Currently I am in the process of project preparation where:
- I will be a PM on customer side, managing Business team
- I am to assess whether PM proposed by vendor for implementation team will be a good PM for our project
Do you know any method which I could use to assess whether this person would successfully fulfil a role of PM for my project?
- What skills should this person possess? (technical, behavioral)
- What experience should this person have? (years of experience managing similar projects)
This way you can draw the desired profile for your assessment.
It is also important to know the references (previous projects and people)
Up to now I was thinking more in terms of collective profile of PM who should deliver the Project in good style, but I will follow your advice and write down the criteria which would matter most for this project and them assess PM against them Saving Changes...
I would walk this person through a very simple project, from planning to closing.. see if there are elements of the PMBOK or evidence of basic planning, implementing, adjusting etc in the way he thinks..
I would also assess his ability to manage stakeholders by providing 1-2 scenarios on difficult stakeholders to assess his approach - is he approachable, can he bend the rules if needed, can he empathise etc.
I typically use the above 2 methods for most of the interviews I do when we plan to hire or assess suitability of a person for a PM role for clients.. similar to your situation now..
Hope this helps.. cheers
JJ
Hi Jen,
The idea of challenging a PM through a particular scenario is really encouraging. Could you share any example you tried? Saving Changes...
I'd suggest it is crucial that you are able to develop a positive working relationship with this individual based on mutual trust & respect so while the technical skills and past experience are important, what you pick up regarding attitude and personality will be equally important.
I'd suggest also raising some common scenarios such as specific types of issues which may occur on the project to get the vendor PM's feedback on how they have addressed that in the past.
Finally, as Luis and others have said, testimonials from past clients would be key but that may not help you understand how well they support their own team members (on the vendor side). If they are a "driver", they might keep customers happy while demoralizing their team...
Kiron
Thank you Kiron, I will browse whether some good scenarios are already available in net or create one on my own..
Do you recommend any particular scenario? Saving Changes...
Have a panel of three people who will need to work with the PM interview him/her and give an assessment of fit. The PM will need to fit into the culture and work and be a contributor to team, not a detractor.
Hi Lonnie,
right, the person should fit into the organization culture but here I would need to trust the Feeling. I will invite 1 or 2 colleagues so that I am not alone in my judgement.. Saving Changes...
My approach is simple: I ask her/him: please tell me about your approach to define, execute, control, monitoring and close a project. I map all her/him answers to the current situation or the future situation where that person will be work mainly taking Tom Peter´s Seven S model as a guide.
Thanks for sharing the info about seven S model - I will have a look at this Saving Changes...
"PM proposed by vendor for implementation team"...what this says to me is that the implementation team has a third party software/application vendor who has their own staff. The said PM is probably an Implementation Project Manager who is skilled in driving the vendor related tasks that need to be delivered. If your company is not using and internal project manager to ensure your team is meeting their dates for their assigned tasks then the vendor PM would manage those tasks also. If the project is date driven and your team is not meeting dates then the PM is limited in their ability to ensure dates are met because it's a fine line when trying to be a project manager and maintain the client relationship. I think the signed contract is more critical then the assigned PM, implementation project manager's have repetitive tasks and templates to follow. I don't think a vendor from a credible company would hire a PM that isn't a skilled project manager who would be interfacing with their paying client. Reputation is everything and the PM is on the front lines.
I absolutely agree with Wendy: the vendor is the best placed to choose an implementation project manager. What your organization may want to do is have your own project manager to manage the vendor and other stakeholder relationships. Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
The prime responsibility of a Project Manager is to manage project risk and enhance probability of successful delivery. I recognize that other attributes as mentioned previously are important. However, the key is for the PM to recognize their responsibility and have a methodology/process to achieve the primary goal. Two questions to be included in the interview: 1) what do you understand is your role? and 2) how do you propose to successfully deliver the project? If the person cannot adequately respond to these then the other attributes won't have a chance to kick in. Saving Changes...
Jen Jee ChanManaging Director| DotProjects Pte LtdSingapore, Singapore
Dec 16, 2019 10:16 AM
Replying to Jen Jee Chan
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Hi Lukasz,
I would walk this person through a very simple project, from planning to closing.. see if there are elements of the PMBOK or evidence of basic planning, implementing, adjusting etc in the way he thinks..
I would also assess his ability to manage stakeholders by providing 1-2 scenarios on difficult stakeholders to assess his approach - is he approachable, can he bend the rules if needed, can he empathise etc.
I typically use the above 2 methods for most of the interviews I do when we plan to hire or assess suitability of a person for a PM role for clients.. similar to your situation now..
Hope this helps.. cheers
JJ
Hi Lukasz,
One particular scenario comes to mind, as a PM, he or she will need to manage conflicts between project team members, hence a useful way to assess if the potential PM has the ability to do so, would be to put him or her into a situation where 2 project team members reporting to him or her are in a massive conflict, and the conflict is due to a difference in technical opinion. Let him or her outline how and what approach would he or her take to manage or resolve this. It gets harder when the conflict is just due to a technical opinion difference.. for e.g. if 2 similarly qualified engineers decide that a structure is safe vs not safe.. how do we deal with that?
There is no right or wrong answer, but hearing the person out enables you to assess if he or she has the grit, tenacity and the right principles to manage the conflict and by extension be the right PM for the job..
Hope this helps..
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1 reply by Lukasz Pawelec
Dec 17, 2019 10:37 AM
Lukasz Pawelec
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thank you Jen, I think you are right to propose such scenario, based on this I would be able to see how PM tends to resolve a conflict, especially in area of technical expertise, where he needs to rely strongly on others..
I addition, I think I would imagine a scenario on scope creep management in situation of fixed price contract
"PM proposed by vendor for implementation team"...what this says to me is that the implementation team has a third party software/application vendor who has their own staff. The said PM is probably an Implementation Project Manager who is skilled in driving the vendor related tasks that need to be delivered. If your company is not using and internal project manager to ensure your team is meeting their dates for their assigned tasks then the vendor PM would manage those tasks also. If the project is date driven and your team is not meeting dates then the PM is limited in their ability to ensure dates are met because it's a fine line when trying to be a project manager and maintain the client relationship. I think the signed contract is more critical then the assigned PM, implementation project manager's have repetitive tasks and templates to follow. I don't think a vendor from a credible company would hire a PM that isn't a skilled project manager who would be interfacing with their paying client. Reputation is everything and the PM is on the front lines.
Hi Wendy,
Maybe I was unclear in my post. The whole Implementation team is on the Vendor side so the PM as a rule should be part of Vendor staff. Only as a backup when the Vendor does not have good PM plan we may consider PM from 3rd party.
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1 reply by Peter Rapin
Dec 17, 2019 10:16 AM
Peter Rapin
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Having another layer (third party PM) will not necessarily improve the situation. All you could be doing is setting up a conflict between the vendor PM, the third party and the customer side. The preferred approach is to come to terms with regards to the Vendor PM role and responsibility followed by enforcing the requirements.
Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
Dec 17, 2019 10:07 AM
Replying to Lukasz Pawelec
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Hi Wendy,
Maybe I was unclear in my post. The whole Implementation team is on the Vendor side so the PM as a rule should be part of Vendor staff. Only as a backup when the Vendor does not have good PM plan we may consider PM from 3rd party.
Having another layer (third party PM) will not necessarily improve the situation. All you could be doing is setting up a conflict between the vendor PM, the third party and the customer side. The preferred approach is to come to terms with regards to the Vendor PM role and responsibility followed by enforcing the requirements. Saving Changes...
