The terms Integrated, Master, Plan, and Schedule have special meanings in the IMP/IMS paradigm. These meanings differ from traditional project management usage:
- Integrated – vertical and horizontal traceability between the planned work, the Program Events, and the customer requirements defined in the RFP, Statement of Work, Statement of Objectives, and the supporting documents (CDRLs, DRDs, and DIDs).
- Master – the all-in plan and schedule defined at three levels of detail.
- Plan – the strategy for completing the project. This plan represents the increasing maturity of the program through Program Events (PE), Significant Accomplishments (SA), and their Accomplishment Criteria (AC).
- Integrated Master Schedule – the sequence of work activities needed to fulfill the Accomplishment Criteria (AC).
Managing projects using IMP/IMS is new to many organizations and "old hat" to others.
The Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and the associated Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) are composed of five (5) tiers shown in the title diagram.
Program Events – are periodic assessments of the program’s maturity through reviews or physical demonstrations of the Significant Accomplishments.
Significant Accomplishments – are the Entry Criteria for the Program Events.
Accomplishment Criteria – these are the Exit Criteria for the work effort. The AC describes what “done” looks like for the collection of Tasks. Each AC is the terminal activity for this collection of Tasks in the network of activities.
Tasks – are the first level of work effort (Work Packages) needed to fulfill the Accomplishment Criteria. These Tasks are “self-contained” within the ACs and produce the deliverables that fulfill the “exit criteria.” Their duration defines the duration of the AC. Care is needed to understand and deploy this approach to avoid having tasks that span more than one Program Event. If this is the case, the Tasks and the resulting ACs and SAs must be split into smaller collections of work that remain within the boundaries of the Project Event. This is a critical concept in the development of Vertical IMS traceability.
The IMP and IMS are business tools that enhance the management of development, acquisition, modification, and sustainment programs. They provide a systematic approach to program planning, scheduling, and execution. They are equally applicable to competitive and sole-source procurements with industry and government in-house efforts. They provide a tool for improved day–to–day program execution and for ongoing insight into program status by both Government program office personnel and contractor personnel. They help develop and support “what–if” exercises and identify and assess candidate problem workarounds.
Supplemental Schedules – detailed execution schedules for each task within an Accomplishment Criteria (AC). The first-level tasks within the AC are usually the top-level activities of a Work Package. The supplemental schedules are private schedules usually held by the CAMs, describing how these Work Package activities will be executed. The details of these supplemental schedules are often the basis of the Work Package's physical percent complete reporting system.
The IMP is an event-based plan consisting of a hierarchy of program events, with each event being supported by specific accomplishments and each accomplishment associated with specific criteria to be satisfied for its completion. The IMP is normally part of the contract and thus contractually binding. The IMP is a narrative explaining the overall management of the program. Building, deploying, and executing an IMP/IMS requires changing the paradigm of the conventional project planning, controls, and management processes. This chain starts by measuring progress as the completion of accomplishment criteria in the fulfillment of significant accomplishments. This progress is described through the assessment of physical percent completion rather than measuring progress through the passage of time and consumption of resources.
- A Gentle Introduction to Integrated Master Planning
?- Traditional project management starts with identifying the tasks needed to deliver the solution. Integrated Master Planning begins by defining what "done" looks like, how we would recognize "done" when we encounter it, and what effort is needed to deliver "done." By defining accomplishments and criteria, the effort required to deliver can be identified.
- A Summary of the IMP / IMS Process Flow
?- Guided by the Capabilities-Based Plan, the WBS, OBS, and RAM are the basis of the Integrated Master Plan.
- Integrated Master Plan Methodology
?- The Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) are essential tools that provide significant assistance in planning and scheduling work efforts.
- IMP / IMS Step by Step
?- Building the Integrated Master Plan (IMP) and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) from Proposal and Successful Execution.
- An Introduction to IMP/IMS (Narrated)
?- planning projects with tasks contained in the schedule needs to define what?done?looks like in units of increasing effectiveness and performance of the outcomes. The Integrated Master Plan defines the increasing maturity of the program.
- Integrated Master Plan Methodology
?- the IMP/IMS significantly assists in planning and scheduling work efforts.
- The Five + One easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule
- Development of an Integrated Master Plan
?- For the complex system of systems acquisition programs, scheduling starts with an Integrated Master Plan (IMP). It only then moves to the development of the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).?
- Integrated Master Plan Development
?- Building the IMP as the basis of a credible Integrated Master Schedule.
- A Gentle Introduction to IMP/IMS
?- In 2003, the US Government revised its acquisition policies with a procurement strategy focused on process improvement and acquisition reform implemented by performance-based management.
- Key to Integrated Master Plan Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- Event-Based Planning
?- Vertical planning provides visibility into the project's maturity rather than measuring the passage of time.
- From WBS to Integrated Master Schedule
?- a Step by Step Guide to Increasing the Probability of Program Success starts with the WBS, developing the Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule, risk adjusting the IMS, and measuring progress to plan in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
- Integrated Master Plan - The Foundation for Program Success
?- starting with the Integrated Master Plan provides clear and concise descriptions of what "done" looks like in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers.
- Six ? Day Session on the Road to Becoming a CAM
- The Five + One Easy Steps to an Integrated Master Plan and Integrated Master Schedule
- Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule in a Nutshell
?- describing the measures of increasing maturity and the activities needed to produce this maturity provides measures of physical percent complete in units meaningful to the decision-makers
- IMP/IMS Overview
?- of the Hubble Space Telescope
- Integrated Master Schedule Data Gathering Processes
?- Building the IMP and IMS starts with gathering the Tasks that define the Accomplishment Criteria.
- Key to IMP Notation - Vertical and Horizontal Connectivity
- IMP as the Definition of Done
, Robin Pulverenti and Glen Alleman,?IPMW 2017.
