PMP lesson · Closing & Integration · Integration · lesson 1 of 2 · about 7 minutes
Integration: the project manager as integrator
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Goal: After this lesson you can explain the integration processes, why the PM looks at the whole picture, and how knowledge (explicit and tacit) is managed.
1The situation
Everyone optimised their own part
On the robot cell, the mechanical lead optimised for fabrication cost, the controls lead for programming speed, procurement for the cheapest supplier, and the software team for features. Each made sense alone. Together they created a late, over-budget project with a hardware–software mismatch.
The one person whose job is to see the whole is the project manager.
2What integration means
Integration management brings all parts of the project together: knowledge areas, teams, approaches, stakeholders. It is the PM's core responsibility; the PM cannot delegate accountability for the whole.
Whole picture
Trade-offs
Every change is assessed for all its impacts.
Direct
Manage work
Lead execution, implement approved changes.
Knowledge
Explicit + tacit
Documents and registers + experience shared by people.
Exam pattern: a problem in one area (scope, cost, a supplier) → assess the integrated impact before acting.
3The integration processes
From charter to closure, the PM holds everything together.
4How it looks on the exam
Exam-style question 1. Procurement proposes switching to a cheaper vision system supplier, saving $12,000 on the purchase price. What should the project manager do FIRST?
A. Approve, since it saves money
B. Reject, since the original supplier was approved
C. Assess the integrated impact on scope, quality, schedule, cost and risk, and process it through change control
D. Ask the team to vote
Show the answer and the decode
Answer: C.
In simple English
A change that looks good in one area.
What is the question really asking?
The first step.
Key words / trigger
“saving $12,000 on the purchase price”
PMP logic
Integration: assess all impacts together before deciding.
Why the wrong answer looks attractive
A lower price looks attractive, but integration costs and risk may outweigh it.
5Remember this
Your memory card
Integration: the PM holds the whole project together
Charter → plan → direct → knowledge → monitor → change control → close