HKSM

Project Manager – Interview, Technical Questions

Scope Management

1. What is Project Charter and how do you develop it?
2. How do you define and document project scope to prevent misunderstandings later in the project?
3. What steps do you take to ensure scope alignment among all stakeholders at the start of a project?

Schedule Management

1. How do you create a project schedule and ensure its feasibility?
2. What methods do you use to track project milestones and ensure they’re met on time?

Budget Management

1. How do you handle cost overruns in a project?
2. What techniques do you use for project cost estimation?

Risk Management

1. How do you identify and prioritize risks in a project?
2. What tools or frameworks do you use to develop a risk mitigation plan?

Resource Management

1. How do you resolve resource conflicts between projects with overlapping demands?
2. What steps do you take to ensure efficient utilization of project resources?

Quality Management

1. How do you define quality metrics for a project, and how do you ensure they are met?
2. Can you describe a time when you had to balance quality with tight deadlines?

Stakeholder Management

1. How do you keep stakeholders informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle?
2. What steps do you take to manage conflicting interests among stakeholders?

RACI Matrix and Responsibility

1. How do you develop and implement a RACI matrix for a project?
2. How do you address situations where roles and responsibilities are unclear or overlapping?

Change and Issue Management

1. What is your process for managing change requests in a project?
2. How do you handle escalations for unresolved issues that may impact the project timeline or budget?

General Technical PM Questions

1. What software tools or platforms do you find most effective for tracking project performance?
2. How do you integrate Agile or hybrid methodologies into traditional project management practices?

Agile PM Technical Questions

1. What is Agile project management, and how does it differ from traditional project management methods?
2. Can you explain the concept of a Scrum framework and its key components?
3. How do you prioritize tasks in an Agile environment?
4. What are the roles in an Agile project team, and how do they interact?
5. How do you manage stakeholder expectations in an Agile project?
6. What is the purpose of a sprint retrospective, and how do you ensure it drives continuous improvement?
7. Can you explain the difference between Scrum and Kanban? Which situations are best suited for each?
8. How do you handle scope changes during a sprint in an Agile project?
9. What strategies do you use to ensure that an Agile team stays focused and productive during a sprint?
10. How do you measure the success of an Agile project or sprint?
11. What challenges have you faced when transitioning from traditional project management to Agile, and how did you overcome them?
12. How do you ensure collaboration between cross-functional team members in an Agile setting?
13. Explain how the concept of "minimum viable product" (MVP) is used in Agile projects.
14. How do you ensure that the Agile team remains aligned with the project goals and stakeholders' needs?
15. What are the key differences between Agile frameworks, such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean, and how do you choose the appropriate one for a project?

Earned Value Management

1. How do you calculate and interpret Cost Variance (CV) and Schedule Variance (SV) in Earned Value Management?
2. What is the difference between Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI), and how do you use them to assess project health?
3. Can you explain the significance of the Estimate at Completion (EAC) metric and describe how you calculate it using EVM?
4. How would you address a situation where EVM metrics indicate a project is significantly over budget and behind schedule?
5. Describe a time when you used EVM to make a critical decision on a project. What was the outcome?
6. If the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.85 and the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.90, how is the project performing and why?
   Answer: The project is over budget (CPI < 1) and behind schedule (SPI < 1). This indicates that the project is spending more than planned for the work completed and is progressing slower than expected.
7. A project has a CPI of 1.10 and an SPI of 0.95. What does this mean about the project's performance?
   Answer: The project is under budget (CPI > 1) but slightly behind schedule (SPI < 1). This suggests cost efficiency but slower-than-planned progress.
8. Your project reports a CPI of 1.00 and an SPI of 1.20. How is the project doing, and what might this indicate about resource usage and schedule progress?
   Answer: The project is on budget (CPI = 1) and ahead of schedule (SPI > 1). This indicates that the work is progressing faster than planned without exceeding the budget.