Conceptual integrity is the state of a creative undertaking in which everyone involved both understands and agrees with its goals, principles, direction and priorities.

A project exhibiting conceptual integrity also tends to run smoother and deliver better results than ones that do not. Executive decisions are usually made by a single person rather than a committee. In a film, this role is filled by the director; on a construction site, an architect. When these people delegate decisions, the delegate can often infer the most appropriate course of action, and when she cannot, there is an authoritative figure with whom to discuss the issue. When it is time to implement, the erstwhile authority becomes accountable the implementers for his decisions. Dr. Frederick Brooks, the sage of software project management, suggests a similar role ought to exist for software projects, because according to him, conceptual integrity is the most important consideration in system design.