Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

UW PMII > Interview Questions > Flashcards

Interview Questions Flashcards

1
Q

What are the goals of UW’s Strategic Plan?

A
  1. Improve Campus Life
  2. Be a best place to work
  3. Enhance Financial Performance and Growth
  4. Ensure service excellence
  5. Develop infrastructure and investment
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Who is the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

A

Mr. Laurent Heller

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What does the Vice Chancellor oversee?

A

Wide range of departments, ranging from Administration, to information management services, to university housing and university police

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the 4 core services of the Office of Strategic Consulting?

A
  1. Strategic Planning
  2. Process Improvement
  3. Organization Design and Redesign
  4. Enhancing Organizational Culture and Change
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the goals of the Administrative Transformation Program?

A
  1. Reduce administrative complexity
  2. Build and administration that supports increasing pace of change
  3. Strengthen data availability, and information security
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

A

Boston > University of Michigan > Secondary Education and student athlete > Implementation Project Manager > Health Information Management > Variety of professional experience all over US and Canada, with variety of stakeholders and project sizes. > Foundation System > cross-functional teams to ensure best product.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Can you give me an overview of your current position?

A
  1. Customer work in US and Canada > Ensure success of application > On time, on budget > monitoring progress and driving outcomes > engaging and building relationships with operations > managing team of Epic and customer (PROJECT MANAGEMENT)
  2. Foundation System > point person for HIM model system. > work closely with variety of roles to ensure best possible product. > focus on change, change management, and measuring success. (CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND MEASURING SUCCESS)
  3. Internal work > new hire training > Mentor > professional growth (COWORKER GROWTH)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Why leave Epic?

A

Fantastic opportunity to grow professionally > opportunity to strengthen core project management skills (organization, communication, relationship building, and process improvement) > don’t have opportunities to continue to growth professionally while reducing travel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Why Wisconsin?

A

Wisconsin > love the city of Madison > represents opportunity to move back into education sphere and be a part of a revered university and the growth it offers to its students and its community

Underlying missing: supporting research and higher education happening at this university. Allows me to continue to work with a “mission” (student teaching, Epic)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why PMII?

A

Driving and inspiring change > opportunity to make a difference, have an impact, continue to grow professionally with new challenges > importnat part of FS job and something I’d like to continue

Specific to ATP: opportunity to be on the tip of the wedge of change in a major administrative overhaul > guiding principles of program are to be sleeker, simpler, more efficient, and more flexible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Why you for PMII?

A
  1. Ability to communicate and build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, and to use those relationships to drive meaningful change and measure success
  2. Ability to juggle multiple competing priorities, and work in high pressure environments. Ability to put nose to grindstone.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

How do you stay organized?

A

As few sources of truth as possible > reduces likelyhood of missing something > forcing myself and others to look 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months ahead and identify milestones, potential risks, and next steps

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How will you handle the transition from IT project management to more generic finance and administration project management?

A

Successful project manager > highly organized, ability to juggle multiple responsibilities, and ability to build relationships with and tailor communication for a variety of stakeholders. > dont need to initially be a subject matter expert > need the willingness and tenacity to learn

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a work breakdown structure?

A

management strategy that takes single milestone and breaks it into its smallest component of work. Assigns out small components of work.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are project artifacts?

A

Basically documentation related to the project. Think charter, business case, requirements, risk analysis, etc. Living docs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a triple constraint?

A

3 components. Scope - Schedule - Cost. Need a balance of all three. Ex. St. Joes > had fixed budget and timeline, so needed to adjust scope

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the 5 stages of the project life cycle?

A

Think Central Intake

  1. Initiation - idea and business case
  2. Planning - defining scope, charter, and budget/resources needed
  3. Execution - implementation
  4. Performance Monitoring - post live support and metrics
  5. Closure - transition to Project Fusion
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are the most important characteristics of an effective project manager?

A

Organization, communication, ability to build relatiohsips, and ability to lead/ drive for progress and change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What was your most successful project?

A

Depends on definition of success, but personally, the project I got the most out of (both professional w/ growth, and emotional, through pride) was the central intake project. First director role. Involved from first stage of project life cycle to last. Challenges and growth along the way, but go live and being stable (compared to the anxiety and nervousness pre life) was one of the best professional feelings I’ve had with a project

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Which project management tools do you prefer, and why?

A

Epic has its own developed tools, but in “normal” terms they’d be

  1. A detailed and accurate project charter and project plan to keep everyone on track and on the same page
  2. Office Suite - in order to communicate effectively and ensure stakeholder comprehension
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

How do you handle team member who isn’t productive?

A

Need to start by building a relationship with the team member. Understand them, how they work best, etc. Give critical but constructive feedback focused on small, targeted change over time. Ex. Jonah with flight plans

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Do you prefer single or multiple projects?

A

Multiple. Obviously theres a sweet spot where you aren’t stretched thing (important to communicate and be supported by PM management), but keeps project fresh, adds a bit of pressure and urgency, can learn from other projects and translate processes that work to others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What project manager policies are you most familiar with?

A
  1. Waterfall/Stage-gate: most customer implementations are structured this way.
  2. Agile: for smaller projects, usually after an organization has already “gone live” for the first time.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Tell me about a full project management cycle that you managed and what was included?

A

Central Intake

  1. Initiation - idea and business case
  2. Planning - defining scope, charter, and budget/resources needed
  3. Execution - implementation
  4. Performance Monitoring - post live support and metrics
  5. Closure - transition to Project Fusion
25
Q

What is your preferred method of communication?

A

Depends on what I’m communicating

  1. If quick question or FYI items, prefer email
  2. If discussion required or likely, meeting or via conference call
  3. If urgent, phone call or text in some cases
  4. If critical feedback or bad news, in person
26
Q

When was the last time you didn’t delegate and what were the consequences?

A

St. Joes. Two weaker analysts. Short timeline, limited budget. Ended up doing the majority of the build, owned alot of the project. Helped us stay on track, but post live success took a while because analysts didn’t own the implementation, so didn’t understand the system. Needed to find a better balance, find areas where analysts could grow while not falling behind. Took to my next install (ottawa)

27
Q

What was the most challenging aspect of a recent project?

A

Not being a subject matter expert in everything as a Foundation system app manager, and working on short sprint timelines for each version. Need to get appropriate input from stakeholders in short timeframes, needed to increase level of coordination and project management to be successful. Increased level of forethought to ensure each version is a success.

28
Q

How do you monitor and manage risks on a project?

A

Understand scope of work, project charter, milestones, etc. engage with stakeholders on regular basis, track progress effectively and escalate early and often. Take accurate follow ups and actually follow up

29
Q

How do you schedule projects and establish timelines

A

Think Central Intake

Need to understand scope of work, goals, external factors impacting go live, budget, etc. Scope of work + resources available + budget = a rough idea of how long your project will take.

30
Q

What was the most complicated project you’ve worked on? and how did you manage?

A

Ottawa. Took over for checked out AM. Customer didn’t trust Epic. Needed to build trust, relationships, while getting project back on track with quick and efficient decision making. Asked a lot from operations, but ensured IT was prepared and was helping operations make informed decisions.

31
Q

What is a key challenge for our industry today? How can we address?

A

Communication and building relationships, while relying increasingly on technology. Email and text and WebEx make it easy to communicate quickly and over physical distance, but need to be careful about what we communicate in what form. Need to think critically about communicate before deciding what communication method to use

32
Q

What were communication challenges on your last project and how did you address them?

A

Foundation System. Communication challenges associated with updating documentation, install materials, etc. Didn’t have a process, needed to establish from scratch. Set expectations with module leads, set clear and fair timelines, set up accountability with app leadership. Tracked progress with regular intervals.

33
Q

How do you communicate bad news?

A

In person, without sugarcoating it. Open and honest, and with proposed solution to problem/bad news.

34
Q

What are some practices you’ve developed to develop excellent customer relationships?

A
  1. Effective communication, not wasting time
  2. Having “fun” with customers. Not going to a bar, but enjoying the work and their company. Get to know them and their interests
  3. Build trust. Make keepable promises, be clear with communications, demonstrate passion for project success, take accurate follow ups and actually follow up
35
Q

How do you deal with change on a project?

A

Perform analysis of impacts to change. Actions change depending on if its a small or big change.

If small, probably just look 1-2 iterations downstream. What does this impact directly?

If big, take more into account. How is my budget impacted? Go Live date impacted? Resources available impacted?

Engage stakeholders and make informed decisions on change based on analysis

36
Q

What tools/strategies do you use to ensure your project stays on track?

A
  1. Regular communications and status checks with team members and stakeholders
  2. Project Status reports to executive leadership to support escalation if necessary
  3. Clear project plan for myself and team members. Hold accountable to project plan expectations.
37
Q

What happens if a colleague disagrees with your decision?

A

Important to support decision with evidence and communicate it effectively. Same applies if you disagree with a colleague. Support with evidence, lay out risks, dissent but once decided, support and make successful.

38
Q

What is your biggest weakness?

A

Project Manager terminology. Not from a formal project manager education, don’t know the terminology as well as I wish I did. However, to me, project management is a state of being. Terminology can be learned, but the passion to lead and drive change cannot be taught.

39
Q

What are your change management strategies?

A

Depends on the severity of the change. Match the communication and education with level of severity.

For major changes, be able to report on effectiveness of change, and make tweaks as needed.

40
Q

What are your risk mitigation strategies?

A

Involve the right stakeholders early and often. Take accurate follow ups, explore leads, dig into questions and be naturally curious. Stakeholders are important to identify project risks outside of general “on time on budget”. Involving early and consistently means you can mobilize and make changes quickly and with everyone up to speed

41
Q

What are the guiding principles of the Administrative Transformation Program?

A
  1. Start with people, innovate together
  2. improve access to data and help leadership make informed decisions
  3. Help people get work done more efficiently
  4. Keep things simple, no more complexity than required
  5. Design and build solutions for the future
  6. Make the right decisions, with the right stakeholders, and communicate regularly.
42
Q

What are 2 weaknesses?

A
  1. Formal project management training > specifically terminology > something to learn and work on, doesn’t impact core traits of a quality project manager
  2. Management style > sometimes too trusting/ give benefit of the doubt when team members are underperforming > need to looks carefully at feedback and ensure feedback is timely and constructive
43
Q

What are 2 stengths?

A
  1. Ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with stakeholders
  2. Ability to juggle competing priorities/ prioritize effectively
44
Q

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A

In a position where I can continue to add value/ be an asset to my organization and in a position that allows me to work with an underlying “mission”

45
Q

What kind of work environment do you work best in?

A

Where coworkers are motivated and enjoy working collaboratively. Always say Epic succeeds because of the quality of the employee, everyone is highly motivated and wants their organizations/projects to be successful. Can get a lot done with that attitude.

46
Q

Tell me about a tough decision you had to make

A

re-adjusting scope for Central Intake > risk to timeline and budget > involved the right stakeholders > open and honest about risks > mapped a path forward and were successful

47
Q

Tell me about your leadership style

A

Involve the right stakeholders early and often to make informed, accurate decisions. Focus on taking in stakeholder opinion and focus on growing others. Input from stakeholders helps facilitate buy in, acts as a risk mitigation strategy, and builds a bank of trust from with you can withdraw from in emergencies.

48
Q

How would others describe you?

A

Passionate about my projects, and willing to work hard to make those projects successful. Ex. I’ve worked now with 3-4 Canadian organizations, and was part of the first “class” of project managers in Ontario. Really feel like Canadian projects are my baby > even if I’m not directly staffed to an organization I’m constantly meeting with, providing direction for, and building relationships with Canadian organizations and their project managers.

49
Q

Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills?

A

Central Intake Project > ottawa came to us with idea > didn’t have the bandwidth to do the project themselves > I helped scope, budget, submit staffing requests, all before I was officially staffed to the project. Program was something that I believed in, and felt like we could make a difference, so took it on.

50
Q

What values are important to you as a leader?

A
  1. Open and honest with stakeholders
  2. Lack of ego/ ego in check (ours not mine)
  3. Willingness to personally work hard for a successful outcome
51
Q

How do you respond to criticism?

A

Important to not brush off. Really look hard at the criticism, and see if there is a growth point within criticism (either direct or indirect).

You can disagree, but you should be able to do an analysis and be able to articulate why you disagree.

52
Q

How do you measure your own performance?

A

Probably more intangible than a specific metric, but I measure my success by the ability of project stakeholders to own the success of the finished product long term. I’m only successful if my stakeholders understand what we did, why we did it, can champion the new approach, and can build of the solution as a foundation for the future.

53
Q

How would you describe your management style

A

Involve the right stakeholders early, often, and build those relationships. Improves organization buy in, risk mitigation strategy, and builds trust

54
Q

Can you describe your methods for assessing operational effetiveness?

A
  1. Understand the scope of work/workflows
  2. Talk to managers and end users, gather feedback
  3. Then look for inefficiencies once you understand what should be done
55
Q

What processes do you follow when making an important decision?

A
  1. Make sure I understand the decision/ associated context
  2. Make sure I have the right stakeholders and decision makers identified
  3. Work with stakeholders to outline different options in decision document. Include recommendation to decision makers
  4. Present document to decision makers. Decide and support
56
Q

Share an experience where you disagreed/ where advice was not well recieved

A

Trillium with faxing content. Important in Canada, had been burned personally. Warned Trillium team, they weren’t taking action in a way I felt was appropriate. Worked with trillium team to clearly outline why their approach was going to be unsuccessful, escalated to project leadership to get appropriate attention on program.

57
Q

How do you ensure employee responsibilities are carried out to completion?

A
  1. Have a detailed project plan
  2. Engage stakeholders early and often
  3. Ensure tasks have clear next steps, owners, due dates, and checkpoint dates. Ensure that is communicated regularly.
58
Q

What’s your approach to delegating?

A

Effective delegation starts with finding the right owner for the task. Could be job title/ position, could be strengths or weaknesses. Building relationships with and knowing your team supports effective delegation, having clear owners, next steps, due dates helps ensure tasks are completed.

59
Q

Describe a time you led by example

A

The core of leading by example is that it should be a daily occurrence. Something ordinary to the point that its hard to pick out a single instance. Ex. if I’m leading a meeting, I should be prepared for the meeting, know the attendees, know what I want to accomplish, and make sure that is outlined in my meeting agenda. Build bank of trust

Central intake is specific example. Set tone for epic in new role.

UW PMII (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions