You ever played "Whack A Mole" at the local arcade? When you whack one mole it causes others to surface? That's integration. When you change one variable - such as increasing scope - it causes a change in other variables, such as schedule or cost.
The point of Integration is to be heads-up to all the consequences of a change on one area.
If you listed that nine knowledge areas in PMBOK, printed them out in a really small wallet-sized (or purse-sized) card, you'd have your crib-notes about what other areas to think about for a given change in one area. Try it. If something changed the schedule, does it change the human resources mix? ...the identified risks? ...the costs? ...the communications needs?
answered 10 years ago
by anonymous