Write a three$-$to$-$five page paper that analyzes instances of vertical and horizontal integration, strategic planning, portfolio planning, and ethics of the case below:

The purpose of this case is to illustrate, using a real project, how integration is achieved at each stage of a portfolio and project life cycle. The process described below includes many of the traditional project planning and control steps, simplified and $$demystified$,$ for practical use. This discussion is followed by a more in$-$depth treatment of integration, including technology and technical integration issues that typically characterize technical projects.

Integrating a project involves $13$ basic steps:

Business and strategic planning

Portfolio development and project selection

Definition, work breakdown structure, and scope

Task list, with estimated durations, linkages and interfaces, and resources

Network diagram

Time$-$based network diagram

Baseline Gantt chart $($schedule interfaces$)$

Resource integration

Project initiation

Project work assignment and performance

Team integration

Project monitoring

Project closeout

The Case: QuickTech Building Systems

The case is a project involving QuickTech, a development company in the commercial real estate and building industry. The case involves the selection, planning, and implementation of a complex building project involving a high$-$level technical component of building support systems. QuickTech employs a new automated system of building architecture and planning that accelerates the completion of commercial buildings for specialized technical tenants who require tailored facility support and security.

Business and strategic planning

QuickTech uses a classic portfolio development process, first identifying broad business plans and then developing a strategic plan using SWOT $($strengths$,$ weaknesses, opportunities, and threats$)$ analysis. The company's SWOT analysis has identified key SWOT issues in all four areas, concentrating on contingencies and integration challenges.

Integration issues

We can define the process of integration as $$the process of bringing the parts of a system together to produce a deliverable$$ through a proactive management approach that encourages people to worry about whether $$the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.$$ Integration is made necessary because to design and build a project deliverable, that deliverable must be broken down into its $$configuration$$ parts and produced from the bottom up$.$ The $$rolling up$$ of a deliverable is called integration because it requires both vertical and horizontal activity to bring pieces together from work package all the way up to the final project outcome.

We can further describe the integration process as coordinating:

The work of the project with the plans and ongoing operations of the performing organization, and

Product and project scope.

Integration at the highest level, business and strategic planning, involves the coordination of company and business planning with project selection and financial planning. This means that the beginning of project integration is making sure that the project itself is aligned with the company's strategy and plan for growth, whether written or is simply a shared vision of company leadership.

Analysis of weaknesses in the strategic planning process, for instance, would be performed in the light of the company's past performance and market analysis. Integration of business plans with marketing plans means that a project is selected with a full view of how the project will serve the company in its growth objectives. From a personal standpoint, this means that the company leadership coordinates and communicates with program and project managers, and has access to information that facilitates project integration management.