MockQuestions

Technical Project Manager Mock Interview

25 Questions Created By

To help you prepare for your Technical Project Manager interview, here are 25 interview questions and answer examples.

First Question

25 Technical Project Manager Interview Questions

10 Interview Questions With Sample Answers

1.   If you were given two weeks after on-boarding before being assigned a project, what would you do with your time?

How to Answer

The interviewer wants to find out where your priorities lie. Whether the two-week wait is deliberate or not, assure the interviewer that you are going to use that time to equip yourself with knowledge and experience to make yourself an even better fit for the role. The interviewer will be interested to know exactly what you plan on learning and experiencing in those two weeks and any motivation behind your plan.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"It's rare to be given some time to learn the ropes before jumping into a new project, so I definitely appreciate it. The first thing I would find out is the PM tool or tools that we will be using and allocate time to learn them. If I'm already familiar with it, I'll ask for company templates. Another item on my list would be to look at any process maps and/or documentation that exist so I can get an idea of how the project management office operates. If I'm allowed to, I'd really like to shadow an existing project manager to establish rapport and see what the day-to-day is like. Lastly, if there are any project meetings or kickoffs that I can be a part of, I would also want to observe so I can see what the standards are for project managers."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

2.   Talk about your most notable mistake as a project manager. What would you change, if given the chance to do it over?

How to Answer

Regardless of your level of expertise or years of experience, you are allowed to fail. Be truthful; describe your mistake to the interviewer and briefly explain why it happened. A successful answer will emphasize your learnings, and what you have done since the failure to avoid repeating it. Own the error and explain how you resolved it.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"When I was starting out as a project manager, I was assigned to implement a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for the company's marketing and sales teams. During the selection phase, leadership was wowed by this one tool because of how robust it was. Further, it was a very popular CRM used by our biggest competitors. The selection was done exclusively by the leadership team, with little representation from the people at sales and marketing who would become the end-users of the CRM. Leadership asked to do a 30-day trial, but there were no clear testing guidelines. It seemed like we just wanted to be on-trend with our competitors, but I was scared to play devil's advocate. In the end, we were paying 100% for a tool when we needed only 60% of its functionality.

After that project, I learned to contribute more in the initiation phase of a project. I think that if I had spoken out about my concerns, we could have taken a bit more time during the selection process and get a better understanding of the business needs. Now, when I get assigned a similar project, I always ask to do a thorough review of providers. I've also created a list of guidelines in which we take a lot of factors into consideration, not just organization-centric factors, but more importantly customer-centric ones."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

3.   Tell me about your favorite manager (anyone you directly reported to). What qualities did they have that really stood out to you?

How to Answer

By asking this question, the interviewer is looking at how your leadership style is influenced by others. This question also determines your attitude towards leaders, as well as the type of personalities you work well with. When positioning your response, keep the collaborative and technical nature of the job in mind, and address the expectations outlined in the job description.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"My favorite manager is my previous senior project lead. They learned about my experience and understood which path I wanted my career to take. They invested in my development and made sure I landed projects that gave me the opportunity to expand my skills and capabilities. For example, in one of my performance reviews, I stated that I was going to work toward Scrum certification. By the next month, they had me registered in a certification course paid for by the company. I really appreciate that they saw my potential enough to finance my studies."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

4.   How would you describe your communication style?

How to Answer

The technical project manager facilitates communication between teams and typically, between departments in a large organization. In your response, demonstrate what role your communication effectiveness will play in keeping team members informed and accountable throughout the process. Show the interviewer that you can adapt the way you communicate with different team members with varying technical knowledge.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"I'd like to think that I'm a versatile communicator. For example, I can relate with the development team on a somewhat technical level but I don't pretend to know better than them. I always err on the side of facts or logic, and not let opinions get in the way. On the other hand, if I'm reporting to leadership or non-technical teams, I try to speak in laymen's terms if I need to explain something complex. I could use analogies or the like. I always just think of the end goal and adjust my communication to get what I need from a situation."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

5.   What do you like and dislike about working with technical-minded colleagues?

How to Answer

Technical-minded or technology-skilled workers, such as coders, software engineers, systems architects, are highly logical thinkers. The interviewer will want to learn that you can appeal to logic while representing business interest, as well as customer satisfaction. When crafting your response, think about the benefits and disadvantages there might be in working with a crowd that thrives on solving problems and hate fluff.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"In my experience, tech people tend to be less expressive, so it can be hard to gauge their reactions and emotions. It can take some time for them to warm up, which could make for an awkward working environment at the start. Fortunately, I've experienced working with a variety of similar personalities, so I've learned to adapt. I like that I'm able always to tie everything back to data and metrics. For example, if a team member says no to a recommendation or a proposal, I can always count on them to back it up with facts. It can be quite refreshing to work with people who are so objective."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

6.   How do you measure your own success as a project manager? What key performance indicators are most important to you?

How to Answer

There are many different ways project managers measure their own success, but you can categorize most KPIs under four general categories: financial, customer, process, and personal development. Choose two or three that speak directly to the core values of the company, or based on the job requirements. The interviewer will want to learn more about how well you understand each of these key performance indicators and their relevance in your role as a technical project manager.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"I can speak to my own success measures at a high level. In terms of the financial success of projects, I keep anything that impacts the budget or the timeline directly such as off-track tasks, do-overs, and scope creep to a minimum. Depending on the business goals for each project, I would assign myself a maximum number of each of these events per week or month to keep myself accountable. Second, my main metric in keeping my customers happy, whether they're internal or external, would be feedback. For external customers, a regularly scheduled qualitative survey usually works. For internal customers, it's usually a working feedback process between me and the teams I work with. In addition, I consider my stakeholders and project sponsors as my internal clients. I think that a majority of my metrics rely heavily on effective communication between me and these parties."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

7.   What do you do if you identify that one stakeholder in the project is becoming a roadblock in completing milestones?

How to Answer

Processes can be defined, documented, and refined. However, you will need people to run them, and people can become project risks. In your response, assure the interviewer that you have a rational approach to solving interpersonal issues within the project team. Talk about your plan and any relevant contingencies you might put in place to ensure project success.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"Once I was managing the system implementation for a new branch that was under construction. One of the main stakeholders for the build was the operations director. I had asked them for the organizational breakdown of the new branch so I could break down the access privileges as well as other software permissions based on different roles and responsibilities for the branch. The operations director, Mr. A kept pushing it off giving the excuse that HR hadn't confirmed headcounts and hiring timeline. I had already explained multiple times how critical it was for us to at least estimate the number of people who would be managers, supervisors, and everyone else under them. I needed to carve out the hardware budget accordingly, get approvals, and plan software training for new hires.

After a month with no estimates, I respectfully let Mr. A know that I would approach HR directly. I escalated to my manager and asked to coordinate directly with HR. This was not a standard operating procedure, so my manager and I met with Mr. A's superior first and they confirmed that Mr. A has a history of withholding information. In this case, the superior advised that I approach them directly moving forward, instead of Mr. A. I got the data I needed and got the project sponsors' approval. After that, I met with Mr. A to show them the numbers before I shared them with the rest of the project team. I felt like I needed to assure him that I wasn't going behind his back, but instead made him feel as if I wanted to take a large task off his plate."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

8.   What is the most critical part of the systems development life cycle (SLDC)?

How to Answer

The systems development life cycle describes the stages involved in a system development project, with the objective of developing or scaling business systems. A system implementation or improvement project is something most technical project managers will handle in which this cycle will need to be followed. A successful answer will show your familiarity with the relevant steps to the process. In addition, the interviewer wants to learn how well you understand these steps.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"In my opinion, all phases of the SLDC are important. For example, defining user requirements is one of the key elements to successful testing and evaluation, to which the analysis and planning phases are critical. In the same vein, if the sample framework is flawed from the design phase, you may only determine the flaws during deployment to a larger group. I'm a big fan of following a well-defined cycle because it helps provides a clear view of the system implementation or improvement project needs, such as the project team, staffing, cost, and timing."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

9.   Tell me about your experience in working with Product Managers. How does your role differ from theirs?

How to Answer

In essence, product managers are concerned with the what and the why of a project. Technical project managers, on the other hand, are responsible for laying out the when, the how, and the who. With this question, the interviewer is assessing your ability to draw the lines between your responsibility and the product manager's, while forging a partnership with them. In your answer, address the different ways your tasks and goals would complement that of a product manager.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"In my experience, product managers are the visionary of the project; they identify pain points and create something to fix them. Historically, they focus on managing the development team and communicate externally as needed. As the project manager, I come in once that vision has somewhat formed and I interpret it into concrete implementation steps. I focus on overall project scheduling, external dependencies, and the path forward. I think the key to a harmonious relationship is to start it off by defining roles specific to the project because there will likely be overlaps."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

10.   How would you handle client or stakeholder feedback that comes in after a feature has been delivered, or, one that is completely out of scope?

How to Answer

In software development, both scenarios are examples of possible scope creep which can pose serious problems to the timeline or budget of a project. The interviewer wants to be assured that you can recognize and mitigate scope creep. Talk to them about how you would prevent it from occurring and specific steps you would take if it did occur.

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

Answer Example

"Both scenarios sound like they could blow up into scope creep. In my experience, scope creep needs to be nipped in the bud before it starts to impact the project negatively. I certainly appreciate feedback; in fact, I encourage it. However, when it comes along with additional requests that use up resources, especially labor hours, there needs to be a conversation about what return we expect from the activity or new feature. Further, I will also need to bring up whether the stakeholder's expectation from this additional request aligns with the business goals for the project. If we justify the cost associated with the change, only then will I add this to the project scope. As an experienced project manager, I have learned that it is key to definitively scope the project at the beginning, spell out as much of the tasks involved and make it invulnerable to going off-course, as much as possible. In the instances when scope creep does occur, I move quickly to establish and communicate new expectations."

Written by M Cheryl Harkins on July 6th, 2021

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