2o qs Flashcards
1
Q
- Tell me about a time when you were successful in selling an idea to a group of people that did not initially support your view/idea.
A
- Ok, AT&T was moving all the team’s websites to SharePoint. Through this I became more interested in the tool and I wanted to move our release calendar from Excel to SharePoint. The schedule had pertinent information (like dates, times, and other details of deployments) that all teams across the organization could access if it was on SharePoint, but currently the Excel document was present in a location only our team could modify.
- However, the majority of the team was worried about learning another system and having to update the schedule directly through SharePoint.
- So I created a mock schedule, that included all fields plus similar calculations and if/or statements used in Excel. I also demonstrated the ease of making updates on SharePoint and had hands on sessions with each team member so they were comfortable as well.
- After these sessions our AT&T lead client was sold on the idea and agreed it would be superior for our purposes. I also offered to have regular training sessions for our team going forward. It has been about 3 years since the transition and we find that SharePoint allows us to make different views of the calendar for different audiences and all the teams that request dates for the calendar know to look at the existing calendar before submitting their requested dates. This has saved us time in addition to connecting us with the entire organization.
2
Q
- Give me an example of something particularly innovative that you have done that made a difference in the workplace.
A
- Well our team uses a ticketing tool to enter the details of deployments for the Change Advisory Board and anyone in the organization to view. One major item they include is the start date and end date.
- Well our team would create the tickets and have all the stakeholders approve the tickets within the system prior to the deployment start date. However, our technical directory was getting escalation emails because we were leaving the tickets open after the deployment end date (the policy was to close them within three business days)
- We had tried different techniques to improve the process, but there were still some tickets not being closed. So I used business objects to make a rule that would email our team every day in case there were any tickets opened by our team past the deployment end date.
- This change improved the process and resulted in no more escalation emails and our director had me implement a similar rule for his other teams that used the ticketing tool.
3
Q
- Tell me about a situation that would demonstrate the level of confidence you have in yourself.
A
- We have four major functional releases each year, each senior member of the team is the ‘lead coordinator’ for each release. Planning for releases starts months in advance.
- Well one of my teammates had to have surgery and was out on disability leave for a couple of months about 3 weeks before his functional release of the year.
- So I volunteered to take over for him. It was challenging to step in during the middle of the planning and understand the unique items for the current release. But I was confident I could quickly catch up and drive the actual execution of the release.
- As it turned out, there were some testing delays and I had to tweak the schedule at the last minute, but I was able to work through the bumpy start and lead the remainder of the deployments to result in a successful overall release.
4
Q
- Tell me about a time when you took significant risk and it did not produce the outcome you had hoped for. How did you recover? What would you have done differently?
A
• ATT was implanting a new integrated process between the mobility and wireline departments in AT&T. Our team’s piece involved updating the process when a user calls in to the direct mobility help number, but really needs help with their wireline service they are transferred to wireline with all their data already provided in thtat call (and vice versa).
So this project introduced lots of unknowns for us since it was the first time we were working with the mobility infrastructure. One of the major parts was testing before we ‘turned live’ the service. I worked with the technical architect for many weeks to devise the best testing strategy for post deployment testing.
• The deployment occurred but our test calls after the deployment were not reaching the credit and collections agent as they should.
• This resulted in an extra full day’s worth of testing, resulting in the go live date being pushed for this highly visible project. As it turned out the customer account we were using was no longer marked as a Credit and Collections account since the customer had paid between the time we tested the number to after the deployment. We were able to find another active account to conclude the testing.
• So this mistake was something that was worrisome because it was often the case that from the time we requested credit and collections accounts and then used them for our testing the customer had paid. So after meeting with the lead of the test team they suggested my team use ‘static C&C accounts’ that were created for our purposes to mirror a live customer account but was not linked ot an actual account.
• We have been using this method to test the integration functionally in our future deployments with no problems. The hiccup in our implementation allowed us to learn about another feature and improve the overall process. We now know if there are issues to check the accuracy of the account before assuming the functionality was broken. I’m actually glad the issue occurred during the first deployment of this type since we did have the focus of the key player’s. There are now discussions to use these static accounts in another form of testing as well.
5
Q
- Describe a time you were given an assignment for which you did not have many of the skills or knowledge to be successful. How did you handle it?
A
- I am a US hire from Infosys, generally employees work on a team for multiple years before leading a team. I however, was appointed as a Team Lead of an application support team where I ‘owned’ a suite of applications after only my first 6 months of training, I was leading employees that had years of experience supporting these applications.
- I felt inadequate to support and lead a senior team. At first I simply delegated the work and focused more on my own day to day work
- But I quickly realized that was not the best method for myself or the team (motivate). I was thankful to have many good role-models also in my office, to watch, learn, and discuss their methods of being an impactful team lead. I started having more regular team meetings and encouraging everyone to learn from each other’s experiences. But it wasn’t until the first outage we had and everyone in my team worked together to troubleshoot and correct the situation that I felt I had really learned to engage my team and gain their respect.
- During my tenor in that project I was able to support my team mates and many of them ended up moving into postions where they owned their own applications.
6
Q
- Tell me about a time that you had to teach and develop others in order to get a job done.
A
- In my release management project my original offshore team was well trained and seasoned, but ultimately it was time for them to move into leadership positions of their own in other projects. We found ourselves with a team of many employees straight out of college
- They were excited to learn, but they did have to have extra mentoring especially when interacting with the client during late night deployments where the clients based in the US were tired not very patient.
- So what I decided to do was develop multiple best practices and training tools. The “back to basics” best practices were 1 page documents that they could print and have ready to use that pin pointed the essential items to complete during the deployments. Another aspect I incorporated was for the new joinees to record themselves reviewing our deployment plans before they had to do it in front of actual clients. From here they could listen to it themselves and I could also provide notes (for example what to read verbatim and what to review at a high level).
- Through these exercises we have a stronger new joinee guide and a ‘ramp up’ of a new joinee takes only a week a half for them to start hosting deployments.
7
Q
- Give me an example of a challenging project where you had a significant analytical role.
A
- My six sigma black belt project was a challenging project with Emerson Climate Technologies. My team had to analyze the alarm notification and resolution time data and determine what factors resulted in some systems having higher resolution times than others.
- So I used the statistical tool MiniTab to analyze the data and determine the significant correlations for these higher resolution times. And from there was able to recommend improved in these particular areas.
- Our recommended improvements are calculated to reduce the technician’s resolution time by 33%
8
Q
- What motivates you in your work?
A
The enthusium of coworks or clients always motivates me.
Also the ability to show my talents and earn the respect of my coworkers, especially when tackling new challenges.
I also am more motived whenever I can see how the end result impacts the company and its products.
9
Q
- Tell me about a specific time you had to lead, supervise or manage a group of people. What approach did you take and what was the outcome?
A
- In my release management project my original offshore team was well trained and seasoned, but ultimately it was time for them to move into leadership positions of their own in other projects. I found myself with a team of many employees straight out of college
- They were excited to learn, but they did have to have extra mentoring especially when interacting with the client during late night deployments where the clients based in the US were tired not very patient.
- So what I decided to do was develop multiple best practices and training tools. The “back to basics” best practices were 1 page documents that they could print and have ready to use that pin pointed the essential items to complete during the deployments. Another aspect I incorporated was for the new joinees to record themselves reviewing our deployment plans before they had to do it in front of actual clients. From here they could listen to it themselves and I could also provide notes (for example what to read verbatim and what to review at a high level). Once our members are well trained I appointed several of them ‘subject matter experts’ on key topics. This way they felt responsible and were able to educate the rest of the team on these matters.
- Through these exercises we have a stronger team, and we are now able to ramp up new team members in only a week and a half.
10
Q
- Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation and how you dealt with it.
A
- During my first summer session in the evening MBA program at Georgia Tech, finals week overlapped with the first week of deployments of a functional release where I was the primary owner.
- Originally my release was suppose to start a week earlier, but as the weeks grew closer we realized it was not going to meet its go live date. So suddenly the most critical week of the deployment (the first week was when we really got a sense if there would be problems with the code and the deployments often went beyond normal business hours) was the same week I wanted to focus on my three finals.
- Ultimately what I had to do was ask my coworkers for help, they were there when I had to leave to get to my final and stayed until I returned from my final. Even on the day I did not have a final they pitched in and relieved me so I could get some studying done in the evenings.
- The deployment did keep me busy that week, but I was able to balance the both of my commitments that week with the help of my coworkers who I repaid during their releases.
11
Q
- Tell me about a project you led where your actions and decisions impacted multiple organizations.
A
- ATT was implanting a new integrated process between the mobility and wireline departments in AT&T. Our team’s piece involved updating the process when a user calls in to the direct mobility help number, but really needs help with their wireline service they are transferred to wireline with all their data already provided in that call (and vice versa).
- This project impacted ATT wireline and ATT mobility, but our team also needed to succeed so our consulting company could prove their members could lead a major new initiative.
- Ultimately I had to work with both ATT wireline employees that I already had a rapport with, but also ATT mobility employees who often had different deployment practices.
- Ultimately we were able to implement the feature and all parties involved were happy with the outcome.
12
Q
- Tell me about a time when you were faced with an ethical challenge in the workplace and how you approached it, or had to conform to a policy you did not agree with.
A
- Well, I’ve been pretty lucky to have pretty ethical coworkers and managers. There have been times when there is a cultural gap between me and my Indian coworkers.
- Only once was it significant enough where I thought it crossed into unprofessional. During my project in Denver with Level3 we knew Level3 was tightening their budget and our managers had warned that there would be less employees onsite and the remaining onsite employees would have to own more applications. One day during a full team meeting (with both onsite and offshore members) our manager was asked if there were any decisions made regarding who specifically would be leveling the account. And our manager answered with a name of someone in the room, I remember he seemed taken back but didn’t say anything. Later I asked him if he had been relayed the information before the meeting and he said no, that was the first time he heard the information. That did not sit well with me. I understand tough decisions have to be made, but at least giving him the curiusy of speaking with him before instead of casually announcing it during a team meeting.
- This really stuck with me, and the next time I had a meeting with the manager I did mention that I thought it would have been more professional to first approach the topic with the individual, before announcing it to the whole team.
- I did preface it with ‘I’m not sure if this is a cultural difference’ The manager thought for a moment and agreed with my statement and that was the end of it. I’m hopeful it was enough to make him consider his options next time he has to break news like that to one of his employees
13
Q
- Give me an example of a time when you were working with someone and the person failed to meet your expectations. How did you handle it?
A
- During an undergraduate senior design project, we had a team member that did not contribute to the group discussions and was simply a silent observer. He showed up to most meetings, but did not provide any input. When we split up the paper portion we found his work was almost word from word off an online source.
- At first I would ask him direct questions, about his opinion on how we should proceed with a certain method, but his answer would mostly be ‘whatever the team thinks is best’
- After a while I thought maybe it was the writing/speaking portion that was throwing him off (he was a non-native English speaker) so I would ask what portion of the project he wanted to work on (we were writing a computer program and building a protype device). At that point he did show more interest in the computer program coding. So we split up into smaller groups and I was part of the computer program group as well. I found he opened up more in smaller groups, he did need some guidance, but he was able to delivery working code when given specific tasks.
- At the end we finished the project and we were able to provide feedback on our members. I think he did contribute to the areas he was comfortable with eventually, but it became more of delegating him tasks than working with a teammate.
14
Q
- What is your approach to handling or balancing competing priorities?
A
We have this a lot when scheduling deployments, multiple projects will want to deploy on the same night, but require the same systems. At this point I have to
- Determine through the stakeholders and executives what importance each item has, if I’m holding up another team from continuing (part of the critical path), if there is a regulation deadline (system will not be supported) or cost associated with being late, an organization mandate deadline,
- Get help/delegate if there are available resources
- Communicate to the impacted parties how their items will be handled and give them an updated timetable so they are aware early on, give them a reason
15
Q
- What unique experiences and/or skills do you have that would be transferable to any organization?
A
Having worked with a global team is an experience that I can take to any organization, through this I have learned to work with all kinds of people and also learn what motivates them. I also have an easy time working as one team and removing any barriers that sometimes might be present between clients and consultants.
My analytical skills strengthen my by engineering training, including problem solving and analytical thinking is something that comes naturally to me (where as leadership is something that I’ve had to nature and grow) and is transferable to any organization.
I also love to continue to learn and can fairly quickly grasp new tools and concepts.
