Dr. Andrew Makar is an IT program manager and is the author of the Microsoft Project Made Easy series. For more project management advice, visit the website TacticalProjectManagement.com.
Interviewing candidates for a PMO position is different than hiring for a project manager position. The fundamental skill sets are similar, but the leadership skills and technical competencies are influenced by the form and function performed by the PMO. The PMO may exist at a program, department or enterprise level, and the project managers working with the PMO may have a strong or weak matrix relationship with the PMO manager. The following interview questions are just a few that can be used to staff PMOs at various levels in an organization. They should be tailored according to the specific PMO’s form and function.
Question 1: Portfolio Management and Governance
Describe how you’ve implemented portfolio management across an organization. What tools have you used to manage the portfolio?
A key function within a program, department or enterprise PMO is the governance and management of the projects in the portfolio. An effective PMO assists in the decision-making process to identify, select and monitor the projects executing in the portfolio. Candidates should demonstrate previous experiences organizing portfolio reviews and supporting portfolio decision making. Candidates that have experience with project portfolio management tools like Clarity, Microsoft’s Project Portfolio Server or IBM’s Rational Portfolio Manager are an asset to …
"Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals, that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking."
