Project Management Tips

Whether you are a PM subcontractor or full-time employee, deciding to take a contract or a job has some considerations because you want to avoid working on a project that will fail, has a hostile culture, or has unrealistic work expectations. An interview is a two way exchange where the employer gets to interview you and you get to interview the employer. Here are some job considerations I like to take into account when deciding whether to move forward with an employment discussion.

Here are some red flags that shout to me, “I don’t want to work for these people.”

1. If the interviewers are rude and aggressively challenge me.
2. If the interviewers ask crazy questions to let you know how clever they are, but the questions have nothing to do with your skills for the job. I once sat for a contract interview and the first thing I as was told what that the interview graduated Swarthmore College. The second thing that happened in the interview was I was asked a ridiculous scenario to solve. The third thing that happened in the interview was I politely told the interviewer that this was not a fit and left.
3. If your interview consists of a video to be scored by an AI-exit stage left. 
4. If you are required to take a technical or personality tests carefully consider if you want to agree to these conditions. Although, technical test may be a legitimate requirement for the job, personality tests are not legitimate since there is a high chance of misuse.

Here are some questions I like to ask interviewers about the project under discussion:

1. “Is this a new project or a restart of an existing project?” Then, I ask, “What has changed if this is a restart of a project or the replacement of a project manager to ensure the project is going to be successful in round two.” I want to know for example if staffing has changed, project management framework changed, budget changed, scope changed, or timeline changed?
2. “Tell me about the project.”
3. “What skills you are looking for?” This question is good to quickly identifying a non-fit situation. Verify that the skills they are looking for are skills posted in the job description.
4.  “Is there a risk and/or IV&V process built into the new project?”
5. “Are there requirements and detailed functional specifications?” I want to ask this to get an idea on what basis the scope, budget, and timeline was estimated. If requirements and functional specifications are very limited then you can guess the project scope is highly uncertain and that there will be budget and timeline overruns.
6. “Is there a budget?” “How was the budget estimated and aligned with the project’s scope?” “Is the budget fixed or flexible?”
7. “What technology was selected and why?” “Does the organization have these technology skills?”
8. “Is there a timeline and work plan, and how were they estimated?”
9. “What is the process to revise the budget and timeline if underestimated?”
10. “What is the project staffing strategy?” I want to know if the project is using or going to use experienced existing staff, vendor staff, or staff augmentation? If staff augmentation is being used, or going to be used, are they onshore or offshore?
11.  “How many business units will be impacted by the project?” “What is their involvement?” “Are there dedicated business SMEs?” “How much time does the product owner have to spend with the project team?”
12. “Is the IT group going to be involved with this project?” Does the new project put anyone’s skills or job at risk?” “What is the organization’s IT approach to project management framework?”
13. “Does the organization have a PMO, and will they be involved with the project?”
14. “What is the organization’s expectation for implementation documentation?” “Does the organization have IT project templates to use?
15.  “What process tools are available to the project?” I want to know for example what tools are being used for the following: (a) project scheduler, (b) project asset library, (c) requirements management ALM tool, (d) testing tool, and (e) team task scheduler?

Couple of additional thoughts. First, the list above is not the full set of considerations for accepting a position. Second, salary and contract conditions need to be considered, and I discussed these topics for subcontractors in other posts. Last, no matter what clients and vendors say or tell you during the interview and job hiring process, the reality of the project is often different, requiring some flexibility on your behalf to adjust to a new environment.

Regards, Rob

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