The goal of this series of articles is to introduce project management concepts. Interview questions that may be encountered for project manager positions are used as a means to implement these concepts. This is the third part of the series and covers additional concepts. The series will consist of ten parts, and each article in the series will discuss five questions that you may be asked, and explain the related questions. The concepts presented should help you prepare for PMP certification, which is often required for a project manager position.
Project managers need a variety of skills as a professional manager.
What additional skills might a project manager need?
PM must be qualified in all areas of knowledge required for project management. Strong leadership qualities are a must for a person. Planning, vision, team management and such skills are necessary to create good generals. He has to take a bunch of scattered people towards a common goal. The business environment creates other constants, such as a given budget and time frame.
Processes and process groups are important project management concepts.
How to define a process and a group of processes?
Emphasis on the process arises from the fact that when a process or a well-defined way to do things, the risk of errors is used. This, in turn, means that the final product of the process comes out with minimal flaws. The process must determine not only the required actions, but also the sequence in which they should be invoked. To prioritize a project, processes must be defined for many tasks. Each of these processes must define clear inputs, specific outputs and tools and methods to be used at the inputs. As the process goes through different stages of its life, different sets of processes are required to complete the required tasks. These groups were defined as groups of processes in a project management knowledge book. One such example is a group of planning processes.
When discussing the qualities of PM, reference was made to areas of expertise.
What specific areas of expertise apply to successful project implementation?
Communication management should be the most important in any efforts related to people. Project volume management should be the next most important area of expertise. Preserving a well-defined area is a prerequisite for its success. The implementation of the project in terms of its volume is not enough. Given enough time and money, perhaps any project of any scale can be achieved! Time and cost / budget management are two other areas of expertise. Knowledge in the field of quality management should be added to the required areas of knowledge, since a certain level of quality is mandatory. Knowledge of the integration of the project puts it all together, and it is necessary. These core knowledge areas are supported by several more. Monitoring and controlling risks is vital, as is purchasing material at the right time. Since all these activities need to be connected by people, human resources management is another necessary area of support.
Project integration management covers activities that ensure the work of all activities to achieve project success. All processes should be aimed at achieving this goal.
What processes are needed?
Development of the project charter is similar to the reference point. This is exactly what defines the project. All relevant plans are the next most important set of activities. These include developing a project management plan, directing and managing project execution, and monitoring and control. The final set of activities is the closure of the project or the current phase. Changes are inevitable. What needs to be done is that there is an integrated change management so that these changes do not cause chaos.
What are the important test questions that the Prime Minister should remember?
The PM must be constantly aware of several key issues. One such issue is risk. The PM must be able to take actions with low risk. This requires that he / she is constantly aware of the risks. Assumptions, problems and dependencies applicable to the decisions made, a certain amount and almost everything else should be clearly known to the Prime Minister. RAID is a mnemonic applied to these factors. For PM it is important to be on top of the RAID.
Part 4 will deal with five more questions. 10 articles will cover 50 issues between them.
