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Project Management Interview Questions |
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What is project management? |
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Applying knowledge,skills,tools,techniques in project and deliver project deliverables is
a short definition of project management.. Its’s basically managing project time , cost and
scope. |
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Is spending in IT project’s constant through out the
project? |
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Note:- It’s a tricky question , to know how much depth you have regarding costing of
projects. |
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Normally in initial stage of project’s (requirement and design phase) the cost is very less
(As you need maximum is business analyst and architecture), but as the project proceeds
cost factor starts increasing.The cost is maximum in coding phase (this is where you
require programmers , project leads and project manager).Later when the project is in
testing and acceptance phase cost is less as we will need only one or two programmers for
removing bugs , than the whole team. |
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Who is a stakeholder ? |
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A stakeholder is anyone who has something to gain or lose as a result of the completion
or failure of this project or phase |
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Note:- It’s not only the end customer the stakeholder .Project managers , Project Lead , even
programmers , testing department etc.. are stake holders of project.So during project
management interview whenever you refer stakeholder’s be clear about the terminology. |
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Can you explain project life cycle ? |
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Twist :- How many phases are there in software project ? |
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There are five stages of any project initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and
closeout.These are very general phases and change according to domain.Example when
writing a book i will have following mapping’s initiating(contacting publishers,getting
copy right etc.), planning(Table of contents of book ,Number of chapters , tool to
use,chapter wise deadlines etc), xecuting(Actually writing the book), controlling(proof
reading , language checks , page alignments etc), and closeout(Finally printing and on the
shelf for sale).So this classification is at very broader level , for software development the
above figure shows the mapping. |
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During Software project management interview expected answer is requirement phase,
design phase ,coding phase , testing phase and project closure.But you can just impress
the answer by giving a general answer and then showing the mapping. |
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Are risk constant through out the project ? |
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* Never say that risk is high through out the project. |
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Risk is high at the start of project’s , but by proper POC (Proof of concept) risk is
brought in control.Good project manager’s always have proper risk mitigation plan at the
start of project.As the project continues one by one risk is eliminated thus bringing down
the risk. |
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Can you explain different software development life
cycles ? |
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Note:- This questions is asked to test that as a project manager do you have a know how of
all the project life cycles.In PMP (Project management plan) you have to specify saying which
software development model you will follow. Definitely depending on client and project
scenarios it’s the project manager’s responsibility to choose a development cycle. |
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SDLC (System Development Life Cycle) is overall process of developing information
systems through multistep process systems from investigation of initial requirements
through analysis, design, implementation and maintenance. The days are gone when one
COBOL programmer used to analyze, test and implement software systems. Systems
have become complex, huge team members are involved, architects, analyst, programmers,
testers, users etc. To manage this number of SDLC models have been created. |
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Following are popular models which are listed:- |
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Waterfall Model. |
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Spiral Model. |
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Build and Fix model. |
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Rapid prototyping Model. |
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Incremental Model. |
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This section we will go in to fair depth of different SDLC models. |
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Water Fall Model |
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This is the oldest model. It has sequence of stages; output of one stage becomes input of
other. |
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Following are stages in Waterfall model:- |
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System Requirement: - This is initial stage of the project where end user
requirements are gathered and documented. |
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System Design: - In this stage detail requirements, screen layout, business
rules, process diagram, pseudo code and other documentations are prepared.
This is first step in technical phase. |
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Implementation: - Depending on the design document actual code is written
here. |
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Integration and Testing: - All pieces are brought together and tested. Bugs are
removed in this phase. |
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Acceptance, Installation and Deployment: - This is final stage where software
is put in production and runs actual business. |
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Maintenance: - This is least glamorous phase which runs forever. Code Changes,
correction, addition etc are done in this phase. |
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Waterfall is suited for low risk in areas of User Interface and performance requirements,
but high risk in budget and schedule predictability and control. Waterfall assumes that all
requirements can be specified in advance. But unfortunately requirement grows and
changes through various stages, so it needs feedback from one stage to other. |
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Spiral Model |
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Spiral Model removes the drawback of waterfall model, by providing emphasis to go
back and reiterate earlier stages a number of times as project progresses. On broader level
it’s a series of short waterfall cycles, each producing an early prototype representing a
part of entire project. It also helps demonstrate a Proof of Concept at early software life
cycle. |
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Build and Fix Model |
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This is the most way free-lancers work Write some code and keep modifying it until the
customer is happy. This approach can be quite dangerous and risky. |
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Rapid Prototyping Model |
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This model is also called as Rapid Application Development. The initial emphasis is on
creating prototype that looks and acts like the desired product. Prototype can be created
by using tools which is different from those used for final product. Once the prototype is
approved, its discarded and real software development is started from scratch. The problem
with this model is that sometimes the prototype moves ahead to become the final live
product which can be bad from design point of view. It’s a effective model but can have
higher costing than other models as you require programmers during the initial phase of
the software cycle. |
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Incremental Model |
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In this model we divide products in to builds, where section of product are created and
tested separately. Here errors are found in requirement phase itself, user feedback is taken
for each stage and code is tested after it’s written. |
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What is triple constraint triangle in project management
? |
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Project Management triangle is depicted as Cost,Schedule and scope.These three aspect
form the sides of triangle and the customer is the center point.As customer is always
concerned about Cost,Scope and Schedule , so in order to get customer satisfaction project
manager should deliver all scope in propose schedule and cost. |
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If we want to disturb any one of the legs then the other two legs get affected. Example If
customer increases the scope then other two sides of the triangle also get affected a lot. |
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What is a project baselines ? |
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It define a logical closure of any deliverable or cycle.Example you have completed the
requirement phase with sign off from the client on the requirement document.So you put
a baseline and say that further any changes to this document is a change request. Versioning
of source code is one type of baseline. |
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What is effort variance? |
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Effort Variance = (Actual effort – Estimated Effort) / Estimated Effort. |
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How is normally a project management plan document
organized ? |
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PMP document forms the bible of a project.It has normally these sections :- |
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Project summary |
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Project organization hierarchy |
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WBS / Activity list to be performed with schedule. |
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Work product identification (In short who will do what) |
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Project schedule( GANNT chart or PERT chart). |
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Estimated Cost and completion. |
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Project requirements. |
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Risk identification. |
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Configuration management section. |
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Quality section. |
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Action Item status. |
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How do you estimate a project? |
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There many techniques available for estimating a project:- |
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Function points |
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Use Case points |
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WBS etc etc. |
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What is CAR (Causal Analysis and Resolution)? |
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The basic purpose of CAR is to analyze all defects, problems and good practices/positive
triggers in projects, perform a root cause analysis of the same, identify respective corrective
and preventive actions and track these to closure. The advantage of CAR is that root
causes are scientifically identified and their corrective and preventive actions are carried
out. CAR needs to be performed at project initiation, all phase and project ends and on a
monthly basis. Fishbone diagram is one of the ways you can do CAR. |
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What is DAR (Decision Analysis and Resolution) ? |
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Decision Analysis and Resolution is to analyze possible decisions using a formal evaluation
process that identifies alternatives against established criteria |
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Example in a project you are said to use third party tools so you will not depend on only
one tool but evaluate three to four more tools so that in case of problems you have
alternatives.This is called as DAR |
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What is a fish bone diagram ? |
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Twist:- What is Ishikawa diagram ? |
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Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, invented the fishbone diagram. Therefore, can be also referred as
Ishikawa diagram. |
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Fishbone diagram is a analysis diagram which provides a systematic way of looking at
effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects.Because of the function
of the fishbone diagram, it may be referred to as a cause-and-effect diagram. The design
of the diagram looks much like the skeleton of a fish. Therefore, it is often referred to as
the fishbone diagram |
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Fishbone diagram helps in categorizing potential causes of problems or issues in an
orderly way and in identifying root causes. |
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What is pareto principle ? |
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Twist :- What is 80/20 principle ? |
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Pareto principle also paraphrased as 80/20 principle is simple effective problem tackling
way in management.It says that 20% of your problem lead to other 80 % of problems. So
rather than concentrating on the 80% of problem if you concentrate on 20% of problems
you can save lot of trouble.So in pareto you analyze the problems and only concentrate
on 20% of your vital problems.In projects the first 10% and the last 10% of project form
the vital part of project. |
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How do you handle change request? |
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Normally change request are handled by preparing a Impact analysis document and then
doing re-estimation. Example you have a ongoing project , which has a customer table.
Now customer wants that customer to also have addresses assigned to it. So you normally
raise a change request and then do a impact analysis of the same. Depending on the
impact you estimate and let know the client about the financial aspect of the project.
Once client sign off or the upper management agrees to the change request you move
ahead with implementation. |
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What is internal change request? |
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Internal change request are not normally billable change request , it has no financial gains
from the client. Example your architecture division of your company has said in mid of
the project that the architecture has to be modified. Definitely this has nothing to with
the client , but you make changes to it this is called as Internal change request. |
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What is difference between SITP and UTP in testing ? |
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UTP (Unit Test Plan) are done at smallest unit level or in stand alone mode. Example you
have Customer and invoicing module. So you will do test on Customer and Invoice module
independently. But later when we want test both customer and invoice in one set we
integrate them and test it. So that’s is SITP (System Integration Test Plan) |
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UTP can be done using NUNIT. Unit testing is done normally by developers and System
testing is done normally by testing department in integration mode. |
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What are the software you have used for project
management? |
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Many companies have there own software defined. There are many project management
software available at this moment in market but this can vary from company to company
, worst it can very from project to project. But Microsoft project is the most used software
at this moment.So just brush your skills on Microsoft project , its used heavily across
industry. |
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What are the metrics followed in project management? |
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Twist: - What metrics will you look at in order to see the project is moving successfully? |
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Most metric sets deal with a variation of these attributes and are chosen to help project
managers gain insight into their product (size, software quality, rework), process (rework,
software quality) and project (effort, schedule). |
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But below is a broader classification :- |
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Project Management Metrics |
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milestone metrics |
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number of milestones |
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number of proved requirements per milestone |
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controlling level metrics |
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risk metrics |
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probability of resources availability |
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probability of the requirements validity |
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risk indicators (long schedules, inadequate cost estimating,
excessive paperwork, error-prone modules, canceled projects,
excessive schedule pressure, low quality, cost overruns, creeping
user requirements, excessive time to market, unused or unusable software, unanticipated
acceptance criteria, hidden errors)
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application risk metrics |
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workflow metrics |
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walkthrough metrics |
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traceability metrics |
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variance metrics |
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controlling metrics |
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size of control elements |
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structure of control elements |
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documentation level |
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tool application level |
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management database metrics |
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data quality metrics |
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management data complexity |
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data handling level (performance metrics) |
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visualization level |
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safety and security metrics |
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Quality Management Metrics |
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customer satisfaction metrics |
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characteristics size metrics |
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characteristics structure metrics |
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empirical evaluation metrics |
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data presentation metrics |
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review metrics |
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number of reviews in the process |
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review level metrics |
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review dependence metrics |
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review structure metrics |
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review resources metrics |
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productivity metrics |
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actual vs. Planned metrics |
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performance metrics |
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productivity vs. Quality metrics |
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efficiency metrics |
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time behavior metrics |
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resources behavior metrics |
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actual vs. Planned metrics |
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quality assurance metrics |
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quality evaluation metrics |
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error prevention metrics |
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measurement level |
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data analysis metrics |
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Configuration Management Metrics |
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change control metrics |
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size of change |
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dependencies of changes |
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change interval metrics |
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revisions metrics |
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version control metrics |
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number of versions |
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number of versions per customer |
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version differences metrics |
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releases metrics (version architecture) |
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data handling level |
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You have people in your team who do not meet there
deadlines or do not perform what are the actions you will
take ? |
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Twist :- Two of your resources have conflict’s between them how would you sort it out ? |
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In such kind of question they want to see your delegation skills. The best answer to this
question is a job of a project manager is managing projects and not people’s problems , so
i will delegate this work to HR or upper authority.... Thanks to my Project Manager for
this beautiful answer. |
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How do you do code reviews ? |
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The way code reviews are done change from person to person and also company to
company.But the normal was is when a project is started project people define there
architecture , coding standards etc etc in there design document.So before starting the
code review you will have go through the standards defined in the project. |
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