integrating all of the knowledge areas of project management into a single document is vital to the planning process. In this lesson, we look to the project plan to bring it all together.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to understand how all project components, covered in previous lessons, fit together and establish a well-coordinated and efficient environment for successful project execution.
See the checklist page for readings, quiz, and assignment work in this Lesson.
If you have any questions or would like to brainstorm ideas, please contact the instructor by phone or email. Also, feel free to communicate with your fellow students via the General Discussion Forum or email.
Lesson 9 is one week in length. (See the Calendar for specific due dates.) To finish this lesson, you must complete the activities listed below. You may find it useful to print this page out first so that you can follow along with the directions.
| Step | Activity | Directions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading | Lesson 9 online course content |
| 2 | Complete and Submit Team Assignment #7 (Risk Management) | See assignment instructions and Canvas Course Calendar for due date |
| 3 | Start work on Assignment #8 (Integrated Plan) | See assignment instructions and Canvas Course Calendar for due date |
To this point, we have worked through the core and facilitating project management knowledge areas as defined in Lesson 1 and described in detail in Lessons 3 through 8. Now, we will look at how project integration management coordinates all of these knowledge areas through the project's life cycle.
Integration management ties together components from all other project management knowledge areas: scope, cost, time, quality, risk, human resource, communication, and procurement management. Ultimately, this integration is focused on completing the project. During the planning stages, however, integration management is focused on crafting a viable project plan.
The project plan is a critical juncture through which projects pass. In creating the project plan, quantitative and qualitative information is integrated into a document describing how a project should progress. It puts processes in place to move through the implementation and close-out of a project. As these processes are executed, further integration is necessary to successfully complete the project.
The above scenario assumes a project goes as planned. If changes are introduced into a project, it is necessary to coordinate these modifications. Change control is another important aspect of integration management. In the project management framework outlined in this course, controlling a project and associated changes is not a knowledge area but a process, similar to initiating, planning, executing and closing, as discussed in Lesson 2.
The project plan is the point to which all planning converges and from which all implementation diverges. In this sense, it is a clear picture of the project at one instance in time. The project plan may undergo extreme revisions during its concept and development. Similarly, the project itself may change drastically during its implementation and close-out. Project managers should recognize that projects can be flexible and dynamic, but must also be as well-defined as possible. The project plan is an important document to define the project at a critical instance.
The project plan may be composed of a number of components that can be quite specific to an organization. A project plan might include the following parts:
Reviewing this list, you can see that you have been working on a project plan, piece by piece, during the last six lessons. Now let's discuss how you will pull your previous assignments together into a project plan.
Submittal: Assignment #8 - The Integrated Project Plan document is due at the end of Week 10 (see Canvas Calendar)
Target Word Count: 7,000 - 9,000 words (this is just a target to provide a general idea on level of detail)
Total Points: 60 points - see rubric for details
For this assignment, you will integrate elements of the project from previous lessons) into a comprehensive plan, the linchpin to a successful project!
You will prepare a plan for the City of Metropolis Geodatabase Design and Development Project that incorporates the various project plan pieces prepared in previous lessons. This is a summary document that contains essential information to communicate project objectives, team structure and stakeholders, tasks, deliverables, timing, and management/communication procedures. Your work for this Assignment should draw on work carried out in previous weeks on Assignments #3 through #7.
The integrated Project Plan should, at a minimum should include the following topics and parts:
As in all written assignments, you should include a cover page which includes the following information: a) course number and name, b) assignment number and name, c) your name, d) submittal date. The cover page should also have the full project name and document title ("Integrated Project Plan"). In addition, since you represent the contractor performing work for the City, the cover should include the contractor company name. Your submitted assignment should be formatted as specified in the Format Quality of this assignment’s rubric below to earn maximum points. As you prepare this assignment, START WITH AN OUTLINE, with sections and subsections that cover the topics above. We recommend that you use the Outline/Heading feature of your word processing software in document preparation. It is expected that you will organize the document into numbered and named sections. It is best practice today, for technical and management documents to use a "decimal" outline numbering scheme (1., 1.1, etc.) as opposed to the older Roman numeral numbering approach.
There is more than one way to organize and present information for the integrated plan—the bullet point list above identifies minimum content in the plan but, we do not have a specific organization of sections and subsections. That is your job—to summarize material from the past Assignments in a way that makes sense and gives a reader a full picture of the project without going into too much detail. Your deliverable for Assignment #8 should NOT be just a pasting together of written deliverables from previous assignments. You should organize it well, summarize content, reference external documents (e.g., City's RFP, quality management plan from Assignment 6, etc.), make it into a clear, understandable plan.
Also, you should organize the document with numbered headings and subheadings as applicable. Also, for this deliverable, a table of contents should be included. Also, your submittal should take into account instructor comments on previous assignments.
The total word count should be in the 7000 to 9000 range. As is the case for all written assignments, the word count is a target to give you an idea about the level of detail expected. As a general rule, it is best to keep it concise and as brief as possible, while still covering the necessary topics. No points will be deducted for submittals if they exceed the maximum word count by a small amount.
The project plan is the final assignment due for this class and is due at the end of Week 10 (see Canvas Calendar).
Don't hesitate to contact the instructor if you have questions or need to brainstorm ideas as you are preparing your plan.
See Canvas Calendar for submittal date. The grading rubric and information is below.
This assignment is worth 60 points. The grading approach is explained in the rubric table below.
The instructor may deduct points if the Assignment is turned in late, unless a late submittal has been approved by the Instructor prior to the Assignment submittal date.
| Grading Category | Basis for Scoring | Total Possible Points |
|---|---|---|
| A. Inclusion of Required Content |
|
15 |
| B. Overall Document Organization |
|
9 |
| C. Quality/ Clarity of Writing | Writing quality and clarity refers to how well and effectively words and sentences convey meaning relative to the required topics for this assignment. Specifically, this covers:
|
24 |
| D. Format Quality | Grading evaluates how well the document formatting helps convey content and meaning to the reader and supports efficient flow and navigation for the reader. Important format parameters include:
|
12 |