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Top 50 Project Managers InterviewQuestions

1.Howwillyoudefineaproject?

Aprojectisasetoftask/activitiesundertakentocreateaproduct,servicesorresults.Thesearetemporary,inthesensethattheyarenotroutineworklikeproductionactivitybutmostoftenonetimesetofactivitiesundertaken.

2.Providesomeexamples.Aprojectforaproductwillresultinacompleteproductorpartofaproduct.AnexamplewouldbethecreationoftheMicrosoftSurprisetabletthatusedaliquidmagnesiumdepositionprocesstocreatetheenclosure.Theprocessdevelopedintheprojectwillbeusedforsubsequentproductionofthetablet.Examplescouldincludedevelopmentofanewproductorprocess(asintheexample),constructingaroadora

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process(asintheexample),constructingaroadorabridge(infrastructureingeneral),developingacomputer/informationsystem,etc.

3.WhatisyourviewofProjectManagement?

Projectmanagementinvolvesapplyingtheknowledge&skillsoftheprojectteammembersincludingtheprojectmanager,applicationoftoolsandtechniquesavailabletoensurethedefinedtasksarecompletedproperly.Propercompletionmeansimpliesachievementofendresultswithingivencostandtimeconstraints.Itusuallymeansbalancingoftheconstraintsofscope,budget,schedule,quality,risksandresources.

4.Aretheredistinctkindsofactivitiesinaproject?

Mostoftenanyprojectgoesthroughsomeeasilyidentifiablesetofactivitiesduringitslifetime.Sometypicalactivitiescanbeidentifiedasrelatedinitiatingaproject.Planningsetofactivitiesarerequiredtoplantheactivitiestobeundertakentoachievethedefinedgoals.Executinggroupofactivitieshelpgettingtheprojectdone.Arelatedsetofactivitiesarerequiredtomonitorandcorrectthecourseofactionstokeeptheprojectontheplannedcoursechartedforit.Finalsetofactivitiesarerelatedtothesystematicclosureoftheproject.Mostimportantofwhichis,ofcourse,toformallyrecordwhathasbeenlearnt

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whichis,ofcourse,toformallyrecordwhathasbeenlearntduringtheexecutionoftheproject.Whendocumented,thissetofdocuments,relatedformstobeused,thewayestimatesaretobemade,databaseofestimatesofsimilarprojectsetc.areoftenreferredtoasOrganizationalprocessassets.

5.Whatdoyouthinkisthedifferencebetweenprojects,programsandaportfolio?

Projectsareundertakenforaspecificorasetofrelatedpurposes.Aprogramisasetofprojectsmanagedinacoordinatedmannertoachievedifferentpartsofanoverallgoal.ForexampletheNASAlunarlandingprogramhadthedevelopmentofthecommandmoduleandthelunarlandingmodulesasseparateprojects.Aportfolioisacollectionofprojects,programsandevenotherportfoliosthathelpanorganizationachievesomecommonhighlevelbusinesspurpose.

6.Whoisastakeholder?

Anyperson,organizationoranentitywhoseinterestisaffected,positivelyornegatively,becauseoftheproject.Theinfluenceofstakeholdersisanimportantissuetotakeintoaccountinanyplanningandsubsequentlyduringexecutionofitaswell.

7.Whatareorganizationalinfluences?

Everyorganizationhasacertainwayofdoingthings,collectivewisdomabouthowthingscanbestbedone,etc.andtheseinfluencestheplanningandexecutionprocesses.Theseinfluencesneedtobetakenintoaccountwhenestimating,planningforactivitiesrelatedtoprojects.Theseareoftenmentionedasorganizationalenvironmentalfactors.

8.Canyouexplainprojectlifecycle?

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8.Canyouexplainprojectlifecycle?

Aprojecthasdistinctphaseswhentherangeofactivitiesrequiredtocarryouttheprojectworkdiffer.Thereisadistinctstartphase,followedbyanorganizingandpreparingphase.Carryingoutistheactualexecutionpartoftheproject.Closingphasemakessurethetemporaryactivitiesrelatedtotheprojectareclosedsystematically.Thepointsintimewhenthephasechangeshappenarenamedvariouslyasphasegate,exits,milestonesorkillpoints.Ifaprojectistobeclosed,itisdecidedatthesestagesbasedontheperformanceoriftheneedoftheprojecthasdisappeared.

9.Whattoyouunderstandbyaprojectcharter?

Thisisadocumentwhereitallbegins.Projectauthorizationisdoneonthisdocumentandaprojectwouldbeinitiatedwiththetoplevelrequirementslistedinthisdocument.Initialrequirementsasseenbystakeholdersandtheoutcomesoftheprojectalsoarelistedinit.

10.Whatdoyouunderstandbyplanbaselines?

Baselinesarethefinalversionofallplansbeforetheprojectexecutionstarts.Projectbaselinesarethestartingversionsofallrelatedplansofaproject,beitthetimeschedule,thequalityplan,thecommunicationplanorwhatever.Thisactsasthereferenceagainstwhichprojectperformanceismeasured.

11.Whatqualificationsarerequiredtobeaneffectiveprojectmanager?

Besidesbeingagoodprofessionalmanager,thePMneedstohaveadditionalpersonalskillsforbeingeffective.Itisnotonlyessentialforhimtohaveprojectmanagementskillsbutbeproficientinthem.Attitude,corepersonalitycharacteristicsandleadershipqualitiesareneeded.Teammanagementandleadershipskillsthathelptheteamreachcommonobjectivesandgoalsarerequired.

12.Whatareprocessesandprocessgroups?

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12.Whatareprocessesandprocessgroups?

Aprocessisadefinedwayofdoingthings.Notonlydoestheprocessdefinetheactionstobetakenbutalsoinwhatsequencetheyaretobecarriedout.Processgroupsareasetofprocessesthatareapplicabletovariousstagesofaproject.Forexample,initiatingprocessgroup,planningprocessgroup,etc.Eachoftheprocesseshasadefinedsetofinputsandproducedefinedoutputsbyapplyingasetoftoolsandtechniquesontheinput.

13.Whataretheknowledgeareasrelevanttodoingaproject?

Scopemanagement,timeandcostmanagementknowledgeareasarequiteobvious.Samegoesforqualitymanagementtoo.Tocompleteaprojectinallitsaspectsoneneedstobeawareoftheprojectintegrationknowledgearea.Communicationsisanessentialissuesoisthecommunicationmanagementknowledge.Procurementandriskmanagementaretwovitalsupportareas.SincepeoplegetthingsdoneHumanresourcesmanagementisalsoanequallyimportantarea.

14.WhatisRAIDasitrelatedtoprojectmanagement?

RAIDstandforrisks,assumptions,issuesanddependencies.ThesearevitalitemsthataPMshouldalwaysbeawareof.TherearealwaysrisksaboutactionsandaPMmusttakeleastriskactions.Unlessassumptionsaboutanyestimatesoractionsareclear,thesecangowrong.Issuesanddependenciesalsolimitthechoicesofactionsoften.

15.Whataretheimportantprocessesforprojectintegrationmanagement?

Itstartswithaprojectcharterdevelopment.Projectmanagementplandevelopmentisanotherimportantactivity.Directandmanageprojectexecutionandmonitorandcontrolareplansthataretobefollowedallthroughtheproject.Closingoftheproject(orthecurrentphase)isthe

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finalsetofactivitiesforintegrationmanagement.Sincechangesareoftenunavoidableanintegratedchangemanagementplanmustbedevelopedtoguideallchangessystematically.

16.WhatisaSOW?

SOWorthestatementofworkisadetaileddescriptionoftheoutcomesoftheprojectintermsofwhatproducts,servicesorresultsareexpectedfromtheproject.MostdetailedSOWareusuallygivenbythecustomerifheistheonerequestingtheproject.

17.WhatdoesScopemanagementinvolve?

Typicallythisprocessinvolvescollectingrequirements,definingscope,creatingWBS,verifyingscopeandcontrollingthescope.Theprojectscopestatement,WBSandWBSdictionarydefinesthescopebaseline.Controllingthescopeprocessmustminimizescopecreep.

18.Howshouldchangescontrolled?

Throughtheintegratedchangecontrolprocess.Requestedchangeswillhavetobereviewedbyachangecontrolboard.Onlytheapprovedchangesshallbeincludedinthedocumentchangesguidingprojectexecution.

19.WhatisWorkBreakdownStructure(WBD)andhowdoesitaffecttheworkestimatesoftasks/activities?

Workbreakdownstructuredefinestheworkactivitiesrequiredfortheprojectandthesubactivitiesofeachoftheworkrequirement.Thebreakdowngoesdowntolevelswherealltheworkrequiredisclearlyunderstood.Workneednotbebrokendownfurtherthanthat.Workbreakdowndictionaryincludesadditionaldetailsthathelpdefinethetasks.Timeandeffortestimatescanbeaccuratewheneverythingabouttheworkanddependenciesareknown.

20.Howdoyoudefineamilestone?

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20.Howdoyoudefineamilestone?

Milestoneisapointinprojectschedulewhensomeobjective,apartofaresultorapartoftheplannedservicesplannedareachieved.

21.Whataresometechniquesusedfordefiningscope?

Productbreakdown,requirementsanalysis,systemsengineering,systemsanalysis,valueengineering,valueanalysisandalternativesanalysis.Alternativesanalysiscanbehelpedbybrainstorming,lateralthinkingandpairwisecomparisons,etc.

22.Howdoprojectschedulinghelpachieveprojectexecution?

Whentheactivityeffortandresourceestimatesareknowngettingtheworkdonedependsonhowthetasksaresequenced.Dependencieswithotheractivitieshavetobeclearlyknown.Thebasicsequenceisdeterminedbywhatactivitiesshouldbecarriedoutfirstandwhatshouldfollow.Unconnectedtasks/activitiescanbesequencedinparalleltoreduceprojecttime.Mostoptimizedsequencingwouldgiveyouthebestpossibletimeneededgiventheresourcesallocationisidealandtherearenoconstraintsthere.SchedulingisdonefromactivitieslistpreparedafterWBShasbeenfinalized.

23.Howistheactivitytimeestimatesdone?

Parametricestimates,threepointestimatesandanalogousestimatesarethetechniquesusedforestimatingactivitytimeestimates.

24.Howdoyouestimateinthethreepointestimatingmethod?

Oneoptimisticestimate,apessimisticestimateandonemostlikeyestimateisconsideredforanactivity.(Opestimate+6Xmostlikely+pess.Estimate)iscalculatedanddividedby6.Thisresultthenmaybefurtheriterated.

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Thisistheestimatetobeused.

25.Howintheprojecttimeschedulerepresentedmostoften?

Activityschedulingnetworkdiagramisthemostcommonformofrepresentationfortheprojecttimeschedule.Thisisoftenaccompaniedbymilestonechart,andbarcharts.

26.Whatisacriticalpathinschedulenetworkdiagram?

Whenactivityschedulingisdonetherewillbeactivitieswhosestarttimeand/orendtimesarenotcritical.Itmaybepossible,duetodependencies,tostartatasklaterthanthedateontheschedule,similarlyanactivitycouldbecompletedlaterastherearenootheractivitywaitingforitscompletion.Thesetimepadsarecalledfloats.Thereisalwaysapathfromstarttofinish,whichdoesnothaveanyfloats.Notonlyalltheactivitiesinthepathmustbecarriedoutinplannedtime,butalsotherecannotbeanydelays.Anydelayswilldirectlyreflectonprojectcompletiontime.Thischainofactivitiesorthepathfromstarttofinishisknownasthecriticalpath.

27.Whatarethewaysaprojecttimeschedulecanbecompressed?

Crashingandfasttrackingaretwomethodsofacceleratingaprojecttimeschedule.Crashingmethodtriestooptimizetheschedulemakinguseofthetimefloatsavailablewhilekeepingcostsundercontrol.Fasttrackingistomakeselectedactivitiesfasterbyapplyingadditionalresourcesifnecessary.Itmaymeanpayingteammembersovertime,payingforthetimeofaconsultant,etc.

28.Whatiseffortvariance?

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Itisthedifferenceinestimatedeffortandtheeffortactuallyneeded.Workperformanceismonitoredperiodicallytofindifthereisanyvarianceineffortssothatcorrectiveactionscouldbetaken.

29.WhatisEVM,earnedvaluemanagement?

Ateverymonitoringpointtheplannedvalue(PV),earnedvalue(EV)andactualcost(AC)aremonitored.PMB,performancemeasurementbaselineistheaggregationofallplannedvalues.VariancesfrombaselinesaredeterminedandSchedulevariance(SV)andcostvariance(CV)arecalculated.Ifearnedvalueisequaltotheplannedvaluethentheprojectisachievingwhatitissupposedto.Ifthereisscheduleorcostvarianceissignificant,appropriateactionneedstobetakentocorrecttheslips.Estimateatcompletion(EAC)isestimatedandcomparedwithbudgetatcompletion.Incasethereisaslip,thecostconsequenceswillbeknown.

30.WhatdoesAprocessesensure?

Accordingtoadictionary,Aisawayofsystematicmonitoringandevaluationofaspectsofaproject,serviceorfacilitytoensurethatstandardsofqualityaremet.Thus,whateverensuresproductsmeetcustomerexpectationsarepartofAefforts.Ensuringqualityofeverythingthatgoesintomakingaproductandthatnomistakesaremadewhilemakingitensuresquality.

31.Whatisqualitycontrol?

QCproceduresincludeinspectionstoensurequalityrequirementsarebeingmet

32.Whatstheneedforprocessimprovementplans?

AcornerstoneofAisthatprocessesarecontinuouslyimproved.Processimprovementshelpmistakesinprocessesandthushelpimprovequality.

33.Whatisthetoolusedforarrivingatimprovements

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33.Whatisthetoolusedforarrivingatimprovementsinprocesses?

GM,orthegoals,questionsandmetricsisthemethodused.Goalsareset,questionsareaskedaboutwhatimprovementscanbemadeandmetrics(measurementsthattellussomethingabouttheprocess)arecarriedout

34.WhataretheimportantaspectsofaHRplanfortheprojectteam?

Acquiringtheteam,formingtheteam,assigningroles&responsibilities,appraisalpolicies,rewards&recognitionaretheareaswhereclearcutpoliciesshouldexistandbewellknowntoteammembers.

35.WhyistheperformancemanagementprocessintheHRmanagementplanimportant?

Peopleliketoberecognizedfortheircontributions.Theprojectmanagementteamneedstorecognizetalentandrewardandrecognizetheperformers.Theassessmentshouldnotonlybefairbutseentobefair.

36.Howdoyoudeterminethecommunicationneedsofstakeholders?

Thecommunicationneedsofstakeholdersdependontheirpositioninthepower/influencegrid,power/interestgridasalsoimpact/influencegrid.Saliencemodelingisanothertechniquetodeterminewhoisthemosteffectivefortheinterestoftheproject.Thisisaqualitativeassessmentandwilldeterminethekindanddetailsofcommunicationstheyneedontheproject.

37.Whatarethetypesofrisksyoumayencounterinaproject?

Thesecouldbecategorizedastechnical,external,internal/organizational,etc.Dependingonthetypeofprojectsothercategoriesmayhavetobeconsidered.

38.Whatisariskregister?

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Thisisaregister/documentthatcontainsalltheidentifiedrisksofaproject.Listofactionsofpotentialactionsarealsoincluded.

39.Arethereanypositiveaspectsoftheriskidentificationprocess?

Theriskidentificationprocessmaybeabletocomeupwithsomeopportunitiestoo.

40.Whatisriskimpactandprobability?

Whenassessingriskstheprojectteamalsotriestodeterminetheprobabilityoftheriskactuallyhappeningandtheimpactitwillhaveontheprojectwhenitdoes.

41.WhatistheroleofIsikawa/Fishbonediagramsindeterminingrootcausesofrisks?

Thisisagraphicalmethodofdeterminingcauseandeffectrelationshipsleadingtoaspecificrisk.Onecouldthendeterminemitigationactionsforthatrisk.

42.WhatdoyouunderstandofPareto(80/20)principle/analysis?

Thisisastatisticalanalysismethodthathelpsdecideprioritiesbetweenseveralactionstobetaken.Thebasisisthatthereareabout20%actionwhichwhenexecutedgetsyou80%oftheresults.InQAthisisusedtoidentifythe20%ofcausesthatcreate80%oftheproblems.

43.Whatarefixedtypecontractsinprocurementprocesses?

Thesellermustsupplythecontracteditemsatafixedpricedeterminedatthetimeofcontract.

44.Whataretime&materialcontracts?

Inthistypeofcontractsthecontractorgetspaidfortime

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usedontheprojectandexpensesformaterialusedandotheragreeduponexpenses.

45.Whatistheprimarypurposeofprocurementmanagementplan?

Todeterminewhatexactlyistobeprocured,ensuretheyareprocuredatthebestpriceandismadeavailabletotheprojectteamattherighttime.

46.Whatdoesprocurementadministratorinvolve?

Tokeepmonitoringandensurethatallopenprocurementcontractsareprogressingasexpected.

47.WhydoesaPMneedtobeveryproactive?

APMneedstobeabletoseeanysignsofadeviationintimeand/orcosttoprojectprogressasearlyaspossible.Thisgivestheteamasmuchreactiontimeaspossibletocorrectthesituationortominimizetheimpact.

48.Formingateam,developingtheteamandimprovingknowledgearedirectresponsibilitiesoftheprojectmanager,doyouagree?

Itistheteamthatexecutestheproject.Thusensuringyouhasrightpeopleisessential.Developingtheteamisimportantaswhatevergapsarethereneedtobebridged.ImprovingselfandtheteamknowledgeisequivalenttothecontinuousimprovementofAprocessandshouldimpactthequalityoftheprojectoutcome.

49.DoyouthinkprofessionalismandintegrityareessentialqualitiesofaPM?

PMischargedwithmanagingallaspectsoftheproject.Unlessheisaprofessionalandhasintegritytherearemanythingsthatcangowrong.NotsotruthfulprogressreportingwilleasilyboomerangonthePMbuttheorganizationwillhaveadelayedorafailedproject.

50.Explaintheteamformingprocess?

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Afterthemembersarecollectedasaprojectteamthereisaturmoilbeforeeverythingsettlesdown.Thisisknownastheformingstormingnormingperformingprocess.Theteampeoplegothroughastormingofrelationshipswhenbeforesettlingtotheroleassignment.Overtimetheythengetusedtothestructureoftherelationship,thatisthenormingphase.Itisonlyaftereverybodyhassettledintotheirnewrolesthattheteamstartsperforming.

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