integratiemanagement

Integration management, sometimes written as integratiemanagement, is a discipline focused on coordinating the various elements of a project, program, or organization to achieve cohesive outcomes. It seeks to ensure that activities, information, requirements, and changes align with strategic objectives and are executed in a coordinated manner. In project contexts, integration management is a core knowledge area that spans the full life cycle of a project.

Core processes include developing the project charter and management plan, directing and managing project work, monitoring and controlling project work, and performing integrated change control, as well as closing the project or phase. These processes emphasize alignment among scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, and procurement. Collectively they aim to unify disparate components into a single, coherent plan and ensure changes are evaluated for overall impact.

In information technology and systems engineering, integration management also covers the design and governance of how systems, data, and processes interoperate. Activities include establishing an integration strategy, selecting architectures and patterns (such as API-led connectivity or middleware), managing interfaces, ensuring data quality and security, and maintaining versioned documentation and interfaces.

Organizations often implement an integration management function within a PMO or an enterprise architecture team. Roles may include project managers, enterprise architects, integration specialists, and data stewards. Common challenges include scope creep, complexity, data silos, and changing requirements; effective practice emphasizes clear governance, stakeholder engagement, and standardized methods.

Outcomes of integration management include unified process execution, synchronized data across systems, and traceable change management that minimizes disruption while delivering business value.