This functional area covers the skills, tools and processes necessary to coordinate the successful delivery of a programme / portfolio of projects.
Meeting stakeholder requirements is an integral element of this area. This is facilitated by the most efficient and effective deployment of project management functions, in an integrated fashion, to fulfil the unique requirements of each programme / portfolio.
Most methodologies present project management functions as discrete components with well-defined interfaces. In real terms integration management is the ‘glue’ that sticks the project management areas together in a structured way. It should be regarded as the primary function of project managers and if implemented effectively will provide the environment for successful, consistent, industrialised delivery of projects within the wider context of the programme / portfolio.
In ‘real-life’ this is manifested as the initiation and control of relevant processes in response the conclusion of other processes e.g. the identification of a new risk may drive the re-evaluation of the project contingency, input into the reporting processes, analysis of the project schedule and determination if the severity necessitates the definition and implementation of a mitigation plan which again kicks off more processes (including re-scheduling, re-budgeting etc).
Integration Management
This functional area covers the skills, tools and processes necessary to coordinate the successful delivery of a programme / portfolio of projects.