How would you react if a key Cisco project stakeholder asked you to eliminate a safety-related item you included as part of your engineering plan?
Cisco project stakeholders will always have input into the elements of a project. However, they may not have a complete understanding of these elements. The IT engineer must take the time to defend the critical elements they believe need to be included in an IT project to ensure its desired outcome and maintain the safety of the equipment, environment, and users. The interviewer is seeking to understand that you are willing to confront the stakeholder when the stakes are high and can accomplish the objective without alienating your Cisco team members.
"One of the challenges in my job as an IT engineer is to collaborate with project stakeholders who may not have the intimate knowledge needed to properly assess the importance of each element of a project. If a Cisco stakeholder were to confront me about an issue they didn't think belonged in a project but was critical to the project's safety, I would first seek to understand why they feel this way. Once I understand their position, I would clearly and calmly describe why the element needs to remain as part of the project to ensure the safety of the hardware, environment, or Cisco users. If for some reason they would disagree with me and continue to insist that the element be removed, I would escalate the issue to my management team, providing my rationale for not changing the project parameters."
