The Gemstone Approach to Integration Management: Keeping the Gelatin Mold Intact

  Integration Management   Knowledge Shelf  

I have  always thought that integration management is a bit more like art than science, which I liken to the challenge of keeping a gelatin mold intact during increasingly warmer temperatures. Balancing here, adjusting it there — all the while keeping your eye on the ultimate project goal. I find the challenge to be both exhilarating and anxiety producing in some respects — more exhilaration than anxiety I might add, which is why I continue to seek out project management opportunities.

In the past few years, I’ve been looking for a better way to contextualize this most important, yet wobbly aspect of project management. Recently, I found a way that works for me — I call it the “Gemstone Approach to Integration Management.”

The Gemstone Model

A gemstone may be cut in such a fashion, allowing you visibility into every aspect of the gem. The refracted light highlights the brilliance and smooth inter-connectivity of the gem; and, just as you probably want a gemstone to provide such a window into its essence, mirroring back its brilliance, you probably would like the same from your project — the opportunity to look deeply into the project and see how well it is inter-connected and/or where the proverbial inclusions might exist.

Using this metaphor has helped me to both better contextualize integration management and …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.