Process — Integrated plan, governance & monitoring
A module connecting execution strategy, life cycle, baselines, governance, reporting, artifacts, and steering decisions.
Estimated time : 90 min
Learning objectives
- Build an integrated plan coherent with complexity, value, and delivery approach.
- Define escalation thresholds, success criteria, and reporting.
- Know which artifacts to update depending on the event.
- Assess status through consolidated data, not impressions.
Key concepts
- Integrated plan
- Coherent set of scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, risk, procurement, communication, and governance plans.
- PMP ECO 2026 — Process Task 1
- Baseline
- Approved reference for scope, schedule, or cost used to measure variance.
- PMBOK planning / monitoring
- Escalation threshold
- Agreed limit beyond which a decision moves to a higher governance level.
- PMP ECO 2026 — Business Task 1
- Artifact
- Document, register, backlog, report, or management deliverable used to steer the project.
- PMP ECO 2026 — Process Task 9
1. Develop an integrated plan
The integrated plan is not an administrative binder. It is the steering system connecting decisions: a scope change impacts schedule, budget, risks, resources, procurement, and value.
| Prompt signal | Reflex |
|---|---|
| Inconsistent plans across teams | Consolidate dependencies, gaps, and assumptions. |
| New sustainability constraint | Integrate into requirements, risks, decision criteria, and reporting. |
| Uncertain delivery approach | Assess complexity then recommend predictive, agile, or hybrid. |
PMI reflex
Before reacting locally, evaluate system impact: scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, procurement, resources, value.
Artifact → decision → PMI action map
Artifact
ECO + PMBOK 8 + study plan
Decision
Which ECO competency does this chapter strengthen?
PMI action
Connect concept, scenario, counterexample, and explained question.
Avoid: Memorizing without linking the concept to a project decision.
Recommendations
- Keep assumptions and dependencies visible.
- Update the plan when context changes, not only at phase end.
Tips
- Integrated plan = coherence across sub-plans.
- Question with external dependency = impact analysis before promise.
Chapter quiz
1.A new regulatory constraint impacts scope, vendor, and schedule. What is the healthiest first action?
2. Governance, artifacts, and escalations
Governance defines who decides, under which rules, with which thresholds and evidence. It prevents informal decisions that bypass value, compliance, or baselines.
Which artifact to update?
| Event | Likely artifact |
|---|---|
| Future uncertainty | Risk register |
| Issue already occurring | Issue log |
| Predictive change request | Change log + CCB analysis |
| New agile request | Product backlog |
| Committee decision | Decision log + updated plan |
Trap
Escalating a raw problem overloads governance. Good escalation presents options, impacts, recommendation, and exceeded threshold.
Artifact → decision → PMI action map
Artifact
ECO + PMBOK 8 + study plan
Decision
Which ECO competency does this chapter strengthen?
PMI action
Connect concept, scenario, counterexample, and explained question.
Avoid: Memorizing without linking the concept to a project decision.
Recommendations
- Document authority thresholds from initiation.
- Keep artifacts accessible and current.
Tips
- Future risk = risk register; current issue = issue log.
- Agile change = backlog; predictive change = integrated control.
Chapter quiz
1.An identified threat may occur in two months. Where should it be recorded?
3. Evaluate project status
Reliable project status combines quantitative data, qualitative signals, and value. A green cost/schedule status is not enough if adoption, quality, or compliance is at risk.
| Dimension | Example indicators |
|---|---|
| Schedule / cost | SPI, CPI, milestones, burnup, variance. |
| Quality | Defects, rework rate, DoD, reviews. |
| Risk | Exposure, reserves, triggered risks. |
| Value | Benefits, adoption, customer feedback. |
The EVM curve helps read cost and schedule together: a project can be under budget while still behind schedule.
Reading a mixed cost/schedule status
At the monthly review, PV = $100,000, EV = $90,000, and AC = $75,000. The sponsor asks whether the project is healthy.
- SPI = EV / PV = 90,000 / 100,000 = 0.90: the project is behind schedule.
- CPI = EV / AC = 90,000 / 75,000 = 1.20: cost performance is favorable.
- The overall status is not green: schedule delay can threaten value even if cost performance is good.
Communicate a nuanced status: favorable cost, unfavorable schedule, root-cause analysis, and recovery options before decision.
Exam reading
When a sponsor asks whether the project is healthy, do not answer with a single indicator. Synthesize status and needed decisions.
Artifact → decision → PMI action map
Artifact
ECO + PMBOK 8 + study plan
Decision
Which ECO competency does this chapter strengthen?
PMI action
Connect concept, scenario, counterexample, and explained question.
Avoid: Memorizing without linking the concept to a project decision.
Recommendations
- Tie each metric to a decision.
- Reconcile contradictory data before communicating.
Tips
- A metric without a threshold steers nothing.
- Status should say what to do next.
Chapter quiz
1.CPI is good but pilot users reject the solution. Which status is most accurate?
Decision toolkit
PMP decision trees & running case
Use this when two answers look right: qualify the context, choose the artifact, then act.
Change request
A sponsor, customer, or user asks to change scope, cost, schedule, or quality.
1. Predictive approach with an approved baseline.
Decision: Analyze impact before acting.
Action: Document the request, assess impacts, then route it through integrated change control/CCB.
2. Agile approach with a product backlog.
Decision: Do not disrupt the current sprint.
Action: Add it to the backlog, clarify value, and reprioritize with the Product Owner.
3. Urgent compliance/safety-related change.
Decision: Protect compliance and transparency.
Action: Analyze quickly, inform governance authorities, and record the decision.
Trap: Implementing directly because the sponsor asked bypasses governance.
Risk vs issue
An event may happen or has just happened.
1. The event is uncertain.
Decision: Treat it as a risk.
Action: Qualify probability/impact, choose response, owner, and reserve.
2. The event has occurred.
Decision: Treat it as an issue.
Action: Create corrective action, assign an owner, and track to closure.
3. The issue creates new risks.
Decision: Update both logs/registers.
Action: Issue log for immediate action, risk register for remaining uncertainty.
Trap: A materialized risk is no longer just monitored: action is required.
Vendor delay
A vendor announces a delay, quality issue, or resource unavailability.
1. The contract defines SLAs, milestones, or penalties.
Decision: Check commitments before negotiating.
Action: Compare contract, actual performance, and project impacts.
2. The delay impacts the critical path or value.
Decision: Evaluate alternatives and reserve.
Action: Analyze fast tracking, replanning, another vendor, or scope trade-off.
3. The vendor relationship is recoverable.
Decision: Collaborate without losing contractual control.
Action: Dated action plan, checkpoints, and risk register update.
Trap: Threatening the vendor before analyzing contract and impact is a poor first response.
Construction project: industrial site expansion
Charter
Objective: add a production line without interrupting existing operations.
Backlog / WBS
WBS, critical path, quality/HSE plans, inspection milestones, and RACI matrix.
Stakeholders
- Industrial sponsor, HSE, procurement, EPC vendor, production, local authorities.
- Success measured by safety, schedule, compliance, and operational readiness.
Risks
- Permit delay, HSE incident, critical vendor unavailability.
- Poorly defined interfaces between works and ongoing production.
Change
Request: material change after baseline. Response: cost/schedule/quality impact, CCB, plan updates.
EVM
Classic EVM: PV/EV/AC by work package, CPI/SPI, and EAC forecast.
Closure
Punch list, issue closure, as-built documentation, maintenance handover, and formal acceptance.
Practical examples
Governance change
Scenario : A sponsor asks for a major addition outside the baseline without going through the CCB.
Project manager's action : Recall the process, analyze impact, prepare options, and submit to the planned decision level.
Exam strategy
- When the prompt mentions dependencies, gaps, or inconsistent plans, think integrated plan.
- When a decision exceeds thresholds, prepare options and impacts for governance.
- Project status combines scope, schedule, cost, quality, risks, value, and satisfaction.
Module assessment
1.What is the main role of an integrated plan?