Project Management: interview questions and learning guide

Project management basics

A project is a promise: this outcome, by this date, within this budget.

Project managers define scope, break work into tasks, plan time and cost, manage risks and keep stakeholders informed. The critical path shows which tasks can delay the finish.

Interview tip: Describe how you handled a change in scope or a risk that came true.

Agile & Scrum

Build a little, learn a lot, repeat.

Agile delivers value in short cycles and adapts to feedback. In Scrum the team works in sprints from a prioritised backlog, meets daily, demos the result and holds a retrospective to improve.

Interview tip: Explain the roles and ceremonies in one breath, then add an example.

Scope and work breakdown structure

Breaking a project into work packages is like cutting a big cake into slices that one person can finish.

Scope defines what the project will and will not deliver. You collect requirements, write a scope statement and agree acceptance criteria with the customer. The work breakdown structure splits deliverables into smaller pieces until each work package can be estimated and owned. Without this, teams forget tasks and costs jump. Any later change goes through change control so scope creep is visible and approved.

Interview tip: Say clearly what is out of scope in any project example, because it shows control.

Scheduling and critical path

The critical path is the longest road on a map: it decides the earliest you can arrive.

Scheduling turns the task list into dates. You estimate duration, link tasks with dependencies and draw them as a network. The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks and sets the project end date. Tasks off that path have float, which is spare time before they delay anything. If the date is too late, you can fast track tasks in parallel or crash by adding resources. A Gantt chart shows the plan to everyone.

Interview tip: Practise a small forward and backward pass by hand, since interviewers may ask you to find the critical path on paper.

Risk and issue management

A risk is a dark cloud you can see coming, and an issue is the rain that has already started.

A risk is something that may happen and affect the project, good or bad. You identify risks early, score them by probability and impact, and plan a response. Responses are avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept or, for positive risks, exploit. An issue is a problem that has already happened and needs an owner and a date. Keep a log, review it every week and tell stakeholders about the top items.

Interview tip: Always separate risk from issue in your answer, then say who owns the next action.

Stakeholder communication

Good communication is the steering wheel of a project: small, steady turns avoid big crashes.

Stakeholders are people who affect or are affected by the project. You identify them, rate their interest and influence, and decide how often and how to talk to each one. A communication plan lists the message, audience, channel and owner. Status reports should be short, honest and focused on progress, risks and decisions needed. Bad news is better told early with options than found late.

Interview tip: Share a story where you gave bad news early and what option you brought with it.

Budgeting and earned value

Earned value asks one fair question: for the money spent, how much real work did we get?

A project budget starts with cost estimates for each work package, plus a reserve for risks. The approved total becomes the cost baseline. Earned value management compares planned value, earned value and actual cost to show true health. Cost performance index and schedule performance index tell you if you are under or over budget and ahead or behind. These numbers also let you forecast the final cost.

Interview tip: Remember the rule: an index below one is bad, and say what you would do about it.

Document changes, assess impact on time and cost, get stakeholder approval and update the plan.

Identify risks, rate probability and impact, plan mitigation, assign owners and review regularly.

Waterfall finishes each phase in order. Agile delivers in short sprints with regular feedback and changes. Choose by how clear and stable the requirements are.

A table that shows who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for each task or decision.

List tasks with a work breakdown, estimate effort, set dependencies, find the critical path, assign owners and add buffers.

The longest chain of dependent tasks that decides the minimum project duration. A delay on it delays the project.

Progress against plan, completed work, next steps, risks and issues, decisions needed and budget status in a simple format.

A team meeting at sprint end to discuss what went well, what did not and one or two improvements to try next sprint.

A short document that states the purpose, scope, budget, timeline, stakeholders and authority of a project.

Break work into tasks, estimate each with the team, add buffer for risks and review against actuals.

Record the change, assess impact on time and cost, get approval through change control and keep communication regular.

Name your tools such as Jira, Trello, MS Project or Excel and explain how you use boards, deadlines and reports.