Task 2: Manage task execution based on the project management plan by leading and developing the project team, in order to achieve project deliverables.
Task 4: Implement approved changes and corrective actions by following the change management plan, in order to meet project requirements.
Task 5: Implement approved actions by following the risk management plan, in order to minimize the impact of the risks and take advantage of opportunities on the project.

The main focus of the Direct and Manage Project Work process is doing instead of planning, which means the execution and completion of the work on the project and the product, or deliverable, you have planned to do. This is why you do all that planning, so when it comes time to start doing work you know what to do.

There are three main components of the Direct and Manage Project Work process, each focused on a slightly different area of project execution. The first and probably largest area is the implementation of the project plans you have made that specify both project and product requirements. The second area of focus for this process is the iterative process whereby you must repair any defects discovered in deliverables in the Monitoring and Controlling processes. The third area is the focus on implementation of any approved changes. As you can see, they all involve doing something.

Exam Tip

This process focuses on all the work that has to be done on the project and product, and the integration and interdependencies between all the executing processes. The other executing processes deal specifically with the execution of the quality, human resources, communications, procurement, and stakeholder management plans.

The role of the project manager is extremely important in this process and all the executing processes because, along with the rest of the project team members, the manager is responsible for the execution of the plans. The primary focus of this process is the production of deliverables. The Direct and Manage Project Work process is also where any approved changes are implemented.

Inputs

The inputs used in this process reflect its focus on doing the work that was planned and also implementing any approved change requests.

Project Management Plan

The project management plan is the primary input here for obvious reasons. Obviously, you can’t execute any project or product work without a proper plan to work to. You can, however, start work without the project management plan being entirely complete due to the iterative nature of the executing process and of the profession of project management generally. You can start work on just those areas you have planned while other areas are still being planned.

Real World

I remember being new to the profession of project management and thinking it was better just to get on with the job and that planning was a negative outcome on a cost-benefit analysis. It was with the wisdom gained with experience (and mistakes) that I learned that proper planning precedes execution, resulting in a much greater chance of project success.

Approved Change Requests

The Direct and Manage Project Work process is not just about executing the project and product work detailed in the plans you have prepared. It is also about carrying out the work required as a result of approved changes. As such, approved change requests are an important input, because they describe the work to be done. Approved change requests can include a requirement for corrective action, a preventive action, or a defect repair. Approved change requests are an output from the Perform Integrated Change Control process.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The specific enterprise environmental factors that can influence or constrain this particular process are any organizational culture or structure that affects the timing, commitment, and support for the execution process. Other factors that also influence or constrain the speed, timing, and execution of the plans prepared include decisions around project personnel and risk tolerances for stakeholders within and outside the performing organization. Access to adequate and appropriate project management information systems also affects this process.

Organizational Process Assets

By now you will have figured out how often organizational process assets appear as a process input. For this process, the specific organizational process assets that can help are things such as standardized guides and work instructions that the organization has to assist the project manager and the project team in doing the planned work. Other organizational process assets that can assist in the execution of the planned work include historical information from similar projects, and any standardized and established communication requirements.

Tools and Techniques

The three tools and techniques of this process are all used on the separate inputs to deliver the planned work or the approved changes.

Expert Judgment

Expert judgment as a tool for the Direct and Manage Project Work process is essential for taking the plans and other inputs and carrying out the implementation and execution of those plans. It is the job of the project manager and project team members to provide the expert judgment necessary to carry out the planning work and approved change requests to ensure that this process delivers its expected outputs.

In addition to the expertise of the project manager and project team members, you can also seek guidance from external experts and other stakeholders with skills and experience you require.

Project Management Information System

The project management information system is an automatic or manual system, such as common project management software or databases, used for storing and disseminating project information. Here it is used to track the work being done and communicate it effectively to the correct stakeholders.

Exam Tip

Project management information systems can include software used for creating and monitoring schedule information such as Microsoft Project, Primavera, Trello, Atlassian, Wrike, Basecamp, ProjectLibre, or any one of the hundreds of other great examples. They can also include databases used for cost estimating and control, and range from standalone installations to larger enterprise resource planning systems.

Meetings

Meetings have many purposes throughout the PMBOK Guide, in this process and also in communications processes. In this instance, meetings are used as a tool by the project manager to discuss and make decisions on matters affecting the execution of the project.

Real World

I have found that a properly organized meeting can be one of the most productive ways of sharing information, getting decisions made, and also building team spirit. To run one well, you need to spend time preplanning the meeting, set a clear agenda, have a real reason for the meeting, and set the expectation of the outcome from the meeting. You also need to invite only those people who need to be present and establish some ground rules. The absence of these basic points will result in a meeting that could potentially be a waste of time for all involved.

Outputs

The major output from the Direct and Manage Project Work process is the project deliverables.

Deliverables

The deliverables are often the major focus of any project. They are what the project was set up to do in the first place, and they are the primary output from this process. It can be a single deliverable or one of many deliverables. The product deliverable is the output from this executing process, whereas the other executing processes have outputs focused on project, not product, work.

The deliverables go on to become an input into the Control Quality process prior to becoming verified deliverables if they are approved. Once approved by the project team, verified deliverables then become an input into the Validate Scope process prior to becoming accepted deliverables if they are accepted by the customer.

Examples of deliverables include software modules for an IT project. If you are completing a construction project, the deliverable could be the entire building or significant parts of it. Clearly it is important that you are able to measure when a deliverable is complete, so you know when to complete this process.

Work Performance Data

Another output from this process is the work performance data , which is the documented record of observation and measurements of the deliverables taken during this executing process. The work performance data can include any data that records the percent complete, any technical measurements taken, the number of change requests made and approved, the number of defects found and corrected, and start and finish times, both expected and actual. You can probably tell that some of this data is generated by other executing processes. But due to the integrated nature of the Direct and Manage Project Work process, it gets included here as an output because it may affect and be used as an input by the following monitoring and controlling processes :

Validate Scope
Control Scope
Control Schedule
Control Costs
Control Quality
Control Communications
Control Risks
Control Procurements
Control Stakeholder Engagement

Change Requests

As a result of doing the planned work, you may discover that there are some changes to part of the project management plan or product requirements. The change requests generated as a result of this process go on to become inputs into the Perform Integrated Change Control process.

Exam Tip

All change requests must go through a documented and agreed-on change-control process and be either approved or declined. Change requests fall into one of the following four categories: corrective action, preventive action, defect repair, and updates.

Project Management Plan Updates

As part of doing the planned work, you may choose to update some or all the component plans that make up the project management plan. Project management plan updates are different from change requests. Change requests signify that something new needs to be considered in an integrated manner. Project management plan updates are simply updates to documents and plans for clarification or revised approaches to executing the planned work and do not require a formal change request to be initiated.

Project Document Updates

In addition to updates to specific plans that form the project management plan, you can also carry out project document updates to provide clarification or to note any new information such as new issues, assumptions made, and decisions made.

Quick Check

1.

Why is it important to complete project planning prior to beginning the Direct and Manage Project Work process?

2.

Why does the Direct and Manage Project Work process appear in the Project Integration Management knowledge area?

3.

What sort of work do the project deliverables include?

Quick Check Answers

1.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process is a doing process, and before you can do any work you must have planned what it is you are going to do.

2.

Several other knowledge areas have executing processes that focus on their particular specialty. However, very rarely is there an executing process that does not, actually or potentially, have an impact on other knowledge areas. As such, the Direct and Manage Project Work process focuses on the integrated nature of project management and the interrelationship between processes.

3.

The project deliverables include all the project and product work required to be completed by the project management plan.

Monitor and Control Project Work

More Info

Monitor and Control Project Work

You can read more about the Monitor and Control Project Work process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.4. Table 2-4 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-4.

Monitor and Control Project Work Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project management plan • Schedule forecasts • Cost forecasts • Validated changes • Work performance information • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Analytical techniques • Project management information system • Meetings	• Change requests • Work performance reports • Project management plan updates • Project document updates

The key area of focus in the Monitor and Control Project Work process is checking that what you are doing matches what you planned to do. Obviously, to do this you must have done some planning and use these plans and baselines to check that the work you are doing matches what you planned to do. Remember that the work you are doing is not just the product work but also all the project work defined in your project management plan.

The Monitor and Control Project Work process is one of two monitoring and controlling processes in the Project Integration knowledge area and one of a total of 11 monitoring and controlling processes overall. Monitoring and controlling work is done throughout the life of the project, from initiation to closure.

The Monitor and Control Project Work process covers the following Monitoring and Controlling domain tasks :

Task 1: Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques, in order to identify and quantify any variances and corrective actions.
Task 5: Review the issue log, update if necessary, and determine corrective actions by using appropriate tools and techniques, in order to minimize the impact on the project.
Task 6: Capture, analyze, and manage lessons learned using lessons-learned management techniques, in order to enable continuous improvement.

Exam Tip

Hopefully by now you have started the process of immediately trying to determine what sort of inputs would be useful for completing a process and what sort of outputs that process will produce. Before reading any further, think about what sort of inputs would be useful for checking that what you are actually doing is what you planned to do.

Inputs

There are seven inputs into the Monitor and Control Project Work process, all specifically designed to assist you in producing the outputs of change requests, work performance reports, project management plan updates, and project document updates.

Project Management Plan

Once again, the project management plan forms a key input into a process, this time because if you are going to check that what you are doing is what you planned to do, you should have available to you as an input the project management plan and all its subsidiary plans—this is what you will be checking your work against. The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process.

Schedule Forecasts

Schedule forecasts are an output from the Control Schedule process in the Project Time Management knowledge area. They are obviously useful for determining if what you are actually achieving in terms of your project schedule is accurate and matches what you had planned or forecast.

Cost Forecasts

Cost forecasts are an output from the Control Costs process in the Project Cost Management knowledge area. As with the schedule forecasts, they are essential for monitoring and controlling progress on project costs.

Validated Changes

Validated changes are an output of the Control Quality process in the Project Quality Management knowledge area. They involve checking that any approved change requests and associated remedial actions have been undertaken as per the approval given. In this process, they are used as a part of the baseline of work being done, and you will now monitor and control these approved additional pieces of work.

Exam Tip

To fully understand what validated changes means, you must understand the difference between the words validate and verify. The PMBOK Guide has an extensive glossary at the back of the book that describes in detail the words used throughout. Validation means the product, service, or system meets the needs and requirements of the customer and other important stakeholders. Verification means the product, service, or system complies with documented regulations, specifications, or imposed technical conditions. Think of validation as an external process and verification as an internal process done before validation.

Work Performance Information

Work performance information is a very common output of a lot of the other monitoring and controlling processes. It is an output from the following processes:

Validate Scope
Control Scope
Control Schedule
Control Costs
Control Quality
Control Communications
Control Risks
Control Procurements
Control Stakeholder Engagement

It includes all the data collected during these processes, and as an input into this process it is valuable for assessing what is actually happening against what you had planned to happen.

Exam Tip

You may recognize that work performance data becomes work performance information, which in turn becomes work performance reports. Each step is a further refinement of the information.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The specific types of enterprise environmental factors that can be used in this process include any relevant government or industry standards, stakeholder risk tolerances, and your project management information system being used to provide information into this process and record and disseminate any results from the process.

Organizational Process Assets

The specific types of organizational process assets that can be used as inputs into this process include any existing processes and templates the organization has, lessons-learned databases, risk-management procedures, documented change-control processes and procedures, and issue and defect management procedures.

Tools and Techniques

The following tools and techniques are available, if appropriate, to use on the selected inputs.

Expert Judgment

Once again, expert judgment appears as a key tool to assist in gathering, interpreting, and making sense of the inputs into the process to produce useful and meaningful outputs. In this process, the project manager and members of the project team are the most relevant and easily accessible experts to consult.

Analytical Techniques

Analytical techniques allow you to make sense of the inputs into the processes and the data they contain to forecast potential future scenarios. The PMBOK Guide specifically mentions the following analytical techniques:

Regression analysis The analysis of a dependent variable against one or more independent variables to determine the nature of the relationship, if any, between the variables and to extrapolate from this a likely future scenario. In this process, it is used to forecast a likely future state of perhaps time or costs based on past performance and the mathematical trend observed. It is often displayed in graph format, as shown in Figure 2-2.
Figure 2-2.
A graph showing an example of linear regression

Grouping methods Techniques for taking what you have observed and classifying the data into relevant groups for further study and comparison. A specific type of grouping method uses exploratory study to compare sets of data and to look for patterns and correlations between the data for causal effects.
Multiple-equation models Tools that use simultaneous equations to describe a relationship between variables and forecast likely future outcomes.
Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) A widely used technique to examine the consequence of failure in any part of the system and the use of those observations to ensure that failure does not actually occur or that, if it does, the impact is anticipated and mitigated. In this process, you could use this tool to determine the likely effect of failure in the product and prepare to ensure that it doesn’t happen.
Reserve analysis A tool for determining how much reserve you will need in any of the cost or time management processes or project management plan components.
Trend analysis A technique for observing data, trying to spot a trend in the data and use this observed trend to forecast a future state. You could use this in this process to spot a constant and regular trend in the product deliverable indicating that if the trend continues, you will end up with a product the client doesn’t want.

Exam Tip

All of these analytical tools and techniques feature some form of mathematical modeling and use the results to forecast a future state. On the exam, if a mathematical tool or technique is referred to, and it is in a monitoring and controlling process, then it is probably one of these tools.

Project Management Information System

The project management information system is used here to record new data, retrieve existing data, and distribute any relevant data to stakeholders.

Exam Tip

Remember that your project management information system is part of your enterprise environmental factors.

Meetings

Meetings are a useful tool for the project manager, project team members, and relevant stakeholders to exchange and discuss information. They are best held in a face-to-face environment where participants can see each other, but they can also be held in virtual formats. Meetings that would be useful during this process are kick-off meetings and review meetings.

The kick-off meeting is done on site with all relevant stakeholders as a means of communicating that the project has done enough planning work to begin executing. As such, this meeting is generally done immediately prior to beginning project execution.

Outputs

The following outputs are generated by the Monitor and Control Project Work process.

Change Requests

The key outputs from the Monitor and Control Project Work process are change requests generated as a result of observing and comparing what is actually occurring against what was planned and also generated by changing requirements. Several different categories of change requests can be made; these include corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repair.

Change requests become an input into the Perform Integrated Change Control process, where they are assessed and decisions are made as to whether they are approved or declined. They are not acted on until they have been approved.

Work Performance Reports

Work performance reports are generated by your project management information system in physical or electronic form and show how the project is progressing against what was planned, and any changes requested and subsequent actions taken. Typically work performance reports include any regular status updates, project memos, explanatory notes, and any other updates to project team members and stakeholders.

Real World

I find that not only are reports on work performance information a valuable means of communicating technical information, but they are also a valuable means of establishing and maintaining effective communications with team members and stakeholders. I have always been selective about what information goes to certain people and also what the best format is to ensure that the information I am distributing is understood by the recipients.

Project Management Plan Updates

As a result of monitoring and controlling the actual results against the planned results, you will detect variations, and as a result there will be some changes to your project, probably in several different areas. These need to be captured in updates to the relevant parts of your project management plan.

Project Document Updates

Just as there will be updates to parts of your project management plan, there will also need to be updates to project documents that deal with forecast, performance, or issues.

Quick Check

1.

How are the Monitor and Control Project Work process and the Perform Integrated Change Control process linked?

2.

Why is the project management plan an important input into the Monitor and Control Project Work process?

3.

When would you start the Monitor and Control Project Work process?

Quick Check Answers

1.

The two processes are linked by change requests. These are a primary output from the Monitor and Control Project Work process and are an input in the Perform Integrated Change Control process, where decisions are made about the change request.

2.

The project management plan provides a description of how the work is expected to be done and can be used to compare with what is actually occurring.

3.

Monitoring and controlling activities are done throughout the life of the project and begin as soon as the project begins initiation and end when the project is closed.

Perform Integrated Change Control

More Info

Perform Integrated Change Control

You can read more about the Perform Integrated Change Control process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.5. Table 2-5 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-5.

Perform Integrated Change Control Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project management plan • Work performance reports • Change requests • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Meetings • Change control tools	• Approved change requests • Change log • Project management plan updates • Project document updates

The Perform Integrated Change Control process is one of two monitoring and controlling processes in the Project Integration Management knowledge area, and one of a total of 11 monitoring and control processes. The other 10 monitoring and controlling processes are focused on discovering any variations between what is planned and what is actually occurring, and generating change requests where appropriate. The Perform Integrated Change Control process deals with these change requests.

The Perform Integrated Change Control process covers the following Monitoring and Controlling domain task :

Task 2: Manage changes to the project by following the change management plan, in order to ensure that project goals remain aligned with business needs.

This is the process where all changes to any part of the project are considered and decisions are made about whether they are approved or rejected. As such, it receives inputs from all the other monitoring and control processes in the form of change requests that have been generated by these other processes. It is completed throughout the life of the project, as are all monitoring and control processes.

Change requests can come from many sources, including any stakeholder on the project. All changes, no matter how small, should be documented. Many change requests are initiated with a simple verbal request, but even these should be documented and recorded in some way. Documentation of change requests can range from simple email verification of verbal requests to completion of a formal change request document, right up to a complete business case for major changes to a project. Failure to document changes will result in scope creep. Scope creep occurs when undocumented change control is allowed to happen, involving small changes that are regarded as insignificant. Individually they may not pose a problem, but collectively they increase the chances of project failure.

Gold plating is the process of making small undocumented changes to a project that result in a better outcome for the client. Although it sounds good in theory, the key here is that it is still undocumented changes to a project. This is not to say that you should not pursue better outcomes for the project and the client, but that all changes should be documented and assessed according to an agreed-on change-control process.

Exam Tip

At all times you should be delivering what is documented and only what is documented. This doesn’t mean you can’t change what is being delivered, but that all changes should be documented.

All changes should be recorded in a change log that assigns them a tracking number and records progress and outcomes on the decision-making process .

Exam Tip

The identification and numbering of the changes in a change log is one example of a configuration management system at work. It is a system whereby you identify all the plans and the version of those plans to ensure that you are always working on the latest plans or parts of a project. Configuration verification and audit is the process of checking that the configuration management system is being used correctly and that all changes to it are recorded appropriately. You will find the configuration management system used in several areas throughout the PMBOK Guide, where it is broken down into the following three parts:

Configuration identification : Deciding on the type and format of an appropriate configuration system to use.
Configuration status accounting: Actually using each of the configuration management systems to track and surveil the project.
Configuration verification and audit : Checking that people are using the configuration management system to ensure that documents are being tracked, the correct version of software is being used, processes are being used, and the right parts are being used.

Inputs

The following inputs can be used in this process.

Project Management Plan

The project management plan is a key input into this process, because it outlines what is planned to happen on the project. Many change requests are initiated as a result of observing a difference between what was planned and what is actually occurring. The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process.

Work Performance Reports

If you are going to assess the impact and nature of any changes, it is important that you have the work performance reports to assist you. They provide information about specific areas of the project and also allow the project manager and project team members to consider any impacts of a change in one area on other areas of the project.

The work performance reports are an output of the Monitor and Control Project Work process.

Exam Tip

The difference between work performance reports, work performance information, and work performance data is that the work performance data is the raw information; work performance information is the raw information after it has been analyzed and contextualized, and after it incorporates the integrated nature of project management; and work performance reports are the information presented in a particular way to a particular group of stakeholders.

Change Requests

The change requests are an essential input into this process, because it is focused on receiving a change request, considering it in light of the entire project, and making a decision about whether to approve or reject the change request.

As you have already learned, change requests are outputs of the other ten monitoring and controlling processes.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The specific enterprise environmental factor that can affect the Perform Integrated Change Control process is primarily the project management information system, because it records all the changes, the work performance information and reports, and the decisions made about the change requests.

Organizational Process Assets

The organizational process assets that can be used to assist the Perform Integrated Change Control process are any change-control processes, templates, and procedures the organization has that guide assessment, delegated authority, and decision-making.

Real World

I am a strong advocate of documenting very clearly the levels of delegated authority that project managers have when it comes to making assessment and decisions about change requests. It is simply not practical for all changes to go to a change-control board that perhaps meets monthly. It is far more sensible to allocate a certain amount of delegated authority to the project manager so the project can keep moving along. This view is reflected in the PMBOK Guide.

Tools and Techniques

The following tools and techniques can be used on the selected and available inputs to generate the outputs.

Expert Judgment

The specific type of expert judgment you will use as a tool in this process consists of those people with skills and experience to be able to assist in considering change requests and the information that will help decide whether to accept or reject the change requests. These experts can be individuals who are consulted about particular issues, or they can be groups of stakeholders who form the change-control board that meets to consider change requests.

Meetings

Meetings , in this case change-control meetings, are attended by the change-control board that is responsible for assessing change requests and making the decisions to approve or reject change requests. Not all changes need to go to the change-control board via change-control meetings, though—only those specified in the documented change-control process, which ideally should be part of your project management methodology, itself part of your organizational process assets.

Change-Control Tools

Change-control tools used in the Perform Integrated Change Control process can be any automated or manual system for organizing, recording, documenting, assessing, storing, and distributing decisions about change requests and the subsequent decisions made. You can tell that your project management information system is one example of the sort of change-control tool that can be used.

Outputs

The Perform Integrated Change Control process produces some or all the following outputs.

Approved Change Requests

Approved change requests are the primary output from the Perform Integrated Change Control process. They are the result of the selected inputs and the tools and techniques applied. All approved change requests are recorded in the change-request log.

The approved change requests go on to be incorporated into existing baselines and become an input in the following processes:

Direct and Manage Project Work
Control Quality
Control Procurements
Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Change Log

The change log is the document kept to record the change requests received and their status. It is used as an input in the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process.

Project Management Plan Updates

Approved change requests are added to existing baselines to become new baselines. Additionally, many approved change requests also affect other subsidiary project management plans. Project management plan updates are used as an input into the Develop Project Management Plan process.

Exam Tip

According to the PMBOK Guide, a baseline is the original baseline plus any approved changes. This may differ from your current understanding of the baseline being only what you originally started with.

Project Document Updates

Just as approved change requests can change parts of the project management plan, they can also affect other project documents and require them to be updated, particularly those associated with the change-control process.

Quick Check

1.

Why is the Perform Integrated Change Control process performed after other monitoring and controlling processes?

2.

During what parts of the project life cycle are the activities associated with Perform Integrated Change Control process performed?

3.

What is the role of the change-control board?

Quick Check Answers

1.

The Perform Integrated Change Control process requires change requests as a key input. These change requests are generated as outputs from other monitoring and controlling processes.

2.

The activities of the Perform Integrated Change Control process are carried out throughout the entire project life cycle, from initiation to closing.

3.

The change-control board is the group of experts who meet to consider change requests. They are defined by the documented change-control processes in place in the organization.

Close Project or Phase

More Info

Close Project or Phase

You can read more about the Close Project or Phase process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 4, section 4.6. Table 2-6 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Table 2-6.

Close Project or Phase Process

Inputs ➪	Tools and Techniques ➪	Outputs
• Project management plan • Accepted deliverables • Organizational process assets	• Expert judgment • Analytical techniques • Meetings	• Final product, service, or result transition • Organizational process asset updates

The Close Project or Phase process is one of two closing processes in the PMBOK Guide; the other is Close Procurements in the Project Procurement Management knowledge area.

The Close Project or Phase process covers the following seven closing domain tasks :

Task 1: Obtain final acceptance of the project deliverables from relevant stakeholders, in order to confirm that project scope and deliverables were achieved.
Task 2: Transfer the ownership of deliverables to the assigned stakeholders in accordance with the project plan, in order to facilitate project closure.
Task 3: Obtain financial, legal, and administrative closure using generally accepted practices and policies, in order to communicate formal project closure and ensure transfer of liability.
Task 4: Prepare and share the final project report according to the communications management plan, in order to document and convey project performance and assist in project evaluation.
Task 5: Collate lessons learned that were documented throughout the project, and conduct a comprehensive project review, in order to update the organization’s knowledge base.
Task 6: Archive project documents and materials using generally accepted practices, in order to comply with statutory requirements and for potential use in future projects and audits.
Task 7: Obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders, using appropriate tools and techniques and based on the stakeholder management plan, in order to evaluate their satisfaction.

This process is the only closing process in the Project Integration Management knowledge area and is focused on the activities involved in completing the work required in a project or a phase of a project. Because it is an integrated process, it involves closure over all the processes being used in the project and not just the deliverable. As the name of the process suggests, it is used when closing a project prior to deliverable handover, or when completing a phase of a project prior to awaiting approval to proceed to the next phase.

The role of the project manager during this process is important, because the project manager must take responsibility for closing the project and overseeing the required tasks. The project manager has responsibility for reviewing all the documents created and ensuring that what is being delivered matches what is documented. Having a closeout checklist as part of your organizational process assets is an effective way to document exactly what closure means, the tasks that must be done, the signatures that must be obtained, and the final steps to confirm the project is complete. The role of the project sponsor is also important, because that individual officially signs off on project or phase closure.

Exam Tip

The PMBOK Guide places a high degree of importance on the value of creating lessons learned during the project and finalizing these during the closeout process through informal means, surveys, interviews, workshops, and post-implementation reviews. You should always assume that you will create lessons learned as part of your project, and always assume that lessons learned are available to you from previous projects when you begin a new one.

One of the key ways to distinguish this process from the Close Procurements process is that the Close Project or Phase process is focused not only on contractual closure but on all the aspects of administrative closure as well. Being an integrated process, it considers how contractual closure processes as part of the Close Procurements process may impact other areas of the project, and it also goes through the defined and approved closure process the organization has as part of its organizational process assets.

Exam Tip

All projects must be closed, even if they end in less-than-perfect situations. If a project ends suddenly, then you must have a process in place to follow in this instance. If a question on the PMP exam poses this scenario, you should also assume that whatever the situation, you will enter some form of project-closure process.

Real World

Project closure is one of those processes that we know we should do, but usually by the time we move into the part of the project where the bulk of our effort is on project closure, we are being called away to start a new project. I have learned that there are tangible benefits to staying focused on project closure in the face of these calls to join new projects. It is important to make sure you get formal signoff that the project is complete, collect and store lessons learned, and, if possible, hold a post-implementation review some time later to determine whether the deliverable is actually doing what it was supposed to do.

Inputs

The Close Project or Phase process uses the following inputs.

Project Management Plan

The project management plan defines the work to be done, and so, as part of seeking to close a project or phase of a project, you need the project management plan and must be able to prove that all the work planned has been completed. The PMBOK Guide describes the project management plan as the contract between the project manager and the project sponsor, because it is the document that defines what constitutes project completion. The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process.

Accepted Deliverables

Accepted deliverables are an output from the Validate Scope process in the Project Scope Management knowledge area. Because they are validated by your documented processes, they are now ready to be handed over as part of the project closure process.

Organizational Process Assets

The specific organizational process assets that can be used to assist the Close Project or Phase process are any documented closeout checklists, templates, processes, or requirements. Additionally, you can use any relevant historical information or lessons learned to assist you with this process.

Exam Tip

You should always do your closure planning during the Develop Project Management Plan process and the other planning processes. Along with all your other plans, you should also have a plan for how to close the project.

Tools and Techniques

The following tools and techniques can be used on the inputs into the Close Project or Phase process.

Expert Judgment

The type of expert judgment you use during this process includes the project manager, the project team members, the project sponsors, the client, your legal team, and any other stakeholders who can provide advice and opinion on project closure.

Analytical Techniques

Analytical techniques were used as a tool or technique in the Monitor and Control Project Work process to analyze data and forecast future trends. As a tool in this process, they are used to substantiate any information that can be used to confirm project or product deliverables. Of the possible analytical techniques that could be used, regression analysis and trend analysis are the most applicable and useful.

Meetings

Meetings between experts and other stakeholders involved in discussing and deciding on aspects of project or phase closure are an important tool in the process. Specific types of meetings that can be held include lessons-learned meetings, closeout meetings, and post-implementation review meetings.

Outputs

The Close Project or Phase process produces the following outputs.

Final Product, Service, or Result Transition

This is the whole point of the project—the reason it was initiated in the first place. This is the deliverable the entire project was planned to provide for the customer. In the case of phase closure, it is the milestone that is expected before approval is given to proceed to the next phase. The final product, service, or result is handed over to the customer as the final part of contractual closure.

Organizational Process Asset Updates

The end of a project and the time spent examining what was done well and what was not done so well is a great opportunity to look at updating any relevant organizational process assets as part of your commitment to continuous improvement. The project files, including all the documentation resulting from the completion of project activities, should be used to update any relevant organizational process assets. Gathering historical information and lessons learned, and using this information to update and improve organizational process assets, is also an important step. Organizational process asset updates are the final act of administrative closure.

Exam Tip

Know the difference between contractual and administrative closure, and understand that contractual closure is always completed before administrative closure is completed.

Quick Check

1.

Why is the completion of the lessons-learned documentation during the Close Project or Phase process so important?

2.

What is the difference between closing a project and closing a phase of a project?

3.

What is the role of the project sponsor during the Close Project or Phase process?

Quick Check Answers

1.

The lessons-learned documents ensure that any part of the project that was done well and any part of the project that was not done well are documented for future project managers to use so they can take advantage of the strengths and avoid repeating the weaknesses in your project.

2.

Closing a project means the completion of all work on a project. Closing a phase of a project is the end of one phase and not necessarily the end of the project. The successful end of a phase means waiting for approval to move to the next phase, usually with the output from the phase that is being closed.

3.

The project sponsor’s role in the Close Project or Phase process is to accept the deliverable on behalf of the delivering organization and provide formal signoff for project closure.

Chapter Summary

The Project Integration Management knowledge area recognizes and is focused on the way in which project work is not completed in separate discrete chunks. There is the need to take a high-level view across all project activities, and activities in one knowledge area may influence activities in another knowledge area.
The project charter is the foundational document for the project, and all projects must have a project charter.
The project management plan contains all the elements of integrated project planning and also all the other outputs from the other planning processes.
The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process and an essential input into the Direct and Manage Project Work, Monitor and Control Project Work, Perform Integrated Change Control, and Close Project or Phase processes.
The Direct and Manage Project Work process is focused on completing the work described in the project management plan. The project deliverables are the primary output from this process.
The Monitor and Control Project Work process is focused on checking that what is being completed as part of the Direct and Mange Project Work process is what was planned. Any changes are issued as outputs from the process as change requests for the Perform Integrated Change Control process to deal with. Change requests can be outputs from any of the other monitoring and controlling processes in the PMBOK Guide, with the exception of the Perform Integrated Change Control process, for which they are an input.
The Perform Integrated Change Control process is focused on receiving and considering all change requests and processing them as per the approved and documented change-control process. Change requests can be approved or rejected.
The Close Project or Phase process is focused on completing all the activities associated with administrative and contractual closure. It provides the deliverable and closure for a project, or the milestone for a project being delivered in phases.

Exercises

The answers for these exercises are located in the “Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

1.

Calculate the following financial selection criteria for projects:

A.

Calculate Present Value, where the Future Value is $300,000, the interest rate is 10%, and the time period is 3 years.

Calculate Net Present Value where the Present Value of Income is $250,000 and the Present Value of Costs is $180,000.

Calculate the Payback Period for a project with an initial cost of $450,000 and annual income of $110,000.

2.

All of the following are either inputs, outputs, or both into processes in the Project Integration Management knowledge area. As such, it is possible to place them in the order in which they are generally completed so that one is completed prior to it being used as an input in a subsequent process. Place the following in order from first to last in relation to where they appear in the overall flow of inputs and outputs between the processes in the Project Integration Management knowledge area:

A.

Change requests

B.

Agreements

C.

Schedule forecasts

D.

Project management plan

E.

Final product, service, or result

F.

Accepted deliverables

G.

Business case

H.

Deliverables

I.

Project charter

J.

Validated changes

K.

Project statement of work

L.

Cost forecast

M.

Approved change requests

Review Questions

Test your knowledge of the information in Chapter 2 by answering these questions. The answers to these questions and the explanations of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect are located in the “Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

1.

Which of the following answers best describes a key benefit of the Develop Project Charter process?

A.

Assess and manage all change requests.

B.

Define the project start, and create a formal record of the project.

C.

Iteratively prepare plans for execution throughout a project.

D.

Ensure that all projects are closed.

2.

The high-level narrative description of the work to be done on the project is known as which of the following?

A.

Strategic plan

B.

Product scope description

C.

Statement of work

D.

Business case

3.

Which of the following answers best describes the main purpose of the project management plan?

A.

To initiate and approve the project

B.

To define both project and product scope

C.

To describe how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled

D.

To assess which projects should be done

4.

Which project change requests must go through the approved change-control process?

A.

Only those that have an impact on project scope

B.

Any change request that affects scope, time, cost, or quality

C.

Only those change requests that the project manager decides should go through the process

D.

All change requests must go through the change-control process.

5.

What is the name of the group of people responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and deciding on changes to the project?

A.

Change-control board

B.

Project steering group

C.

Project team

D.

Stakeholders

6.

Which of the following is not an organizational process asset that would be updated as a result of completing project closure?

A.

Historical information

B.

Project files

C.

Project charter

D.

Project closure checklist

7.

Consulting stakeholders and project team members, and using your own knowledge, are all examples of what sort of tool or technique used in the Project Integration Management knowledge area?

A.

Stakeholder engagement

B.

Meetings

C.

Expert judgment

D.

Analytical techniques

8.

What is the correct order of project activities?

A.

Develop project management plan, execute project, develop project charter, conduct project selection

B.

Conduct project selection, develop project charter, execute project, develop project management plan

C.

Conduct project selection, develop project charter, develop project management plan, execute project

D.

Develop project charter, develop project management plan, execute project, conduct project selection

9.

Which process in the Project Integration Management knowledge area deals with making decisions on change requests?

A.

Monitor and Control Project Work

B.

Develop Project Charter

C.

Direct and Manage Project Work

D.

Perform Integrated Change Control

10.

What are the existing change-control processes, policies, and templates referred to as?

A.

Organizational process assets

B.

Enterprise environmental factors

C.

Project documents

D.

Project management plan

11.

The final product, service, or result is an output of the Close Project or Phase process. Where does it go after this process?

A.

The Monitor and Control Project Work process

B.

The customer

C.

The Perform Integrated Change Control process

D.

The Direct and Manage Project Work process

12.

The document that authorizes the project is called what?

A.

Project management plan

B.

Project document

C.

Organizational process asset

D.

Project charter

Answers

This section contains the answers to the questions for the “Exercises” and “Review Questions” in this chapter.

Exercises

1.

Calculate the following financial selection criteria for projects:

A.

Calculate Present Value where the Future Value is $300,000, the interest rate is 10%, and the time period is 3 years.

$PVkern0.5em =kern0.5em frac{FV}{{left(1kern0.5em +kern0.5em r ight)}^n}$

where FV equals the future value of cash flows, r equals the interest rate, and n equals the number of time periods.

Therefore, the calculation is

$PVkern0.5em =kern0.5em frac{$300,000}{{left(1kern0.5em +kern0.5em 0.1 ight)}^3}$

Calculate Net Present Value where the Present Value of Income is $250,000 and the Present Value of Costs is $180,000.

NPV is calculated by subtracting the Present Value of Costs from the Present Value of Income:

= $250,000 – $180,000 = $70,000

Calculate the Payback Period for a project with an initial cost of $450,000 and annual income of $110,000.

Payback Period is calculated by dividing the initial investment by the projected annual income:

= $450,000/ $110,000 = 4.09 years

2.

The following order presents the inputs before they are required in a process, and subsequent outputs are presented before they are first used as an input.

A.

Project statement of work (input into Develop Project Charter)

B.

Business case (input into Develop Project Charter)

C.

Agreements (input into Develop Project Charter)

D.

Project charter (output from Develop Project Charter; input into Develop Project Management Plan)

E.

Project management plan (output from Develop Project Management Plan; input into all subsequent processes)

F.

Deliverables (output from Direct and Manage Project Work)

G.

Change requests (output from Direct and Manage Project Work and Monitor and Control Project work; input into Perform Integrated Change Control)

H.

Validated changes (input into Monitor and Control Project Work)

I.

Schedule forecasts (input into Monitor and Control Project Work)

J.

Cost forecasts (input into Monitor and Control Project Work)

K.

Approved change requests (output from Perform Integrated Change Control)

L.

Accepted deliverables (input into Close Project or Phase)

M.

Final product, service, or result (output from Close Project or Phase)

Review Questions

1.

Correct Answer : B

A.

Incorrect: The Perform Integrated Change Control process assesses and manages change requests.

B.

Correct: The Develop Project Charter process does result in outputs that define the start of the project and does create a formal record of the project with the project charter.

C.

Incorrect: The Develop Project Management Plan process iteratively prepares the different plans to guide project execution.

D.

Incorrect: The Close Project or Phase process ensures that all projects are formally closed.

2.

Correct Answer: C

A.

Incorrect: The strategic plan is developed by the organization and is used to help it select the correct projects.

B.

Incorrect: The product scope description is a well-defined description of the deliverable.

C.

Correct: The statement of work is a high-level narrative description of the work to be done on the project and is used as an input into the Develop Project Charter process.

D.

Incorrect: The business case prepares a justification for undertaking the project.

3.

Correct Answer: C

A.

Incorrect: The project charter initiates and approves the project.

B.

Incorrect: The scope statement defines both project and product scope.

C.

Correct: The project management plan describes how the rest of the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled.

D.

Incorrect: The business case can be used to assess which projects should be done.

4.

Correct Answer: D

A.

Incorrect: All change requests, not just those that affect project scope, must go through the defined change-control process.

B.

Incorrect: All change requests, not just those that affect scope, time, quality, and cost, must go through the defined change-control process.

C.

Incorrect: The project manager does play a proactive part in influencing those factors that may lead to change requests being initiated; but once initiated, the requests must all go through the approved change-control process.

D.

Correct: All change requests must be considered as per the approved change-control process.

5.

Correct Answer: A

A.

Correct: The change-control board is responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and deciding on changes to the project.

B.

Incorrect: The project steering group is responsible for providing senior-level advice, oversight, and project governance.

C.

Incorrect: The project team is responsible for carrying out the project work under the guidance of the project manager.

D.

Incorrect: Stakeholders have many roles within the project, and members of the change-control board are certainly stakeholders, but the broadest definition includes everyone who can affect or be affected by the project.

6.

Correct Answer: C

A.

Incorrect: Historical information is updated as part of project closure.

B.

Incorrect: Many types of project files are updated as part of project closure.

C.

Correct: The project charter is an initiating document and is not updated as part of project closure, although some historical information may refer to lessons learned about the project charter.

D.

Incorrect: The project closure checklist is completed and updated as part of project closure.

7.

Correct Answer: C

A.

Incorrect: Stakeholder engagement is the activity carried out as the focus of the Project Stakeholder Expectation Management knowledge area.

B.

Incorrect: Meetings are used to gather groups of stakeholders together to discuss and make decisions.

C.

Correct: The description in the question refers to different categories of experts who may be consulted for their advice and opinion.

D.

Incorrect: Analytical techniques are mathematical techniques used to interpret raw data.

8.

Correct Answer: C

A.

Incorrect: Project selection and development of the project charter must be carried out before the development of the project management plan.

B.

Incorrect: The development of the project management plan must occur before execution of the work.

C.

Correct: Project selection feeds into the project charter, which in turns feeds into the development of the project management plan. The project management plan is used as the basis for project execution.

D.

Incorrect: Conducting project selection must be done first in the process.

9.

Correct Answer: D

A.

Incorrect: The Monitor and Control Project Work process focuses on monitoring the actual work being done against the planned work. Change requests are an output from this process.

B.

Incorrect: The Develop Project Charter process is focused on project selection methods and the development of the project charter.

C.

Incorrect: The Direct and Manage Project Work process is focused on executing the work contained in the project management plan.

D.

Correct: The Perform Integrated Change Control process uses change requests as an input and, with the appropriate tools and techniques, decides whether to accept or reject the change requests.

10.

Correct Answer: A

A.

Correct: The existing change-control processes, policies, and templates are all examples of process assets owned by the organization.

B.

Incorrect: Enterprise environmental factors are external to the project, although they may still be in the performing organization. They can often be seen as constraining rather than assisting a project.

C.

Incorrect: Project documents are produced as part of many processes. Some documents are part of the organizational process assets.

D.

Incorrect: The project management plan is the overall combination of subsidiary plans across all the PMBOK Guide knowledge areas.

11.

Correct Answer: B

A.

Incorrect: The Monitor and Control Project Work process uses forecast information and the project management plan to check actual against planned work.

B.

Correct: The customer receives the deliverables from the project.

C.

Incorrect: The Perform Integrated Change Control process uses change requests and work performance reports as inputs.

D.

Incorrect: The Direct and Manage Project Work process uses the project management plan and approved change requests as inputs.

12.

Correct Answer: D

A.

Incorrect: The project management plan combines all subsidiary plans from other planning processes. The project charter feeds the development of the project management plan.

B.

Incorrect: Project document is a generic term for any document used to plan, record, and store information about the project. The project charter is one example of a project document.

C.

Incorrect: The process to produce the project charter and the blank template can produce organizational process assets but are not examples of organizational process assets themselves.

D.

Correct: The project charter is the foundation document for any project; it authorizes resources to be used on the project.

Table of Contents for 2. Integration Management

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2. Integration Management

What Is Project Integration Management?

Develop Project Charter

Inputs

Project Statement of Work

Business Case

Agreements

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques

Expert Judgment

Facilitation Techniques

Outputs

Project Charter

Develop Project Management Plan

Inputs

Project Charter

Outputs from Other Processes

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques

Expert Judgment

Facilitation Techniques

Outputs

Project Management Plan

Direct and Manage Project Work

Inputs

Project Management Plan

Approved Change Requests

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques

Expert Judgment

Project Management Information System

Meetings

Outputs

Deliverables

Work Performance Data

Change Requests

Project Management Plan Updates

Project Document Updates

Monitor and Control Project Work

Inputs

Project Management Plan

Schedule Forecasts

Cost Forecasts

Validated Changes

Work Performance Information

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques

Expert Judgment

Analytical Techniques

Project Management Information System

Meetings

Outputs

Change Requests

Work Performance Reports

Project Management Plan Updates

Project Document Updates

Perform Integrated Change Control

Inputs

Project Management Plan

Work Performance Reports

Change Requests

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques

Expert Judgment

Meetings

Change-Control Tools

Outputs

Approved Change Requests

Change Log

Project Management Plan Updates

Project Document Updates

Table of Contents for
2. Integration Management