Top 25 Project Management Interview Question and Answers in 2020
When you reach a high level in the project management field you must have gained a sound experience of the industry, with employers, and various projects and teams. Still an efficient project manager always looks for more resources, information and understanding of latest methodologies.
Here we are going to discuss the top 25 interview questions and answers for project managers that will help PMP aspirants and project professionals to understand more about the requirements and how you can get through interviews. This blog will give you an idea about the most frequently asked project management interview questions.
Now let’s start with the PM interview questions,
We begin our series of project management interview questions and answers with IT project manager interview questions.
This set of project management interview questions is a collaboration of management, technical and other skills.
Set – 1 - Project Management Interview Questions:
- Differentiate between Project, Program, and Portfolio?
Project: A project is an effort taken to produce a unique product or a solution. It is generally temporary in nature with a distinct start and endpoint. A project always has a defined scope with limited changes.
Program: A program is a combination of interrelated projects that are managed together. It is also temporary in nature but persists longer as compared to the project. It has a wide scope that can be changed as per the client requirement from time to time.
Portfolio: A portfolio is a group of projects and operations that succeeded under one group to accomplish an intentional goal. It is always permanent in nature and associated with strategic planning. It trails the enduring processes that order and align the portfolio to attain planned objectives. It has an extensive scope with the calculated perspective of the entire organization.
- Define the term Project Management?
This is a frequently asked project management interview question for project managers and it can be answered as below.
Project management is the method that aids in applying numerous processes, tactics, acquaintance, skills, and understanding for achieving the objectives of a project.
Project management cannot be compared with the usual management. The important factor that distinguishes these two is, project management has a timeline and deliverables while routine management is an ongoing procedure.
- Explain the Project Management Life Cycle Process?
The Project Management Life Cycle is an arrangement of more than a few tasks that are vital for accomplishing project objectives. These benefit in organizing efforts and shortening them into a sequence of logical and manageable stages. The Project Management Life Cycle contains four phases which as below:
Project Initiation: It is the most important stage of the project management life cycle because it decides the initial scope of the project and resources.
Project Planning: In this stage of project management, a right level of aspect is used for the project to maneuver time, cost, and employees. It estimates the work required and achieves risk efficiently.
Project Execution: In this stage, all the decided and planned work is executed in the defined timeline of the project management plan. It works mainly on accomplishing the project’s purposes. It also embraces pursuing, revising, and controlling the performance of the project.
Project Closure: This is the final stage of the project where all the activities performed to finalize the project work. This stage accomplishes all the work from all groups in the project. In this stage the project manager signs off the project closure report with the customer or client.
- List down the important skills that a Project Manager should have?
The skills like, Communication, Leadership, Team Management, Negotiation, Individual organization, and Risk Management are the important skills that a Project Manager must possess.
- How would you take responsibility as a new project manager?
This is the skill and experience based project management interview question for project managers. Let’s see the precise answer to it. Listen and understand the client’s requirements. Knowing the project team and their personality is important. Learn new skills related to the project. Be a helpful project manager. Explain about your expertise in the project management tools used by your organization.
Set – 2 - Project Management Interview Questions:
- How to prioritize multiple tasks in the project?
As everyone knows there are multiple tasks in the project every day. So it is important to know how a project manager prioritizes the multiple project tasks. This procedure or skill helps in achieving the project completion in defined time and budget. Let’s see below how to prioritize the work in the project.
- List the responsibilities and accountabilities
- Prioritize between vigorous and significant
- Do assessment of every task in the project
- Prioritize the responsibilities by assessed efforts
- Stay agile and ready to collect updates and say NO whenever essential.
This is the most frequently asked project management interview question asked during the project manager interview session.
- What is an ideal project from your point of view?
The answer to the above question may be different as per individual’s interest, creativity, domain interest, work pressure handling capability, comfort, team friendliness, and many other factors. Form your answer taking your experiences and way of working into consideration.
- Explain the procedures and process sets used in the project management framework?
The various procedures and process sets are an important part of the project management framework. This helps the team to perform the tasks as per the schedules to accomplish the entire project tasks in the decided time and budget. The project management framework consists of 49 procedures. All these procedures are done in a sequence. There are five process sets that are, Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Control, and Closing. All these five procedure sets are mapped with 49 procedures and 10 project management knowledge areas.
- Tell me the project management knowledge areas and how pertinent are they in a project?
Knowledge areas are essential technical areas and are important for effective project management of any project.
Below are the 10 knowledge areas of project management framework:
- Project Integration Management
- Project Scope Management
- Project Schedule Management
- Project Cost Management
- Project Quality Management
- Project Resource Management
- Project Communications Management
- Project Risk Management
- Project Procurement Management
- Project Stakeholder Management
- How to manage a challenging client involved in the project?
Since the client or stakeholder holds the authority and final passing of any stage of a project, it is very important that the stakeholder passes the stage or approves the final procedure of completion of the project report. Many times the stakeholders are good but what if you are dealing with a tough and unmanageable stakeholder? So below we will see how to handle a challenging stakeholder.
- Consent their authority without argument
- Remove all the negative or pre-assumptions about the stakeholder
- Try to understand their issue or requirement precisely
- Request for advice and listen to them
- Be thoughtful and open with your decisions
- Admire them and try to create the connection
- Work on your communication skills
Set - 3 - Project Management Interview Questions:
- What is RAID? How to use it in Project Management?
The word RAID in project management can be elaborated as Risk, Assumptions, Issue, and Dependencies. These are very significant substances that a project manager must have an understanding of.
- What will you do as a project manager to accomplish the project in a given timeline when the project goes off the track?
To check whether your project is on track you must follow the following steps and keep checking them from time to time.
- Keep checking the project budget is under control or exceeding
- Is any stage of the project life cycle taking too much time?
- Frequent checking of the project scope?
- Project goals are on track?
If the answers to these pointers are as per the expectations then you can say that the project is on track otherwise you must do the tasks to get the project on track.
- Which project management practice to be used in the projects?
One cannot apply a single methodology to all types of projects. The application of project management practice must be based on the following criteria:
- Planned goals and core values of the organization
- Significant business drivers of your project
- Limitations in the project
- Stakeholders related to the project
- Possible risks that might occur
- Level of complication of the project
- Projected size and cost of the project
- Tell me the project management tools mostly used for refining the process activities in a project?
The major project management tools used in the industry are,
- Comparing and Base lining a Process
- Flow-charting
- Value-Stream Mapping
- Cause and Effect Analysis
- Hypothesis Testing
Most Popular and High Paying Project Management Certifications:
PMP® Certification
PRINCE2® Foundation
CAPM® Certified Associate Project Management
PRINCE2® Practitioner
PRINCE2® Foundation Practitioner
PgMP® Exam Prep training
- How to deal with the team members who are not working to their fullest talent or potential?
To make the best out of your team members, you must do the following,
- Try to avoid emotional confrontations with the team or stakeholders
- Encourage the team to think and perform in their ways
- Encourage your team members in emerging their decision-making abilities
- Improve their performance patience threshold
- Reinforce the potential of weak employees by providing them the learning opportunities
- Recognize motivating activities for your employees
- Organize a suitable follow-up process
- Rewards and appreciation are encouraging activities to boost employee performance
