PMP Tutorial › Module 4 · Process (50%) › Lesson 7

Process: Integration, Scope & Schedule

The Process domain is half the exam. This lesson covers the first three knowledge areas that define what the project will do and when: Integration (the glue), Scope (the work), and Schedule (the timeline).

Integration management

Integration ties everything together. Key artifacts and processes:

• Project charter — authorises the project and the PM; created in Initiating. Without it, you have no authority.
• Project management plan — the integrated plan (all subsidiary plans plus baselines for scope, schedule and cost).
• Integrated change control — every change is evaluated for impact across all constraints; significant changes go to the Change Control Board (CCB).
• Lessons learned — captured throughout and rolled into organisational process assets at close.

Scope management & the WBS

Scope defines the work. The planning flow: collect requirements → define scope → create the WBS.

• The WBS (work breakdown structure) decomposes deliverables into smaller pieces; the lowest level is a work package. The 100% rule: the WBS captures all the work, and only the project's work.
• Validate Scope = the customer formally accepts deliverables (about acceptance).
• Control Scope = prevent scope creep (uncontrolled additions) and gold plating (extras nobody asked for).

Schedule & the critical path

Build the schedule by defining activities, sequencing them, estimating durations, and developing the schedule. The Critical Path Method (CPM) is essential:

• The critical path is the longest path of dependent activities — it sets the shortest possible project duration.
• Activities on the critical path have zero float (slack). Any delay there delays the whole project.
• Float / slack = how long an activity can slip without delaying the project: Float = LS − ES = LF − EF (late start minus early start).
• Leads let a successor start early; lags impose a wait between activities.

Schedule compression