The Top Ten Ways to Score Well in a CAM Interview

Oh no! You just found out from your team lead that you’ve been selected to be interviewed by government auditors from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) about the control accounts you manage. You start feeling the pressure and become overwhelmed with all the preparation work ahead of you. There are many responsibilities to being a control account manager (CAM) and you just don’t know where to start preparing. Don’t you wish there was just a quick reference on how to score well on the interview and get moving in the right direction? This article may be the source you need to get into the mind of an auditor so you are prepared when he or she arrives.

CAM interviews are integral to the project management profession, because a large majority of project managers are faced with properly managing the scope, budget, and schedules for their assigned control accounts, in compliance with earned value management system (EVMS) guidelines and rules, as per ANSI-748-98A. Not following these guidelines could lead to putting a project in jeopardy of being cancelled, which could not only affect the current project’s ability to continue, but also affect the company’s ability to win new business. Staying compliant means staying in business, and this makes it even more important for CAMs to represent the company in its ability to play by the …