Project Management Scenarios Quiz

A project that you are managing is undergoing user acceptance test. Users have found a critical bug that can impact the release date. The stakeholders are worried. But your developers have analyzed the issue and think they know a way to fix the issue in time. What should you do first?

• Meet with the stakeholders and assure them that there is nothing to worry about

• Meet with the team to analyze why the issue was not discovered in quality assurance phase

• Meet with the team to fully understand the issue

• Schedule a meeting to find a way to quickly implement the solution they first thought of

You are the project manager of project A. You are in the middle of discussing scope with the stakeholder. The stakeholder wants you to do 10 different reports while you feel is not realistic given the budget and timelines. Which of the following skills are effective in successful negotiation?

• You identify based on discussions, what reports the stakeholder really needs to have versus reports that are nice to have

• You explain to the stakeholder why creating all 10 reports may not be possible within the given budget and timelines

• You ask the stakeholder to prioritize the top 6 reports and tell her that you can focus on getting those delivered as they would deliver most value to her business

• Finally, your stakeholder settles at 7 reports and you agree to do them for her. She leaves feeling good. You leave feeling good.

You are the project manager of project A. The stakeholder wants you to do 10 different reports as project A’s deliverables. You feel that it is not realistic to produce 10 reports within the allotted budget and targeted timelines. The stakeholder wants to meet with you to negotiate scope before finalizing scope. Which of the following skills are effective in successful negotiation?

• Decline the stakeholder’s invite and escalate to upper management

• Meet with the stakeholder and explain why you think the scope is not achievable within given timelines and budget. Discuss about either pushing out the release date or adding budget if all 10 reports have to be created

• Ask stakeholder to create a change request

• Since the stakeholder wants to meet with you, she might be open to negotiating. Try to find out what her core business needs are and identify the key reports that will meet those needs. See if those reports can be delivered within given budget and timelines

You are a project manager in company ABC. You just released phase A of your project. One of the key resources Q in your project is also much sought after for other projects. You cannot officially assign him to your phase B of your project but you need his expertise. Which of the below are possible options?

• Negotiate with other project managers for Q’s time, at least to provide some oversight and guidance

• Request Q to conduct knowledge transfer sessions to another resource X in your team so X can pick up from where member Q left off

• Check in with Q when key decisions have to be made

• Escalate to management that the project cannot be done without Q and log a risk

In a company ABC, Project B ended and all the contractors were let go after the end of the project. Another Project-A is expected to end in a month. The project manager wants to place the team members in other projects but hasn’t told them or the vendors yet. This has raised concern amongst Project A’s team members, mostly contractors who aren’t sure if they will also be let go after the project. This has led to rumors and a decrease in morale and performance. One contractor quit during this critical time of Project A while other contractors are looking for other jobs during work hours. This could be because:

• The project manager did not prepare the Staff release plan

• The project manager did not provide recognition or rewards to the team members

• The project manager did not plan for a smooth transition for the team

• The project manager did not communicate well with the team

Project A created reports for use by Marketing business users. The reports displayed the effectiveness of campaigns in different parts of the country. Due to growth in business, the client now wants to include data in the report about campaign effectiveness in countries around the world. The client also wants to fix some data anomalies introduced in the reports due to expanding business in different currencies. He is willing to fund the effort and has set a desired date for report release. Can this be done as a new project?

• Yes. An enhancement can be the outcome of a project

• No. This is too minor to be a new project

• This can be a new project only if new team members are hired

• Yes. An improvement can be the outcome of a project

Resource A is an exceptionally qualified and competent software developer. All project managers in the company request his functional manager to assign him to their projects. The functional manager would:

• Assign resource A to the first project manager that requested A for his project

• Ask resource A to choose which project he wants to work on

• Assign resource A to work on the project with the maximum budget

• Assign resource A to work on the project with most visibility and benefits

Company A manufactures light bulbs. Recently, customers have been calling company A saying that the light bulbs are defective and that customer support has not been very helpful. The company has also faced an increase in manufacturing costs and decrease in profits. They are planning to implement six-sigma methodology by creating a project for the same. Which of the below can this method help with?

• Minimize differences in manufacturing of light bulbs

• Implement strategies to increase profits

• Improve customer satisfaction

• Decrease manufacturing costs

You have been named ‘Best project manager of the year’ and your team ‘Best team of the year’ in your department. Your employees don’t quit often, they like working with you, they are honest with you and trust you, and help you deliver projects to your client’s satisfaction. Which of the below have you done really well?

• You acquired a team with average experience

• You developed a good and effective project team

• You only planned your project well

• You have a good relationship with your supplier

You added new team member B to your project. One of your team members A has since become uncooperative and isn’t focused on delivering. You talk to A and find out that he is concerned about roles and responsibilities and whether B might replace him. You assure him that B has been added to help him and will not replace him. A seems satisfied with your explanation and gets to work again. Which of the following skills have you used?

• Negotiation skills

• Soft skills

• Quality management skills

• Risk management skills