1) Explain your core competencies. i.

Strategic Planning: Strategic Planning is a management tool that helps an organization focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. n short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. ii. Organizational Planning Process of identifying an organization's immediate and long!term objectives, and formulating and monitoring specific strategies to achieve them. t also entails staffing and resource allocation, and is one of the most important responsibilities of a management team. "n organizational plan is basically a #to do$ list for an organization. t lists out the plan of work, programs, and organizational growth over a period of time ! si% months, a year, five years. &hey can be pretty simple to create and use. 'riting a plan can just mean getting a clear list of the types of work that need to be done, the tasks involved, who is responsible for them, and when they(ll be done. iii. Client/Vendor Management )endor management can make or break your business. *ut far too many small business owners think that effective vendor management means they must retain control by treating their vendors badly. " good vendor relationship comes about not from making arrogant demands with superior attitude that a business owner is far more important than a lowly vendor. iv. Team Building/Recruitment &eam building refers to a wide range of activities, usually in a business conte%t, for improving team performance. v. Performance Management Performance management refers to the process of setting goals and regularly checking progress toward achieving those goals. vi. Project management Project management is a methodical approach to planning and guiding project processes from start to finish. &he processes are guided through five stages: initiation, planning, e%ecuting, controlling, and closing. vii. Policy Develo ment +evelopment of the ,ontract between more than one party. viii. !uality "##urance -uality assurance, or -" for short, refers to planned and systematic production processes that provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose. i$. Budget "dmini#tration *udget "dministration is responsible for the planning, developing, and maintenance of the project budget. *udget can be referred as a sum of money allocated for a particular purpose $. %#er Re&uirement# Con#ulting .et user re/uirements professionally. '( !uality a##urance ver#u# &uality control -uality control emphasizes testing of products to uncover defects, and reporting to management who make the decision to allow or deny the release. 'hereas /uality assurance attempts to improve and stabilize production, and associated processes, to avoid, or at least minimize, issues that led to the defects in the first place. &o prevent mistakes from arising, several -" methodologies are used. 0owever, -" does not necessarily eliminate the need for -,: some product parameters are so critical that testing is still necessary. -, activities are treated as an integral part of the overall -" processes

)( Critical Pat* &he se/uence of activities that must be completed on schedule for the entire project is to be completed on schedule. &his is the longest duration path through the work! plan. f an activity on the critical path is delayed by one day, then entire project will be delayed by one day 1unless another activity on the critical path can be accelerated by one day2. +( Project Plan Project planning is a discipline for stating how to complete a project within a certain timeframe, usually with defined stages, and with designated resources. 3ne view of project planning divides the activity into: Setting objectives 1these should be measurable2 dentifying deliverables4target4goal Planning the schedule 5aking supporting plans ,( " roject i# im lemented- you .eing t*e roject manager- *o/ /ould you find t*at all re&uirement# #tated in t*e Re&uirement# document *ave .een #ati#fied0 6sing &raceability 5atri% one can track the re/uirements. 1( Say you are t*e Project Manager for a team /*ic* get# an order to im lement t*e com any2# flag#*i roduct to a ne/ country/region for t*e very fir#t time. 3*at attri.ute# /ould you con#ider to #ucce##fully e#ta.li#* t*i# roduct in t*e region0 73 17eturn on investment2 RO4 7eturn on investment 173 2 of a project is how much income is generated after subtracting the costs of the project. 5unction# of a manager Planning and Setting objectives, 3rganizing, +irecting, 5otivating and ,ontrolling. 3or6 Brea6do/n Structure " deliverable!oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be e%ecuted by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the re/uired deliverables. &he main purpose of 'ork *reakdown Structure is that firstly, it helps to define and organize the scope of the total project more accurately and specifically. &he most common way this is done is by using a hierarchical tree structure. 8ach level of this structure breaks the project deliverables or objectives down to more specific and measurable chunks. &he second reason for using a 'ork *reakdown Structure in your projects is to help with assigning responsibilities, resource allocation, monitoring the project, and controlling the project. &he '*S makes the deliverables more precise and concrete so that the project team knows e%actly what has to be accomplished within each deliverable. &his also allows for better estimating of cost, risk, and time because you can work from the smaller tasks back up to the level of the entire project. 9inally, it allows you double check all the deliverables' specifics with the stakeholders and make sure there is nothing missing or overlapping. 3*at intere#t# you mo#t a.out t*i# jo.0

Point out the new challenges and e%periences you look forward to in the position and why you are /ualified to handle them. "lign your interests with the attributes they are looking for in the right candidate. 9or e%ample: : want the challenge of selling a new product. consider strategy development one of my key skills and would like to be able to use it to the fullest in developing strategies for selling this product.$ : get great satisfaction from training new staff members and helping them develop and succeed. am e%cited by the sort of training programs would be running in this position....: "# a Project Manager if you /ant to tell to your team t*at /*at did /e ac*ieve toget*er and /*ere did /e fail7 mean# you /ant to convey t*e collective feed.ac6- *o/ /ill you convey it0 "s a project 5anager you can provide feedback to your team in following way Provide positive 9eedback 9irst 5ake sure that you first focus on achievements ; just the good news. 3ne of the factors that make working together so difficult is our habit of focusing on issues and problems to the e%clusion of achievements and successes. n such an environment people feel undervalued and unmotivated and a feeling of 'hy bother< Shapes the culture. 7eview 9ailures =e%t take time to review failures, asking the team to make a full list of disappointments. >et them know that this e%ercise has nothing to do with pointing fingers and everything to do with creating a realistic picture of the current status of the team and the business. &ake the >essons 9inally ask each team member to consider what can be learned from what happened. +iscuss the potential lessons and align on the top three guidelines that would make the most difference to your success. ?eep these alive throughout the year by regular review and public display with news of the difference the lessons are making to performance. T*ere2# a guy in t*e com any /*o doe# great /or6 .ut *a# a really #our attitude &here are lots of people with e%cellent technical skills, but that alone doesn't make them valuable 1or even tolerable2 employees. &o be an effective employee 1at any level2, technical skills must be combined with appropriate behaviors. nappropriate behavior negates the benefits of the technical skill, damages the people in contact with them and can threaten the e%istence of the entire organization. &oo dramatic< =ot at all. =egative, cynical, angry employees are like a cancer in your business whether they're on a work crew, in the office or in the owner's chair. 3ne negative cynic turns into two, two into four and so on. 8ventually your business takes on an atmosphere of angry negativity that's both unpleasant and bad for business. &hey're bad for business< 'hy< &hey focus on what's wrong rather than on opportunities: @our employees are a great resource for uncovering improvements and new business, but the naysayers are busy finding fault and being victims. &hey cause unrest in the ranks: &hey don't keep anger to themselves, but instead, they tell anyone who'll listen. Soon, others adopt the negative attitude, and the infection spreads.

 'hat

&hey consume far more management time than other employees: @ours is the most valuable and scarce time in your business. @ou have far better things to do than constantly deal with one or two problem children. ,ustomers prefer to do business with pleasant people: =obody wants to pay to listen to a whiner on the jobsite. +esirable employees don't like being around conflict and anger, and they won't put up with it: f you don't address it, your best people will migrate elsewhere and your reputation will only attract more negative employees. to do: .et clear on what's acceptable and what isn't: ,reate and publish these standards, and enforce them rigorously. t's your game!you get to set the rules. 0ire carefully: t's much easier to not hire the sour moper in the first place than to try and cope with him later. +on't hire without reference checks. "bsolutely do not hire just to fill the position. 0ave a process for complaints and suggestions: "ll your people need this pipeline anyway 1and you'll hear things you really need to hear2. 5ake this the only acceptable process for criticism!no grousing in the field or behind anyone's back. +on't take any crap: Personal attacks on you must not be tolerated because failure to do so sanctions the behavior and promotes deep disrespect for you throughout the business. ,omplaints and criticism are fine in their place, and that's within your process 1above2. Set the e%ample: @our own behavior sets the standards in your business. 8mbody and project the behaviors you e%pect from others. 0ave a little chat with the problem employee: 5ake it clear that their behavior is out of line with your standards and that it needs to improve over some period of time or termination will result. +evelop a /uantifiable way to assess improvement 1like surveys of other employees2. 0ave a termination process: 0ave a clear, reasonable progressive discipline process that includes behavioral issues and enforce it every single time.

Part of owning a business is dealing with personalities...to a point. @ou're not a social worker and can't spend huge amounts of time dealing with the psychology of one or two disruptive, angry employees, much less waste time doing the constant damage control that their behaviors re/uire. " technical wizard can destroy your business with a negative, angry attitude. 0e's a lousy employee whose e%pertise you simply can't afford to have around. P8RT " P87& 1Program 8valuation 7eview &echni/ue2 chart is a project management tool used to schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a project. Productivity t is the amount of output per unit of input 1labor, e/uipment and capital2. &here are many different ways of measuring productivity. 9or e%ample, in a factory productivity might be measured based on the number of hours it takes to produce a good, while in the service sector productivity might be measured based on the revenue generated by an employee divided by his4her salary. Production13utput2 5anufacturing or mining or growing something 1usually in large /uantities2 for sale. Project 9ife Cycle

nitiation, planning, e%ecuting, controlling, and closing. software life!cycle: re/uirement study, analysis, design, development, testing, implementation and maintenance. :o/ /ill you *andle a .ad em loyee. &he first thing to remember is that most people want to do a good job and there's usually a reason if they are not doing a very good job. @our goal and your task as a manager is to try to find out what is preventing that employee from doing a good job. s it their skill level< 5aybe they can't do the job. 5aybe they can't physically or mentally don't have that capacity. 5aybe it's a bad attitude< 3r are there things within the organization that don't work for that employee. 0andling difficult employees are part of the job. t would be great if all we had to do is give positive feedback. *ut, in cases where a difficult employee is giving us not the results that we want, we have to do something. &he other thing will advise you as a manager or supervisor, the worse thing you can do is ignore a difficult employees behavior. t demoralizes the rest of the team and it really doesn't help that person. Plan some time, take that person aside. 5ake sure that they understand what they are doing that is not proper and will not be tolerated and put some things in place to help them get from point " to point *. @our goal as a supervisor is to try to keep that employee working. 0andle that employee now, handle it in a very positive light and don't let it demoralize the team.

:o/ to Be a ;reat 9eader *eing a great leader re/uires that you be able to do several different things. 9irst, you have to be compassionate. @ou have to be empathetic to the people that or under your leadership. @ou have to have good skills that are, of listening. 'e all have our situations, we all have problems, but great leaders are always in tune to what's happening with their people. &hey have to be motivators. &hey have to know what motivates person " and what motivates person *. Perfect e%ample is that, in my particular company, have a couple of individuals, some who are motivated simply by doing a great job. know that they enjoy helping people. know they enjoy making sure that people are successful. "nd therefore, put them in roles that will allow them to use those skills. .reat leaders know their people, they are motivators, they are mentors and they realize that they can't do everything. &heir job is to make other people successful. *eing a great leader, remember is not born, but made. @ou too, with the right skills set can be an outstanding leader. :o/ to Manage Staff Turnover 3ne of the first things want to let you know is that managing staff turnover goes right to your bottom line. f you have to continually hire people, there's an impact on the profitability of a company. So you want to make sure you get a handle on why are people leaving. 3ne of the best ways to do that is through an e%it interview. Sit down with every person that's leaving your company. 5ake sure that they tell you what the issues and the problems are. "nd once you have that information, then you go about correcting it. f managers need training, get them training. f work loads are too heavy, then re!shift the work loads. &here's a reason why people leave companies. t impacts your bottom line as the company, President, ,83 or manager. 5ake sure that you make changes so that you can reduce turnover. 7emember, that staff turnover goes right to your bottom line. t cost you money and anyway that you can reduce it will add to your profitability. :o/ to Conduct an 8ffective Meeting 9irst, have an agenda. t could be something written, handwritten, or it could be as formal as a typewritten agenda. "lso, make it very visual, people learn in different ways, so, talking is one way, but also, something very visual is another way. t helps to keep you on track. 'hat do want on the agenda< 'hat you want to know, is, what's the meeting about< 'hat do you want to accomplish< So, at the end of the meeting, everybody can say, yea, we started out wanting to talk about, how to increase productivity in a particular department, and here's where we got. &he second thing is, tell people how long they're going to be there. f it's a two hour meeting, that's great. *ut, you should always stick to whatever time frameA you set out to at the beginning of the meeting. &he second thins is, ask is there anything else. 3nce you look at the agenda, give people an opportunity to say, well, you know, thought we needed to talk about this, or, 'd like to see if we have time for this. t also gives them an opportunity to buy into, what you're doing and how you're doing it. &he other important thing you always want an effective meeting, is time for /uestions and answers. ,onducting effective meetings is a way that you help the people attending the meeting, feel good about what happens, but you make things happen within your organization, or your department. 8ffective meetings are easy. t takes planning and organization. "nd, effective meetings are a key to and organization being effective :o/ to :old a Meeting /it* an 8m loyee to 4m rove :i# or :er <o. Performance "t any one time, we will all have to hold a meeting with an employee to improve their job performance. &he first thing to remember is that when we start talking about improving job performance, you have to take a look at where the employee thinks

they are against what the job re/uirements are. 3ne of the things always suggest is that you have an employee fill out an evaluation, a self evaluation. &hey're normally pretty honest and it will at least give you an idea of how to approach improving performance. &here are also some issues that you really want to be cognizant of as the manager or the employee. =umber oneA don't have a meeting in a place where you may be hemmed in. 5ake sure that somebody knows you're having the meeting. &hese are just safety issues, and make sure that you're prepared. f you're going to talk about performance, have a copy for you and have a copy for the employee. 5ake sure that you go over what they see and value their opinion and listen attentively, as well as what you e%pect. >eave the meeting with some clear direction both of you. Saving employees is really what you want to do and you want to clearly communicate that to the employee. want to improve your performance because we want you to remain as a long term employee of my company. 5anaging performance for employees is the best way that you can help improve performance for your organization. :o/ to ;ive an 8ffective 8m loyee 8valuation "nd how to give an effective employee evaluation is one of those areas 've trained a number of companies and organizations on. &here are some keys. &he first thing is plan the time for the evaluation and make sure you give the employee plenty of notice. &here's nothing worst than calling an employee in and spur the moment and say, :okay, 'm going to give you your evaluation:. &he ne%t thing you want to do is you always want to have a copy for you and a copy for the employee. @ou also want to listen to the employeeA you want to give them an opportunity to dialogue about things that are on the evaluation. "nd you also want to make sure that they have an opportunity to respond. n some cases, the employee may agree with you, in some cases they may disagree with you. &he other piece of an effective evaluation is that you want to have answers to particular performance issues. f it's the individual is, doesn't use 'ord for instance, to the e%tent that you think they should. "re you willing to provide training< "re you willing to provide an opportunity for them to have e%tra time in the office to get their skill level up. &he purpose of an evaluation is that you will know where the employee will stand but most importantly, the employee will know where they stand. "ny deficiencies will be improvedA any positive behavior will be continued. "nd research shows that feedback is what employees value. t doesn't matter whether its a negative or positive, they value that more than no feedback at all. :o/ to ;ive an 8m loyee a 3ritten 3arning 'e usually at some time in our career have to give a written warning to an employee, and there are some specific steps that we want to make sure that we observe. 9irst of all, normally a written warning is not the first level of escalation for an offense. &ake a look at what your company's policy is. f you don't have one, then would certainly institute one within my department of my organization. &he first warning is normally verbal. &he second warning, unless the infraction deserves to be a written warning. f you're going to give a written warning, make sure it is something that you have observed yourself that you can document. @ou'll write it down. "gain, you've got a copy for yourself and a copy for the employee, and you should have that employee sign that they have been given a rule, a warning. &he on the warning should be some very specifics as to what happened, and also what behavior you would like to see happen. @ou might also want to put on there a time frame when you're going to check back with the employee. &he purpose of the written warning is to eliminate the offensive behavior. >ook at it from that ston standpoint. 5ake sure you communicate it to the employee. .iving the right written warning can help save that employee.:

:o/ to 5ire an 8m loyee 9iring employees is never an easy task, but there's a way that you can do it that makes you feel good and the employee. 'd like to give you some ideas on how to fire an employee. &he first thing you want to make sure that you do is that you are firing or you have taken this action as a last resort. 5ake sure that you counsel the employee, that you documented what they have not done that was a job re/uirement. "lso make sure that what you are holding them responsible for is part of their job and not someone else's. &he other thing that you want to do is you want to make sure that you validate the employee as an individual. t's not a reflection on them personally. 5aybe it's something that is above their skill level, maybe it's they're not part of the team, they're not gelling with the team. 've found that it's usually e%tremely hard to fire someone if it was my selection, if actually made the decision to hire that person because it means that maybe didn't do something right. t happens. 'e're never going to have a hundred percent retention. *ut what we want to do is we want to make sure that that employee leaves and still feels good about themselves and that we feel good about the job we did as a manager or supervisor. 0iring an employee is never easy. 9iring an employee is never easy. *ut doing it the right way makes everyone feel better. :o/ to De#troy t*e Morale of =our 8m loyee# +estroying the morale of your organization or your group is not what you want, but somehow, people unintentionally do it. 3ne of the first things you want to do is you always want to make sure that you're fair. 3ne of the things that 've seen that destroys morale /uickly within an organization is for a manager to have individuals that they really like better than they do others, and they communicate that throughout the organization. &he other thing that destroys morale is une/ual workloads. don't like you, so continue to shove stuff on you. &rust meA other people in the organization see that, and they don't respect that. "lso, another way to destroy morale is not valuing peopleA talking down to them, talking negatively to them, using derogatory terms. &hose are all things that work to destroy the morale of an organization. @our job as a manager is to help people achieve the best things that they can. 3ne of the best ways to destroy morale is to not treat people fairly, and to not respect them. :o/ to Re/ard Staff Performance 7ewarding staff performance is one of the best ways to keep your companies growth healthy. 0ow you reward staff performance is one of those ways that can help your company continue to grow. Staff performance is one of those thing that doesn't depend on how much you put into it but the fact that you really do something. ,ertificates on the wall with that employees name on it. Set up a program where you have employee of the month. .ive them a parking space. .ive them a couple of hours off. .ive them a gift certificate. ,hristmas parties are a great way to reward to staff performance and it encourages everyone to get involved. know of one company and they reward individuals who provide great customer service. &hey have their customers call in to give the name of their employee and it goes into a hat. &hen, once a month or once a /uarter they pull a name out of that hat and that employee then gets to select from a list of prizes that they would like. &he more times that employee gets rewarded or gets their name put in by a customer, the more chances they have to win. &hese are things that, as a company, will not cost you a lot. &he dollar that you spend, invest in rewarding your staff will go a long way. 7emember, the employee that you can retain. &he employee that is happy and productive adds directly to your bottom line. ?eeping that employee and that staff happy is one of the best things that you can do to keep morale up and to keep your company growth going.:

:o/ to Create an 8m loyee Recognition Certificate 7ecognition certificates are one of the great ways that you can motivate employees to do a better job. &here's some elements that you want to make sure are part of your certificate program. 9irst you want to make sure that your name, company name and the individuals name is on the certificate. @ou want to tell what it's for. 9or instance, Bane +oe for outstanding customer service. @ou want to put a date on there so that it would be "ugust, September, and whatever date and year. Sign it. &he power of having a signed certificate increases the value in the employees mind by about fifty percent. t means that you took some time, you actually put your signature on there. 5y personal favorite is to frame them. t's very ine%pensive to do and it really gives the employee the value that you want to translate by giving them that certificate. &he other thing that they'll do is it's very easy then to go and hang it on their walls in their office or their cubicles. ,ertificates of recognition are one of the least e%pensive ways that you can motivate your employees and keep performance going. :o/ to Decide 3*en to !uit =our Day <o. f you've started your business, you sometimes have to make a decision, when to /uit your day job, and there's certain things that you want to make sure that you have observed, before you give up that day job. &he first thing is, take a look at the business you're in, and how much are you' earning< 0ave you replaced your daytime salary, plus about fifteen to twenty percent< &he reason being, if you have benefits on your current job, you're going to have to pay those benefits yourself, and normally that penalty, or that amount, is about fifteen to twenty three percent of your current salary. &he other thing you want to take a look at, is do you have money in the bank, and how much< ,ould you support yourself if all of a sudden, your business took a downward turn, for a good three months, si% months preferably< &he other thing you want to take a look at is the economy. 'hat's a long term future look like for the business< that you're ready to give up your daytime job, and move to that as a full time job. "nother option always advise people is, is there a way that you could go to a part!time position, with your current company, or in your current job, and do that for awhile longer< &here is the right time to give up your day job, and pursue your dream. Bust make sure it's the right time for you.: :o/ to Turn Do/n a <o. Candidate &urning down a job candidate can be tricky. &he first thing you want to do is you want to realize that there is a person sitting there in front of you or on the phone. *e cognizant of that. &hey may not be a fit for your job but they may be a fit for a job somewhere else. f you can, try and give the candidate some feedback. 'hat was it that really turned the tide for or against them< 5aybe they need to work on some of those basic interview /uestions like :tell me about yourself: or :why have you had so many different jobs<: 5aybe it was a situation where it really came down to one or two candidates and the other candidate was the one with a little bit more e%perience and they got the job. &ry and give the candidate some information. &ry and tell them what they did right and what they may want to work on. f the candidate should reapply at a later date, make sure that you communicate that to them as well and let them know that they will be receiving something in writing from you. &here is a way that you can turn down the job candidate and they'll actually feel good about what happened.: To >? Rea#on# @OT to %#e Project Management CD. 3ur customers really love us, so they don't care if our products are late and don't work.

E. 3rganizing to manage projects isn't compatible with our culture, and the last thing we need around this place is change. F. "ll our projects are easy, and they don't have cost, schedule, and technical risks anyway. G. 'e aren't smart enough to implement project management without stifling creativity and offending our technical geniuses. H. 'e might have to understand our customers' re/uirements and document a lot of stuff, and that is such a bother. I. Project management re/uires integrity and courage, so they would have to pay me e%tra. J. 3ur bosses won't provide the support needed for project managementA they want us to get better results through magic. K. 'e'd have to apply project management blindly to all projects regardless of size and comple%ity, and that would be stupid. L. know there is a well!developed project management body of knowledge, but can't find it under this mess on my desk. C. 'e figure it's more profitable to have IDM overruns than to spend CDM on project management to fi% them. Tell u# a.out your e$ erience in managing different roject# and *o/ t*i# can contri.ute to our o#ition. t is important to structure your interview answer because this is a multi!layered and fairly comple% /uestion. Start by e%plaining how you will answer the /uestion. &his keeps your answer on track and to the point. "I will begin by giving you a short description of my last three projects. I will then detail the skills and abilities I developed as a result of each project and then demonstrate the value of these skills to this position." @ou can then go on to provide a brief but concise summary of each project. "I was the project manager for the XYZ project and this involved ..." &hen describe the skills you ac/uired during the project. "I encountered a number of difficulties on this project that required an innovative approach. I used group problem solving sessions as one of these approaches. his worked well because it helped each team member to clarify their particular project role and responsibility and we were able to develop plans and realistic schedules that the whole project team contributed to ..." +emonstrate how these skills will benefit the position and company. "!rojects now are faced with tighter budgets and fewer resources. his approach ma"imi#es the available resources and keeps everyone focused and motivated for the duration of the project..." De#cri.e *o/ you recently managed a diver#e roject team to/ard# a common goal 9ocus on your ability to delegate in a fair and practical way, how you clearly defined project roles and responsibilities, kept personality clashes and conflict to a minimum and monitored and fed back to the project team. 3utline your management style and why it worked.

De#cri.e t*e mo#t com le$ roject you *ave managed from #tart to fini#* Provide a comprehensive answer remembering to e%plain the project as you would to a client and not to somebody who has been involved in the project. &he more comple% a project the more formal processes and techni/ues are needed to effectively manage the work. 8%plain the purpose, value and implementation of the most critical aspects of the project including managing the project work plan, the project schedule, the project risks, the project issues and closing the project. *e enthusiastic about your accomplishments and specify how your e%perience will benefit the company. Point out where you made a difference on the project in terms of e%penditure, /uality, efficiency, customer satisfaction and business and organizational success. 3*at are t*e nece##ary #te # to #ucce##ful roject management0 'hat is your understanding and e%perience of the project manager role< nclude aspects such as setting clear project objectives, building the project re/uirements, managing project cost, time, /uality and scope. 7efer in you answer to the specific steps you took to successfully manage and close a recent project. :o/ to *andle .ad Bo##0 +o a reality check on yourself &he first solution in handling a bad boss is an honest analysis of your actions and behavior. "re you a good subordinate< 0ave you been handling yourself and your job well< f you aren(t then perhaps it is not your boss who is the problem but you. Please also remember that all bosses have their own ways to do work and like it or not, it is the subordinates who will have to adapt to their ways. &hey will be /uite reluctant to adapt to yours. $ormal %ommunication 7egardless of what type of boss you have, an important option you have is to communicate formally with them. Sometimes they may not be aware of their behavior and the aim of the communication process is to let him see your side of the work e/uation. n the formal meeting, make sure that you talk of the specific behavior in /uestion and tell him how it makes you feel. >eave your emotions at the door, but be prepared for your boss to have an emotional reaction. +o not make generalized statements like, #you are always nasty$ or #everyone in the office does not like the way you manage$. Soften your comments and avoid defensiveness by allowing your boss to save face. Praise him if needed initially 1obviously he must have his strengths too2, so that his defenses may be lowered. 'hen talking about the problem, use statements like :@ou may not be aware . . .: or :@ou may not realize . . .:. t(s possible that your boss is unaware of his4her actions, and this meeting could be very positive for all involved. "t the same time, you may realize that you might have made many assumptions about his style of management which may not necessarily be right. 9ormal communication may not necessarily solve the problem, but at least you will be sure your boss has been informed of your views, feelings and frustrations. &here is no guarantee of success, however, and you need to be aware that your 5alaysian boss from a cultural perspective might misinterpret your Nconfrontation( as pushy or aggressive behavior. &his might lead to an escalation of your conflict with him.

Informal %ommunication 5ost of the time, the recommended action with a bad boss is to take him or her to lunch or a drink after work to discuss the problem in a non!confrontational way. &his type of informal encounter will serve to overcome the problem better as the non! work environment may lessen the tension and thus make it more amicable for a more fruitful discussion. "lways thank him for taking the time to have the discussion and impress upon him that your only interest in this discussion is to have a more healthy working relationship. &anging 'p &his might seem to be an unorthodo% solution, but it has its strengths. f several people from the same department voice similar views or frustrations, then there is a chance that the head of department might take heed. &his voicing of opinions can take place individually or else at a meeting where everyone is present. f it is the latter, then it has to be handled sensitively, as you do not want to create the impression that there is a mutiny in the department. "t the same time, be aware of the fact that there may be some people in the department who might try to gain political mileage out of this situation by being the odd one out of the Ngang( to gain favor. &he good thing about Nganging up( is that it is very difficult for a boss to take the situation lightly as the number of messengers is high, and all carry the same message. +o not however e%pect the boss to change immediately. (sk for a ransfer or )esign f none of these strategies work, then you have two choices. f you really love your job because you are learning a lot and you like the people you're working with, then you will just have to Nbite the bullet( and accept your boss as best you can. 3r, if all else fails, ask to be transferred to another department or finally simply hand in your resignation letter. 3nly you know your own worth, and if you don't feel respected and motivated then just move on. &his is a difficult course of action, but one that you must always have as an option. 7emember however that the other side may not necessarily be Ngreener(. %onclusion " final piece of advice and that is, when dealing with bad bosses the worst thing you can do is simply to do nothing, hoping the problems will get resolved. =o job, boss, or company is worth losing your health, sanity, or self!esteem. f you can(t find a way to resolve these issues and your boss simply will never change his behavior, then you should immediately start looking for a new job, within or outside the organization. *ut before you do this, please do carry out an objective performance appraisal on yourself. t might change your mind. 3*at are t*e rioritie# to con#ider /*en lanning a Ayour field( roject0 7efer again to a recent project and outline your most important considerations in the planning stage. &ime, scope and budget are the usual constraints to consider, but how did you allocate and integrate all the necessary inputs to meet the project objectives and plan for risk< &he more in!detail the planning the greater the chances of project success. 0ighlight how each activity that is e%pected during the course of the project gets due attention. 4n your e$ erience /*at are t*e /arning #ign# t*at your roject may fail0 "ll project managers have had this e%perience. 0ow did you pick up the warning signal 1your monitoring and control processes and systems2 and how did you manage it 1corrective actions and implementing changes2<

'arning signals can include constantly changing specifications, lack of interest from e%ecutive management, incompetence on the project team, changes in the business environment and inade/uate resources. " project manager has to understand the uni/ueness of each project and keep checking the project(s contours against what they have learned on previous projects. 3*at are t*e mo#t im ortant con#ideration# /*en recruiting and .uilding an effective roject team0 'hen answering this project manager interview /uestion highlight how you not only consider the necessary e%perience and technical skills but look at critical roles and responsibilities and the dynamics between team members. 0ow will the person fit in with organizational beliefs and goals< 0ow will the person relate to the stakeholder group< " clear understanding of what is e%pected of each project member is essential. 3*at did you learn from your la#t roject0 9ocus on technical skills and knowledge as well as :soft: skills such as people and client management. Perhaps you learned something valuable about yourself as a project manager such as your willingness to adapt to a changing environment or your ability to mentor a team member. 0ighlight how you are able to learn from mistakes. 'hat would you do differently knowing what you now know about the project< 3*at do you con#ider to .e t*e mo#t im ortant roject manager #6ill# in term# of eo le management0 >eadership skills are key to successful project management. 'hat are the methods you have used to guide and influence the project team towards reaching objectives. .ood leaders make team members feel they have a real stake in the successful completion of the project. 0ow do you structure your team, introduce and maintain good intra!team communication and improve team motivation and satisfaction< De#cri.e #ome innovative /ay# you *ave im roved effectivene## on recent roject#. Solutions and improvements need to be found through the generation of ideas and alternatives in a creative, out!of the!bo% manner. Show your willingness to be creative and inventive with both the initiation of a new project and the components of an e%isting project. ;ive me an e$am le of *o/ you u#ed your leader#*i #6ill# to *el your roject team meet a difficult c*allenge. "n effective project manager needs to lead though setting goals and using the right methods to guide and influence the project team towards goal attainment. .ood leaders enable team members to feel they have a real stake in the project and encourage them to participate in problem!solving and decision!making. 'hen answering project manager interview /uestions about leadership show how you understand the need to communicate and consult but are also aware that lots of talking and procrastination achieves nothing without deciding and taking action. 8ffective project managers lead by e%ample and are open and honest about the challenges they face. &hey recognize the important of collective team effort in achieving the desired results. &hey are able to identify and use the strengths of each team member and allocate roles and responsibilities accordingly. &his empowers team members to respond to the challenges that arise. &hose that e%cel as project managers keep the project team motivated to give of their best to meet these challenges. &hey understand the appropriate management style to use

with each team member at the different stages of team development. &hey know how to best utilize the competencies of the team and each team member to deal with challenges and problems. De#cri.e a time /*en your communication and inter er#onal #6ill# *el ed in dealing /it* difficult client# or team mem.er#. "fter leadership, the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels is regarded as the second most important project manager skill. .ood project management re/uires clear communication about objectives, roles, responsibilities, performance, e%pectations and feedback. &he project manager should be able to effectively influence and persuade clients and the team to ensure success. 8%plicit guidelines and e%pectations should be communicated to accomplish results. 'hen answering this /uestion it is important to show how you are able to adapt your style of communication to the person you are dealing with. 8mpathy, understanding and self!awareness all play a role in doing this. &he ability to communicate with different individuals on various levels with diverse project interests is important for successful project management. 8very project team and every project is differentA you must be able to adjust your style to their needs. ncluded in communication skills is the ability to be enthusiastic about the shared goals and vision. 8nthusiastic project managers are committed to their goals and e%press this through optimistic and confident communication. ;ive an e$am le of a /inB/in #ituation you negotiated n all projects there are a number of stakeholders who all see their concerns and issues as the most important. 8ffective project management means responding by finding the best solutions that address the issues without compromising the other stakeholders or the overall project. n your answer show how you are able to communicate essential information and workable alternatives in a way that gains acceptance. @our ability to understand the position of the other person and to focus on solutions rather than problems is key to effective negotiation on a project. 3*at /a# t*e mo#t #tre##ful a# ect of your la#t roject and *o/ did you deal /it* it0 )ery few projects stay on schedule, under budget and with no major problems. &he ability to handle stressful situations is key to successful project management. >imited resources and time, changing demands and new circumstances all result in stress on the project manager. Show how you are able to stay calm under pressure and plan to reduce stress focusing on aspects such as your people management, technology management, risk management and e%pectation management. Tell me a.out a #ituation during a recent roject /*en you *ad to ada t and manage c*ange Show that you can adjust effectively to meet changing demands and tasks. "n effective project manager can /uickly assess a new situation and adapt to it. &he change management process is critical to the success of a project. 8ach change needs to be properly defined, considered and approved before it is implemented. 9ocus on developing a plan for change that addresses change on both a process level and on a people level. ,areful and well thought!out preparation of the stakeholders for change and the ability to overcome resistance are key to successful change management. @our answer should emphasize your ability to plan properly and thoroughly for change. <o. intervie/ &ue#tion

"sk at the end of the interview or when /uestioned, else at the end ask: "Is this an appropriate point to ask you some questions I have?" "sk open!ended /uestions. ,losed /uestions that re/uire just a :yes: or :no: response contribute little to the flow of the interview and provide minimal information "void interrupting the interviewerA make sure you are at an appropriate point for your /uestion 3nly ask /uestions that are relevant to the job, department, management and organization nterview /uestions that appear to be challenging the interviewer or that re/uire knowledge or information that the interviewer is unlikely to have create an uncomfortable atmosphere and impact negatively on attempts at establishing rapport Tell me a.out a ro.lem you uncovered in your reviou# jo.. 3*at #te # did you ta6e to #ort it out0C t is often difficult to think of good e%amples within the time constraints and stressful conte%t of a job interview. ?now which behaviors 1sometimes referred to as competencies2 are re/uired in the position by reviewing the job description and re/uirements. >ooking back at your past jobs, prepare good e%amples using the following techni/ue: +escribe the specific situation or task you were involved in +etail the action and steps you took in the situation. 3utline the results and outcome of your actions. 'hat happened, what was accomplished, what did you learn ;ive me an e$am le from your reviou# jo. /*ere you *ad to rely on information given to you ver.ally to com lete a ta#6. @our listening skills are under the spotlight here. @our situational e%ample should include the following ! the ability to actively listen, ask /uestions to clarify, rephrase the information back to the sender to ensure accuracy, successful completion of the task. ;ive me an e$am le of a com le$ roce## or ta#6 you *ad to e$ lain to anot*er er#on or grou of eo le. "re you able to effectively e%press yourself verbally< nclude the ability to adapt your level of communication 1words and terminology2 to the target audience, actively listen to /uestions and re/uests for more information, check for understanding by asking for feedback. Tell me a.out a c*allenging /riting a##ignment or im ortant re ort you *ad to re are recently. @our situational or behavioral e%ample should demonstrate an ability to clearly e%press your ideas in writing. nclude how you can gather, organize and present data in a logical and concise manner in a style appropriate to the target readership. 3e *ave all *ad to /or6 /it* #omeone /*o i# difficult to get along /it*. ;ive me an e$am le of /*en t*i# *a ened to you and *o/ you *andled it. 0ow sensitive, empathetic and fle%ible are you< @our e%ample should show how you are able to select the right approach to the situation or individual. "cknowledge

differences and display empathy to others. 9ocus on the situation not the person. "nticipate reactions and prepare to deal with them. Tell me a.out a #ituation /*en a colleague /a# le## coo erative t*an you needed or /anted. Provide an e%ample that demonstrates your use of an appropriate interpersonal style to gain commitment, to ask for help and encourage involvement. Show how you used open communication and built self!esteem to get cooperation. Tell me a.out t/o of your colleague#/cu#tomer#/em loyee# /*o are very different to eac* ot*er. :o/ do you interact /it* eac* one0 +emonstrate your ability to adapt your behavior to meet the demands of each individual. 0ow you are able to determine the best way to approach each individual< De#cri.e a #ituation /*en you *ad to er#uadeAcarry( #omeone recently to acce t an idea/ lan/ roduct. &his focuses on your persuasiveness and ability to build rapport with others. 0ow did you select the right approach for the situation< 0ow did you go about establishing rapport with others< 0ow did you demonstrate the benefits of your idea or plan and show them what's in it for them< Tell me a.out a good deci#ion you made recently at /or6. @our e%ample should show how you gather all the necessary information to make a decision. 0ow you consider available resources and possible outcomes before making your decision. Tell me a.out a recent ro.lem you faced at /or6 and *o/ you found t*e .e#t #olution. 0ow did you go about analyzing the problem before considering possible solutions< +escribe how you weighed the pros and cons of each option before deciding on the best solution. 3*at recent innovation *ave you made at /or6 t*at *ad a o#itive outcome0 &he focus is on how you used your initiative to generate ideas for improvement and develop new approaches. 0ow did you evaluate what needed to be changed, how did you decide on which changes to make and how to implement them< Tell me a.out a mi#ta6e you made at /or6 and *o/ you dealt /it* it. &he ability to recognize and acknowledge one's mistakes is a sign of maturity and self!growth. @our e%ample needs to demonstrate how you used your judgment to review the situation and evaluate information to determine why it happened and what measures you put in place to prevent it from occurring again. 3*at management #tyle *ave you found to .e mo#t effective0 &he interviewer is evaluating your ability to adapt your management style to different people and circumstances. +escribe how you are able to employ different management styles and interpersonal skills to get the best out of the situation. .ive reasons why you use a particular management style in a certain situation and why it works. 9or e%ample: : find that it is not effective to use only one type of management style, have to adapt according to the individual am dealing with and the situation. 9or e%ample with ine%perienced employees use a management style that involves a high level of task instruction and close supervision. find this effective because the employee

needs to be secure that they know e%actly what to do and how to do it. &hey also re/uire constant support to build their confidence. 9or a more e%perienced employee who is comfortable with the work, delegate the task and e%pect them to come to me for help if they need it. &his demonstrates my trust in their ability to do the job on their own.: 3*at ty e of eo le do you /or6 /it* mo#t effectively0 &his is basically asking what type of employees do you get on with and what type of employees do you find it difficult to work with. &his is an important /uestion because it again evaluates the fle%ibility of your management style. "re you able to communicate and interact effectively with a variety of individuals< "re you able to establish good working relationships with a diverse group of employees< : work well with people who are hardworking, competent and confident of their abilities. 3bviously have had to manage people who do not fall into this category. 'hen this happens set myself the challenge of developing the employee and helping them to use their skills to their fullest potential. 5y goal is to support them towards competence and confidence through guidance, direction and mentoring.: 3*at a# ect of your management #tyle /ould you li6e to c*ange0 =o!one is the perfect manager so denying that you have any areas for improvement shows a lack of self!awareness and insight. 9ocus on an aspect of your management style that you're working to improve. +escribe the steps you're taking and give evidence on your progress. : have been trying not to give my employees the answers when they ask for help with a problem. &hey need to learn how to come up with the solutions themselves and need to guide and facilitate this process. have read up on how to do this and have put these facilitation skills into practice. 9or e%ample, allocate however much time is needed to sit down with the employee and work through the problem. 'e discuss it, give my view of the situation and then ask the employee to go away and think about the best solution.: :o/ did you deal /it* t*e #tre## created .y meeting t*e c*allenge#0 +escribe the specific steps you took to remain calm and controlled. 9ocus on skills such as planning, fle%ibility, communication and discipline. Tell me a.out an im ortant a##ignment or ta#6 t*at you delegated Aa##igned(. :o/ did you en#ure t*at it /ould .e com leted #ucce##fully0C OR C3*en delegating a recent a##ignment- de#cri.e *o/ you #*o/ed your confidence in t*e er#on2# a.ility to do t*e jo.0C Show how you assign tasks and responsibility to the appropriate people, how you clarify e%actly what is e%pected, communicate confidence and ensure ade/uate resources are available for successful completion of the task. nclude follow!up procedures and setting deadlines. C;ive me an e$am le of /*en you #ucce##fully motivated your #taff u#ing incentive# or re/ard#.C OR CDe#cri.e a time you *ad to motivate a #taff mem.er /*o /a# reluctant to underta6e an a##ignment. Show how you determine the appropriate motivation strategies for your staff members by understanding their different needs and perspectives. nclude the communication of goals and visions to your staff, gaining commitment to these,

establishing appropriate reward and incentive structures and supporting and leading staff to success. CDe#cri.e a time you *ad to rovide training or coac*ing to different #taff mem.er# on t*e #ame ta#6#.C OR C;ive me an e$am le of /*en you *ad to rovide feed.ac6 to a #taff mem.er /*o /a# erforming oorly- *o/ did you go a.out t*i# and /*at /a# t*e outcome0C Show how you have facilitated the development of knowledge and skills, how you adjust your approach according to the individual and provide support where needed. +iscuss how you are able to assess the needs of your staff, establish a plan for improvement considering available resources and the individual re/uirements and gain agreement to this plan. C;ive me a # ecific e$am le of /*en you *ad to clearly communicate your e$ ectation# to a #u.ordinate.C OR CTell me a.out t*e #te # you too6 to e#ta.li#* ra ort /it* a ne/ #taff mem.er.C Show how you communicate information effectively to an individual or group, adjusting your approach according to the situation. nclude your ability to see the other person's perspective and establish a constructive relationship. CTal6 me t*roug* a #*ort term lan you develo ed and im lemented for your de artment.C OR C3*at met*od# *ave you u#ed to rioritize /or6 a##ignment#0C +escribe your ability to establish objectives, set priorities, plan proper assignment of tasks, allocate resources effectively, use appropriate organizational tools and follow up on work status. De#cri.e a difficult ro.lem you *ad to #ort out in your la#t jo. APro.lemB #olving( &his behavior based interviewing /uestion is designed to e%plore your ability to identify, analyze and solve problems. Show how you are able to gather and organize the necessary information and identify the best solution. 0ere is a sample behavioral interview answer that you can use as a guide to develop your own good answer. :'e were getting a lot of complaints about late deliveries. 1Situation2. met with the staff involved in the customer delivery department and discovered that the problem seemed to be with the stock coming through on time. investigated and found that re/uests for new inventory were not been processed fast enough. &he backlog was in the orders department as they were not following up ade/uately with the suppliers. " system for regular follow up was /uickly implemented. 1"ction2. &his sorted out the stock problems and the delivery staff were able to meet their deadlines.: 17esult2 De#cri.e a ne/ idea or #ugge#tion t*at you made to your #u ervi#or recently Ainitiative( &he interviewer wants to know if you are proactive and able to generate workable ideas. Show how you are a self!starter who will take action beyond what is asked of you.

# work in orders and the company was launching a new product. &he sales team had in!depth training on it but we had none. 1Situation2 suggested that the orders department should also receive the training so that we would understand what was being ordered and be able to answer any /uestions if necessary. t was agreed we would all undergo a short version of the training. 1"ction2 &his meant that we could deal professionally with the orders and it also motivated us, feeling part of the launch e%citement.: 17esult2 Tell me a.out a time t*at you *ad to u#e your judgment and ma6e a deci#ion in your reviou# jo. Ajudgment/deci#ionBma6ing( &he interviewer is e%ploring your ability to make logical decisions and take action. Show how you consider all the relevant facts, weigh up the alternatives and commit to the most appropriate action. : was responsible for ordering office supplies for the company. 1Situation2 &he company always ordered a month's supply at a time to keep inventory costs low. had to decide whether to keep doing this or buy si% month's supply and get a discount for ordering such a big volume and escape possible future price increases. did some research and worked out we could reduce our costs by buying for si% months, especially since the amount we used remained practically unchanged month on month. 1"ction2 was right, the prices went up /uite a bit during those si% months.: 17esult2 9i#t out your #trengt*#. : 'm an adaptable person. work for three different managers, they have very different management styles and e%pectations of me. am able to adjust my approach to meet each of their needs: "void over!used, vague terms such as :people's person:. *e specific and pertinent. : am good with customers. enjoy the challenge of turning a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one. Bust last week had an e%perience when .......: and /uote a specific e%ample of how you successfully managed an unhappy client. 9ocus on three or four strengths. .ood e%amples include organizational and planning skills, perseverance, persuasive ability, communication skills, leadership ability, stress tolerance, ability to learn and apply new information and skills, fle%ibility, independence, problem!solving, creativity, technical and professional knowledge, reliability, self!motivation and initiative. 3*at are your /ea6ne##e#0 7efer to a true weakness but then turn it into a positive by describing it as an area for development. n your job interview answer relate what steps you have taken to try and improve. : 'm impatient with people who don't work at the same pace as me but 'm learning to manage this. make sure that they have the right resources for the job, follow up to see that they are on track and step in and help when needed: : can be disorganized, am aware of this and make sure answer my emails and messages straight away. update my calendar as soon as have a new task or appointment, this really helps: " good guide is to acknowledge one or two weaknesses, describe the efforts made to overcome these and end your story on a positive note.

: 've been reluctant to delegate. have had to re!evaluate this as it was creating a big workload for me. assign each person a specific, manageable task and then follow up to satisfy myself that it is being done properly, this seems to work well: Some weaknesses can be interpreted as a strength. 8%amples include: #Sometimes, get so e%cited and caught up in my work that forget that my family life should be my number one priority.$ : can be a bit aggressive in getting to my goals: :"t times can get too involved in other people's problems, trying to help them: 3*at i# your e$ ected CTC0 5ay please know the range for this profile< 37 +epending upon my research into the current market value of my skills and the responsibility level of this position noticed that it should fall in the range of CH to CG. 'ould you agree that this is a fair calculation of my competitive market value< 37 "bove CL and open or competitive or as per company standards. 3*at do you li6e mo#t a.out your current or la#t jo.0 &he interviewer wants to evaluate your compatibility with the position you are interviewing for. 5ake your answer relevant to the job re/uirements. .eneral reasons such as new challenges, interacting with people, growth and learning opportunities, using your initiative, working as part of a team and meeting set objectives and goals are usually applicable to most job opportunities. 0ighlight the reason and make it more specific by /uoting an e%ample. : enjoyed having to use my initiative. have implemented and improved a number of the systems including the order processing system.: 3*at do you li6e lea#t a.out your current or la#t jo.0 'ith typical interview /uestions like this be careful that the dislikes you talk about do not refer to specific characteristics of the job opportunity you are interviewing for. Stay away from reasons such as overtime and salary. "void criticism of your boss, management or co!workers. *e general and refer to the lack of or absence of what you seek in a job or work environment. 9or e%ample, :&here was very little opportunity for me to use my initiative. regard this as one of my strengths and found it frustrating that was unable to get past the bureaucracy of such a big company to implement any improvements. &hat is why am enthusiastic about working for a smaller company like this which know encourages employees to use their initiative.: 3r :&here was a lack of growth opportunities in such as small company. 3ne of the reasons am so interested in your company is that it is a much larger organization with formal career planning structures in place.: &his way you emphasize why you are a suitable candidate for this job and company as well as turning it into a compliment to the company you are interviewing with. :o/ /ould your coB/or6er# de#cri.e you0 @our answer should demonstrate an objective view of your strengths and areas for improvement in terms of teamwork and your interpersonal skills. n your job interview answer describe the good points and perceptions but also discuss one or two areas that you are aware need attention. 8mphasize what you have done to improve on these areas.

'hen you refer to the positive characteristics, support your answer with a /uote or paraphrase from one or two of your colleagues. 9or e%ample, : know they considered me to be hard working. n fact, the other team members often thanked me for the e%tra hours put in.: &hen move on to the areas for improvement. : know that was initially considered intolerant if felt they were not putting in the same amount of effort as was. realized it was better to encourage them to meet our deadlines by offering help where needed. &his has worked much better for all of us.: 6se work!relevant words like good communicator, reliable, decisive, resilient, energetic, team member when answering top interview /uestions like this. 3*at motivate# you in your jo.0 &his is a personal trait, there is no right or wrong answer. 0owever, you need to prepare for this job interview /uestion and note down some specific e%amples. t is often difficult to verbalize your motivation properly in the stressful conte%t of a job interview. 3ther interview /uestions will determine whether you have the skills for the job ! can you do the job. 'ith this /uestion the interviewer is e%ploring whether you will be a good motivational fit with the job opportunity ! will you want to do this job< 'hat does motivate you will depend on your background and work e%periences, but try to make your motivation relevant to what this job can provide. 9or e%ample if the job is a fairly isolated one do not give :working with other people: as a motivationO @ou can use this preparation as an opportunity to think about whether this position is really suitable for you in terms of motivational fit. 0ere are some sample answers to top interview /uestions about your motivation to help you prepare your own answers: : am motivated by the challenge of difficult tasks and projects. 5y previous manager gave me more and more responsibility as proved myself, found this very motivating.: : t is important for me to meet the customers( needs. give them the best service and when e%ceed their e%pectations or get positive feedback it motivates me.: : like to know that am growing as an employee. >earning and using new skills is a big motivator for me.: &here are many different motivators: ,hallenge, achievement, recognition, learning opportunities, increased responsibility, coaching or mentoring others, team involvement and interaction, task comple%ity and variety are all possible answers to top interview /uestions about motivation. :o/ /ould you de#cri.e your reviou# manager/.o##/#u ervi#or 'hen answering typical interview /uestions about previous managers avoid saying anything that can be interpreted as negative. t sends up a red flag about your attitude to authority and supervision. 8ven if there is something truly negative about your boss rather try to find something positive to focus on. &he answer you give should be fact!based and not just your opinion. 9or e%ample: :5y manager was very e%perienced, he had managed a number of big call centers over the past CL years. 0e liked his staff to be able to work

independently and had to learn /uickly to become independent about analyzing problems and finding solutions.: :o/ do you define #ucce## in your jo.0 &he best way to handle this job interview /uestion is to provide an accepted definition of success and then support this with good e%amples of your success. 3ne of the well!accepted definitions of success is goal attainment. "chieving a challenging goal or set of goals would be considered success by most people. t is important to relate your job interview answer in some way to the position you are interviewing for. 5easurable and specific e%amples of success are more convincing. @ou can use this sample answer to help prepare your own interview answer for this /uestion. :Success means the achievement of a challenging and measurable goal that have set for myself or that has been delegated to me. n my previous position had specific sales targets to meet every /uarter. set myself the goal of been up on my monthly targets by I percent. managed to e%ceed my /uarterly targets by F percent on average. &hat, for me, was successO:

De#cri.e your ideal jo. &he key to how to answer interview /uestions about your dream or ideal job is that your response should be in line with the characteristics of the job and company you are interviewing with. "nswering this /uestion re/uires you to consider your strengths and weaknesses, what you have liked and disliked about your current and previous jobs, and what your career ambitions are. " more general answer will help ensure a fit with the vacant position. 9or e%ample: :5y ideal job is one where my knowledge and skills are put to good use. " job where will learn and grow as a person and an employee and where am given challenges that test my potential.: : believe a job is what you make of it. 8ach position and company has uni/ue characteristics that give meaning and value to that job. f you work hard and make the most of the opportunities given, you will find job satisfaction. am enthusiastic about a position that allows me to learn and grow and to make a positive and meaningful contribution.: 3*at made t*i# team /or6 #ucce##fully0 7efer to aspects such as the good use of available resources, the management of obstacles, successful team communication, use of initiative and support and encouragement of each other. 9ocus on the approach the team took and acknowledge the contributions of individual members. 3*at /a# your er#onal contri.ution to t*e team2# erformance0 7efer to your strengths such as planning and thoroughness, analyzing and problem! solving. Support your answer with specific e%amples of how you used these strengths to contribute to the team. 'hat special role did you play and how was your contribution received by the team<

3*y did t*i# team #truggle to accom li#* t*e o.jective0 7efer to the reasons why things did not go according to plan, give specific e%amples. +emonstrate that you have been able to realistically analyze the situation and e%plain what you would have done, with hindsight, to improve the situation and deal with the problems the team e%perienced. Show an ability to offer solutions, not just to point out the problems. :o/ /ould you de#cri.e your#elf0 "void just repeating what is on your resume. 9ocus on highlighting your skills in a positive and job!relevant way. &ry to set yourself apart from the other candidates as the most suitable person for the job. @ou need to think about the job re/uirements and emphasize your fit with these needs. @ou can mention observations others have made about your strengths and abilities to reinforce your answer. :o/ /ould your colleague# de#cri.e you0 &hink about the interpersonal style you use with co!workers or your peers. 'hat adjectives would they use to describe you< +ependable, resilient, helpful, energetic etc. 6se this list of strengths to help you with this. Support your answer with e%amples. :&hey describe me as dependable, probably because always meet my deadlines.: or :&hey consider me highly adaptable, am able to work effectively with very diverse people. 5y last department consisted of: 3*at a.out t*i# o#ition a eal# to you mo#t0 .ive specific e%amples of why this position and company e%cite you. 7efer to the positives you have learned about the organization and the job from this group interview process. &hink about how you can prove your passion and interest for the position. 'hy would you prefer to work for this company rather than their competitors< 6se your background research to help you prepare for group interview /uestions like this. 3*at are your goal# and *o/ doe# t*i# com any and jo. fit into t*e#e goal#0 &ailor your goals to the realities of this position and company. +on't offer specific job titles or time frames. 9ocus on types of e%periences you hope to gain and abilities you want to develop. ,onsider realistically the opportunities available in this organization. 7efer to what you will learn in this position and how this fits in with your personal development plan. 3*at /ould you .ring to t*i# o#ition0 7efer to your key skills and abilities and how you would use them in the job. "void general statements like : am a team!player..: and rather refer to specific evidence. : have worked as part of a team on a number of projects and received positive feedback about my role and contribution. Particular mention was made of my ability to initiate new ways of looking at the challenges and problems and then encouraging contributions from other team members.: &hink about your strengths and the benefits they bring to the company and position. .ive proof of what you can offer to e%cel in this job. :5y problem!solving ability has been put to the test many times. 9or e%ample, ....: +iscuss your specific /ualifications for the job. "lways refer back to your enthusiasm for the position. C3*y #*ould /e *ire you0C

"nswering interview /uestions about why you are the right person for the job needs some thought and preparation. 7eview the job description and note down the job re/uirements. 7efer to your skills and e%perience relevant to the job re/uirements and the company's needs. 'hat benefits are you bringing to this job< 5ention your previous successes and your goals for the future. *e straightforward and confident about your abilities. : have the right combination of skills and e%perience for this job. also bring the additional /uality of strong analytical and problem solving ability as shown by my introduction of a more efficient work flow system at "*, ,ompany. 5y commitment to e%cellent work standards will add value to the team. am a fast learner, had to learn a totally new operating system in my last job and was up and running within a couple of weeks. 3ne of the reasons want to work for this company is your reputation for staff development, learning and growth are important values to me. sincerely believe am the right person for this job and for this company: 'hen answering interview /uestions like this, don't try to say that you are the best /ualified candidate, you are not familiar with the other candidates' skills and e%perience. 7ather highlight the reasons why you are the right candidate for this job. *e enthusiastic about why you want this job. : really would like this job selling gift items and strongly believe will be good at it. enjoy talking to customers and helping them find what they are looking for. am meticulous about handling cash. look forward to having regular hours and am very reliable. n fact, my reference emphasizes that as one of my strong points:

C3*y do you /ant to /or6 for t*i# com any0C 6se your background research to prepare for this /uestion, this way you will differentiate yourself from the other candidates. : understand this company is e%panding, your website indicates that you are about to launch a number of new products. would like to be a part of this e%citing growth: : have always wanted an opportunity to work with a company that provides such an important service to the community: :@ou are a small company with great opportunity for staff development: :@our company has a reputation for being innovative and open to new ideas: 9ind something specific about the company to hook into. >ook at the company values, mission, vision and successes. 0ow do you complement and contribute to these< : know that your goal is to become the biggest provider of office supplies in the area. 5y knowledge and e%perience of the customer base can make a big contribution to this. would really enjoy the challenge of growing this business: 9ocused research and planning before answering interview /uestions puts you on the path to success to your job interviewO

C3*y do you /ant to leave your jo.0C *e straightforward but avoid negative comments about past employers in the job interview. +on't bad!mouth the company, your manager or colleagues, it puts you in a bad light. ?eep it positive and make the reason for a leaving a constructive one such as a new challenge, e%citing opportunity, increased responsibility or learning possibility. : have reached the ceiling in my particular job, and responsibility: am ready for more

:"fter a number of years in my last position am now looking for a new e%perience where can contribute and grow in a bigger environment: "void stating your salary as a prime motivator for change. 0owever location is a perfectly acceptable reason for moving. : am relocating to this area for family reasons and left my job to make this move: : was spending hours each day commuting. would prefer to be closer to home: 'hen asked common job interview /uestions like this, relate how you worked hard in your last position and now you want to use your skills and e%perience to benefit this company. : am interested in an opportunity to use the skills and abilities have developed over the last couple of years in a new and challenging position: f there is an obvious issue with the company you were working for, such as layoffs, acknowledge and discuss this. :&here is a great deal of uncertainty about the security of our jobs. am looking for a stable company where there is the long term opportunity to grow and advance: Sometimes, it is just the wonderful opportunity offered by the new position that made you consider a move. : n all honesty wasn't really looking to move jobs, but this looks like such a great opportunity to use all my skills and e%perience and have always admired this company: : believed that had reached the ceiling in my previous job. needed to make a career move and decided that would take the opportunity to spend some time fulfilling my dream and travel before looking for a new position. have discovered so much about myself and developed a number of skills dealing with all the challenges faced. am really e%cited about returning to the workplace and using all have learned to contribute in a positive and constructive way: 3*at *a# .een t*e mo#t difficult #ituation you *ave *ad to face0 &his job interview /uestion is trying to determine two things ! what your definition of difficult is and how you approach challenges and problems. "void discussing difficult situations that were directly caused by you. 5ake sure it is a situation that most people would consider difficult or tough. &hink of specific problems that tested your skills and abilities and had positive outcomes. 0ighlight the way you analyzed the situation, the skills you used to professionally deal with it and what your particular contribution to resolving it was. "lways try to end on a positive note 8%amples of difficult situations include having to discipline an employee, unreasonable goals and deadlines, unreasonable customers and clients, adapting to change and facing unethical work practices.

Bob skills that should be highlighted include common sense, perseverance, diplomacy, maturity, stress management and assessment skills. 9or e%ample: : have faced a number of difficult situations, but the one that comes to mind now is ...... 1 describe the situation2. was able to deal with it by assessing the situation, determining the possible different approaches and deciding on the most effective one. had to remain unemotional and objective and focused on a solution.: :o/ do you *andle conflict0 &he interviewer wants to know how you react to conflict and how you manage it. &ry to focus your job interview answer on the behavioral process that you use to resolve the conflict. +on't direct your answer at how difficult you boss or co!workers are and how hard it is to work with them. &his portrays you as someone who does not get on easily with other people and employers want someone who gets on well with others. 6se your interview answer to highlight your interpersonal skills, your maturity and your ability to stay calm in the face of difficulty. 9or e%ample: :8veryone has to deal with conflict at some point. have found that when there is conflict it helps to try and put yourself in the other person's shoes and understand their perspective. t is important to ask /uestions and listen to their point of view. f you know what their interpretation of the situation is, then it is easier to work out a solution. 9or e%ample.... 1 give a specific e%ample of a conflict situation and how you dealt with it2.: 8mphasize the techni/ues you use to diffuse conflict such understanding the other person's position, asking /uestions to find out the cause of the conflict, not conveying blame and not becoming too emotional. +emonstrate your ability to work collaboratively to reach an acceptable resolution. 3*at #6ill# are t*e mo#t critical to t*i# o#ition0 Prepare by listing the tasks given in the job description and identifying which skills are key to successful task performance. ,onsider the technical skills specific to the position such as knowledge of accounting principles and practices for an accountant position, human resource management principles for a 07 position, understanding the sales cycle for a sales position etc. >ist the competencies re/uired for successful job performance. ,ompetencies or behaviors commonly re/uired in the workplace include problem!solving ability, use of initiative, resilience, adaptability, organizing and planning and team work. +escribe to the interviewer how your e%perience is relevant to these re/uirements and how you have successfully demonstrated these skills in your previous positions. 8mployers want to e%plore your commitment and motivation for the job. :"fter carefully reviewing this job would focus on these key skills as the most essential to success. &he company is going through considerable restructuring and as a manager would need to properly manage any changes with my team. 5y communication, motivation, negotiation and conflict management skills are key to this. n my last job had considerable e%perience in these areas when .................: 3*ere el#e are you intervie/ing and for /*at o#ition#0 &his is an awkward interview /uestion and although candidates feel that interviewers shouldn't ask it, they doO So be prepared for it. *e brief, concise and straightforward. "void trying to use this as an opportunity to impress by naming big firms in unrelated industries or that are offering different types of jobs. 8mployers want to hear that you are going for similar positions in the same sort of industry. &his confirms your commitment to the job they are interviewing you for. @ou can rather answer in general terms.

: have focused only on jobs that offer me the same sort of opportunities and challenges that your organization does in this particular industry. recently interviewed with P@Q organization for a similar position.: f you have not been for any other interviews you can deal with this interview /uestion in this way. : have concentrated my job search on positions that offer the same sort of responsibilities and challenges as this position and with similar organizations. &o date have sent my resume to a number of organizations, including P@Q ,ompany and "*, nc, and we are in the process of setting up interviews.: 3*at *a# .een your greate#t ac*ievement to date0 ,hoose an achievement that is related to the position and is fairly recent. 7eview the job description, if you have it, or the job posting or ad. 'hat skills are listed as necessary for the job<. &his will guide you to the most relevant answer for this employment interview /uestion. +oes the position need superior sales ability, someone with keen attention to detail, strong management skills or e%cellent problem!solving ability< 7eflect upon achievements that demonstrated this skill. +escribe your accomplishment and highlight the job!related skills you used. Point out how the results benefited the company. f a re/uirement is problem!solving skills: :7ecently was asked to implement a new system to reduce our debtors days. analyzed the problems with the current system, got input from all the stakeholders, and developed a faster way of getting the accounts out and monitoring follow up. 3ur debtors days reduced significantly and we are currently on target for collections: f a re/uirement is attention to detail: : am responsible for taking the customer orders by phone. listen carefully, ask for clarification and always confirm the order to make sure have everything correct. n this past year am the only person in my department who has not made an error on the orders. 8rrors are often costly and frustrate customers. t was really satisfying receiving that recognition and was given a bonus by my supervisor: 'hen asking employer interview /uestions about this, nterviewers particularly want to know about achievements that increased revenues, decreased e%penses, solved problems, were innovative or improved a company's reputation. :5y department manager asked me to investigate a bottleneck in the production line. did some research and suggested a redesign of the department layout so that the production units were in a more efficient se/uence. t worked so well, increasing production by up to LD percent, that my layout design has been adopted by all our branches: f you have little or no work e%perience, refer to an accomplishment at school or in an outside activity. Bust remember to relate the skills you used to the job in /uestion. : was part of the rowing team that recently won the championships. t was a particularly satisfying win as we had trained very hard, re/uiring a lot of discipline and perseverance, to come up from the bottom of the league. 'e also really had to work together as a team and keep each other motivated: t is often difficult to single out one achievement when answering this /uestion.

: believe have had a number of successes to date. t is difficult to say which think has been my greatest accomplishment as they were all important. am going to focus on my recent achievements as being the most pertinent...: and go on to describe your relevant, recent accomplishments. 3*at do you #ee your#elf doing in five year#0 t is not easy to answer this interview /uestion in terms of specific job or company e%pectations. 3ne cannot accurately predict what the job or the company will look like in I years time. @ou can answer in general terms about the type of situation you would like to be in and the way you want to have grown and developed. "void giving specific time frames or job titles. 9ocus on realistic career opportunities you could e%pect in your industry and what you hope to have gained from these opportunities. : t is an uncertain world and one can't predict what is going to happen. 0owever, my hope is that will have contributed to the success of the company and grown both personally and professionally within my position: @our interview answer should relate to the job you are being interviewed for in some way. &he interviewer does not want to hear that you hope to have published your first novel or be running your own business. &his interview /uestion is designed to assess a number of things. 0ow long are you likely to stay with the company< 'hat is your motivation in applying for this position< +o you look ahead and set goals for yourself< ,ombine your personal growth strategies and goals with commitment to the job and the employer. 9or e%ample: : want to have developed new skills and abilities and to have made the most of my opportunities. &his position will give me the opportunity to learn more about managing a work team, this is a goal of mine. would like to be recognized as an individual who has really added value to the company: : want to have learned and grown within my work, to have increased my responsibilities and skills. enjoy a challenge and would like to know that am constantly meeting new challenges. 5y goal is to be the best at whatever level am working at within the company: : want to make the most of my abilities and potential. *y always doing my best can ensure that there will be opportunities to increase my value and to grow in ways that benefit both the company and me: "lign your success with the company's success. : want to continue to gain e%perience and be a top !performing employee in a big company such as this one. want to contribute as much as possible to the company's e%pansion and success: &he interviewer will respond positively if you present yourself, in this job interview /uestion and answer, as a mature, insightful and self!motivated candidate who wants to make an important and constructive contribution to the company. "# a roject manager /*en you conduct intervie/ of any tec* develo er- *o/ you can judge *i#/ *er tec* #6ill# and a.ility0 er#on or

&o judge a technical ability of programmer ask about his past technical work, ask some general tech /uestions and f you can, try to give him4her a little challenge where he4she can prove some of the skills he4she have enumerated on his4her ,) and that he4she will need for the job. n a further interview you may ask him4her how he4she solved some problems. f it is the case, ask him4her how he4she did certain aspects of items listed in his4her portfolio. "S a roject Manager /*at i# .e#t /ay to a##ign t*e ta#6# to team #o t*at t*ey get t*e t*ing# done &uic6ly and /illingly. *y telling your team what to do, you at some level are telling them that what they(ve done has not been successful. &hat(s probably not what you mean. 0owever, tell them why you want something, and ask for their help, and the underlying message is #you(ve done well in the past, so here(s something new.$ 8ven when you put rules in place 1governance rules, if you will2, you can still educate as to the #why$ and get more acceptance than you would otherwise. "nd, if you have the opportunity to get input, and adjust your rules with feedback, even better. 5uch better. :o/ to .e a #ucce##ful roject manager and *o/ to deliver #ucce##ful roduct# 9eel the real need of customers. +on(t act as a sales person. 'ork as consultant. 'hich can add much more value to them and hence people will trust you and that trust will help you to grow your business. Prepare a presentation of their relevance in simple way and with few words. Provide the satisfied references. "nother concern: "s a project manager 0ow to justify the time R human resource cost to other persons with different skills like Sales 5anager< So dea is divide all tasks in micro tasks and try to e%plain all these in detail. &ry that he becomes a part of the team and able to realize the facts. +ropping price doesn(t make any sense. *ecause if you do it, you have to do it again R again to sell your product. nstead of that increase your product /uality. "# a roject manager *o/ you can deliver t*e roduct in le## time mean# a# #oon a# o##i.le0 simple solution is ?eep away your team from non!value adding tasks ,ustomers need working product not documentation. Project managers need to relieve the project team from as much compliance work as possible, even if that means taking on the tasks themselves. So that the development team can concentrate on the real work. OR @ou can't deliver the project fast... you can deliver the project on &ime. f you are able to deliver the project fast shows your project management goes wrong. f the client is asking to deliver the project fast then you have to check the triple constraint... scope, time and cost OR motivate your team members this is the right oppurtunity show organization about their value to organization. ntroduce the challenge on daily basis with reasonable gaps ! work breakdown in different way.mistake occuring oppurtunity should be reduced with our project evaluation skill definetly make product out with our effort done on timely basis ;enerally !uality a##urance or #oft/are te#ting i# done after /*ole develo ment. But i# it im ortant from it# fir#t day0 3*at are t*e dra/.ac6# if /e #tart te#ting after develo ment team fini#*ed it# /or60

Projects that don't set up processes to eliminate defects in early stages fall into e%tended test!debug!re!implement test cycles that seem interminable. So many defects are reported by testing that by the end of the project, the :change control board: or :feature team: may be meeting as often as every day to prioritize defect corrections. *ecause of the vast number of defects, the software has to be released with many known 1albeit low priority2 defects. n the worst case, the software might never reach a level of /uality high enough for it to be released. &hat(s why software testing is important from day one. "# a Project Manager :o/ /ould you #ay t*at =our Project i# Succe##ful0 4f you *ave rovided t*e roject on time7 i# it #ucce##ful0 Plea#e rovide t*e definition of #ucce##ful roject0 9irst of all it should satisfy all the repurpose of itself and re/uirements of client. " successful project should be one that meets its cost, schedule and /uality goals within engineering tolerances and without padding its schedule or budget. Project 5anager should balance between all objectives so that a high!/uality product can be delivered according to an efficient schedule at moderate cost. "fter finishing it should be easy to operate, maintain R e%pand. t should be completed within plus or minus CD percent of its schedule and budget targets. 4n roject Management #ometime you meet /it* t*e non roductive team. "# a roject manager *o/ do you get t*e ta#6 done from t*i# ty e of team0 Mean# *o/ do you *andle nonB roductive team mem.er#0 'hy a team member would be a non productive< 8ither he is not up to that level of his work means his skill set is weak. So the answer is coaching4mentoring. "sk &ech >ead to communicate with him fre/uently R face to face. +on(t wait for the task to complete go to his seat, talk friendly, ask indirectly what he is doing and give your suggestions. +on(t point him forward some good article to whole team. .ive your feedback early to the member. ndirectly share your e%perience about the problems he is facing. 7ealize him that he the important valuable member of the project team and you have lot of e%pectations from him. Second thing is, some team members are careless or your environment is not productive. &he solution is, e%plain clearly what is e%pected from the team. +on(t wait for status report, communicate fre/uently with team and remind their goals step by step goals. "ppreciate the members who are doing good work. nvolvement is the key to handle non productive members. +on(t assign them work through mail. 9irst meet with team, e%plain the goals, divide the goals into parts R >et the team members pick tasks of their own choice. &hat will make them more responsible for their task. think in this way you can change their professional attitude. Cu#tomer or Develo ment Team. 3*ic* one i# im ortant for a roject manager0 :o/ can you .alance .et/een t/o0 3*y roject manager ta6e care of *i# roject team0 @ou(ve to accept that the customer comes first. &he customer is always right. @ou can't take care of the customer if you first aren't taking care of your project team. t's a challenge. 'hile there are some things you can do for the whole team, it comes down to taking care of each team member as the individual that he or she is. "nd to make it more difficult, then you must bring their various interests into coherence. 3*at are your goal# for t*e future0 #5y long term goals are to find a company where can grow, continue to learn, take on increasing responsibilities, and be a positive contributor$.

:o/ do you *andle #tre## and re##ure0 # find that work better under pressure, and enjoy working in an environment that is challenging.$ # am the type of person that diffuses stress. am used to working in a demanding environment with deadlines, and enjoy the challenges.$ 3*at i# t*e difference .et/een a roject ri#6 and a roject i##ue and /*at different ty e# can 4 e$ ect to encounter0 3*at tool# can 4 u#e to manage t*e ri#6# and i##ue# on a Project0 " 7isk is something that is yet to happen, whilst an ssue is something that has already happened. C. *usiness 7isk L. Project 7isk K. Stage 7isk 8ach risk 1however derived2 can be assessed using a simple methodology, whereby the probability of the risk being realized 1'likelihood'2 and the size of the impact on the project objectives 1'severity'2 can be measured. &he simplest system 1based on the P7 =,8 project management method2 is to give a score of C!K for likelihood and severity 1where C is low and K is high2. 9rom these scores, the importance of each risk can be measured as the product of likelihood and severity. ,learly, any risk of importance E demands immediate attention, followed by risks rated H and so on. &he importance of each risk should be regularly maintained, based on the e%tent to which the likelihood and severity of impact change over time. 9or each risk, one should enter a counter!measure in the risk plan. 'here a risk can be eliminated, then this will be the counter!measure. 'here it cannot be fully eliminated, then risk mitigation actions will be the most appropriate. 3*at i# CMM0 &he ,apability 5aturity 5odel for Software describes the principles and practices underlying software process maturity and is intended to help software organizations improve the maturity of their software processes in terms of an evolutionary path from ad hoc, chaotic processes to mature, disciplined software processes. n short it is a collection of practices to achieve a benchmark in product development. &he ,55 is organized into five maturity levels: C2 nitial. &he software process is characterized as ad hoc, and occasionally even chaotic. 9ew processes are defined, and success depends on individual effort and heroics. L2 7epeatable. *asic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality. &he necessary process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on projects with similar applications. K2 +efined. &he software process for both management and engineering activities is documented, standardized, and integrated into a standard software process for the organization. "ll projects use an approved, tailored version of the organization's standard software process for developing and maintaining software. J2 5anaged. +etailed measures of the software process and product /uality are collected. *oth the software process and products are /uantitatively understood and controlled. I2 3ptimizing. ,ontinuous process improvement is enabled by /uantitative feedback from the process and from piloting innovative ideas and technologies.

Te#t ca#eD " test case is a detailed procedure that fully tests a feature or an aspect of a feature. 'hereas the test plan describes what to test, a test case describes how to perform a particular test. @ou need to develop a test case for each test listed in the test plan. 9igure L.CD illustrates the point at which test case design occurs in the lab development and testing process. " test case includes: &he purpose of the test. Special hardware re/uirements, such as a modem. Special software re/uirements, such as a tool. Specific setup or configuration re/uirements. " description of how to perform the test. &he e%pected results or success criteria for the test. 8%ample: *rite est %ases for +,ignal C.check whether it has got K colour lights L.check whether there must be atleast L colour light K.check whether it has red colour and green colour J.check whether at a time both colour light should not glown I.check whether always it should have current H.check whether each colour should be glown one after other

%#e ca#eD " use case in software engineering and systems engineering is a description of a system(s behavior as it responds to a re/uest that originates from outside of that system. " use case in a use case diagram is a visual representation of a distinct business functionality in a system. &he key term here is :distinct business functionality.: &o choose a business process as a likely candidate for modeling as a use case, you need to ensure that the business process is discrete in nature. "s the first step in identifying use cases, you should list the discrete business functions in your problem statement. 8ach of these business functions can be classified as a potential use case. 7emember that identifying use cases is a discovery rather than a creation. "s business functionality becomes clearer, the underlying use cases become more easily evident. " use case is shown as an ellipse in a use case diagram 1see 9igure K.L2.

9igure K.L shows two uses cases: :5ake appointment: and :Perform medical tests: in the use case diagram of a clinic system. "s another e%ample, consider that a business process such as :manage patient records: can in turn have sub!processes like :manage patient's personal information: and :manage patient's medical information.: "n actor portrays any entity 1or entities2 that performs certain roles in a given system. &he different roles the actor represents are the actual business roles of users in a given system. "n actor in a use case diagram interacts with a use case. 9or

e%ample, for modeling a banking application, a customer entity represents an actor in the application. " system boundary defines the scope of what a system will be. " system cannot have infinite functionality. So, it follows that use cases also need to have definitive limits defined. " system boundary of a use case diagram defines the limits of the system. 5unction Point "naly#i# t is a structured techni/ue of classifying components of a system. t is a method used to break systems down into smaller components so that they can be better understood and analyzed. 9unction Point "nalysis provides a structured techni/ue for problem solving. 9unction Points measure systems from a functional perspective and are independent of technology. 0ence, regardless of technology, language, development method, or hardware4software used, the number of function points for a system will remain constant. &he variable in 9unction Point "nalysis is the amount of effort re/uired to deliver a given set of function points. &herefore, function point analysis can be used to determine which environment4language4tool is more productive. :ig* 9evel De#ign or Sy#tem De#ign A:9D( 0igh level +esign gives the overall System +esign in terms of 9unctional "rchitecture and +atabase design. &his is very useful for the developers to understand the flow of the system. n this phase design team review team 1testers2 and customers plays a major role. 9or this the entry criteria are the re/uirement document that is S7S. "nd the e%it criteria will be 0>+ projects standards the functional design documents and the database design document. 9o/ 9evel De#ign A99D( +uring the detailed phase the view of the application developed during the high level design is broken down into modules and programs. >ogic design is done for every program and then documented as program specifications. 9or every program a unit test plan is created. &he entry criteria for this will be the 0>+ document. "nd the e%it criteria will the program specification and unit test plan 1>>+2. :ave you ever faced any di#agreement# in your reviou# jo.0 :o/ did you #olve it out0 " project manager has to take into consideration several disagreements. &hey can be between employees, between the superior and the employees, or even the client and the employees. f you reply that you have never had any disagreements, the interviewer will wonder whether you were really a project manager for your skills or simply because you are a people pleaser. 5ake sure that you come up with at least one incident where employees and superiors had differences in thought and you were instrumental in changing the scenario. :ave you ever *ad di#a ointment#0 =o job is without its disappointments. &he disappointments can be anything, from an employee who left for personal reasons or the project that you did not bag because of the financials involved. "S a Project Manager :o/ to add value to your roject0

Project 5anager "dd )alue *y: a2+efine Proper ,ommunication Plan b25aintain ,lear 9unctional and &echnical +ocumentation c2"rrange *rainstorming session within the team to deliver best /uality of services d2 mprove &echnical competency in team thru different approach e25aintain &eam 5orale with ,reative and fun activities f2appropriate resource backup and risk plan =ou are im lementing a roject. im lementation com leted and develo ment #tarted and at t*at time you found t*at t*ere i# major ro.lem /it* t*e #y#tem .4t /ould ta6e again time and cu#tomer i# not *a y /it* t*at -in t*at ca#e *o/ do you convince cu#tomer0 Say honestly :apologies: 4 :sorry: for delay, and also mention that you always strive to achieve customer's delight, probably /uote past e%cellent customer ratings, in case it is proper. &alk to customer confidently that you need a certain time to rectify the problem, and mention that your team is already in 77," 17elentless 7oot ,ause "nalysis2. Submit this 77," to customer after completion of the main project. *ut remember while escalating to customer, please don't blame your organization system, employees, facilities, or working hours, these all mean lot negativeness. :o/ do you &uantitatively analy#i# t*e &uality of a roject during develo ment0 &here are many tools and techni/ues to determine the /uality of a project during development. Some of them are: *enchmarking! ,ompare the project deliverables with a previous similar activities Statistical Sampling: identify a set of samples of deliverables or activities and inspect them to check whether they are within the acceptable variances. ,ontrol charts, =ominal .roup techni/ues, Pareto techni/ue, fish bone analysis etc. "ll these would provide -uality metrics which would help in analyzing the /uality of the project. T*e Project /*ic* i# *andled .y you i# in R8D- cu#tomer *a# given you + /ee6# to #*o/ im rovement- and #till not*ing *a# /or6ed out. T*e Cu#tomer again give# ) /ee6# to im rove and you do your .e#t to im rove.ut not*ing /or6# out. @o/ t*e cu#tomer i# not at all *a y- :O3 TO CO@V4@C8 T:4S C%STOM8R000 &he situation indicates failed re/uirement, time and communication management. 9irst and foremost will be to do the analysis, confirm the deliverables, check the work break down structure and check the status of schedule against the deliverables. &hen to identify the improvements which customer may not have realizedA estimate time for individual deliverables. 'ith this statistics in hand, fi% up a meeting with the customer. &ake him into confidence, thank him for giving you time, apprise him of the real situation and probably what went wrong according to you. &ell him about the /uality improvements 1if any2 and discuss with him the estimated schedule with deliverables. 3*at are t*e rig*t# of cu#tomer in Project life cycle0 n Project4Software life cycle client has the rights: &o set objectives for the project and have them followed &o know how long the software project will take and how much it will cost &o decide which features are in and which are out of the software &o make reasonable changes to re/uirements throughout the course of the project and to know the costs of making those changes

&o know the project's status clearly and confidently &o be apprised regularly of risks that could affect cost, schedule, or /uality, and to be provided with options for addressing potential problems &o have ready access to project deliverables throughout the project

Difference .et/een gantt c*art and CPM0 .antt chart is a tool which is useful in scheduling the various activities of a project in the form of horizontal bar graph where as ,P5 provides a graphical view and network of events and activities in chronological manner. 3*at i# emotional intelligence0 8motional ntelligence refers to how well people work with others. &he more aware you are of your emotions and others emotions, the better you can react R respond. Define t*e zero date in roject management &he zero date of a project signals the effective start of the project. t is an important part of the project planning and establishment. &he completion of projection will be counted from this point of time. t is important to ensure that all activities that effect project performance like arrangement of finance, infrastructure facilities, formation of new company, division, government and clearance etc. beside time, cost and technical parameters are fully dealt4designed 4 established 4 started by this time. 3*at C. L. K. J. I. H. G. are t*e #6ill# re&uired to .e a roject manager0 communication skills organizing and planning skills budgeting skills conflict management skills negotiation and influential skills leadership skills team building and motivation skills

3*at i# CReadju#ting goal and Mile#toneC in roject management and roject lanning 7e!adjusting goals can be viewed as a part of change management where impact of changes result in change of scope of the deliverables or project. 5ilestone is used as a checkpoint at logical points in a schedule to ascertain completeness of work at that point. n 5icrosoft project a milestone is a zero duration, zero resource intentive activity. 3*at i# your management Style +epends upon the criticality of the stage the project is, organization and client culture, the maturity, seniority, and dependability of the resources working on the project and the state of the project, like if the project is in trouble shooting mode or things are going as planned. t can vary from centralized to consensus. generally prefer a consensus management style but with a veto power 1final say2 to ensure organization and project interests do not clash with resource interests. 3*at /ill you do- if your #u.ordinate *a# a deal /it* t*i# #ituation0 ro.lem /it* you0 :o/ /ill you

0ave a one on one with the team member and in a friendly manner elicit information from him regarding the problems he4she has with you. &hese could be symptoms of a bigger problem pertaining to perception or reality. "nalyze each of these very objectively encouraging the member to speak up without having to worry about any conse/uences. 1 n many instances, the members would not like to divulge critical information which would be useful in resolving the issue. &his could stem from fear or un!easiness2. f have another line of thought, discuss the same with e%amples, to help the member understand your point of viewA or if there is some issue which is an area of improvement!acknowledge it and thank him for making you aware of the issue and helping me improve. Pursue the issues to resolution by gaining trust from the member. &his will help the member become more productive and also reduce non productive stress in the team Su o#e you did all your /or6 in a )' .it #y#tem- t*e roduction #erver i# 1+ .it #y#tem- you find t*at during %"T- t*e #y#tem fail# and i# not /or6ing- *o/ /ill u communicate to your cu#tomer- /*at #olution /ill you rovide to t*e client0 ,heck back with your specifications regarding the server re/uirements. f the re/uirement was never specified, you have assumed that the re/uirement is a KL bit system. n this situation, list the possible reasons why it failed. 7un a system test on a KL bit machine and doubly ensure that the reason for failure in only the server specification Schedule a meeting with the customer and let them know that the 6"& failed and the most probable reason being he server specification. Provide them the list of other possible reasons 1if you found any2 and also inform them about your plans on how to plan to tackle the issue and your guesstimate of the time for the same. *ased on the criticality of the system, one of the solutions could be to deploy the software system on a KL bit server while you figure out a way to fi% the issue. &his option could be given to the customer. t is /uite possible that the customer would take this option and this would save time for the customer and help your team to /uickly find a fi%. 3therwise go with whatever the customer thinks you should do. Management Style# +emocratic 5anagement Style " democratic manager delegates authority to his4her staff, giving them responsibility to complete the task given to them 1also known as empowerment2. Staff will complete the tasks using their own work methods. 0owever, the task must be completed on time. 8mployees are involved in decision making giving them a sense of belonging and motivating individuals. *ecause staff feels a sense of belonging and are motivated the /uality of decision making and work also improves. "lthough popular in business today, a democratic management style can slow decision making down because staff needs to be consulted. "lso some employees may take advantage of the fact that their manager is democratic by not working to their full potential and allowing other group members to 'carry' them. "utocratic 5anagement Style n contrast to the above an autocratic manager dictates orders to their staff and makes decisions without any consultation. &he leader likes to control the situation they are in. +ecisions are /uick because staff is not consulted and work is usually completed on time. 0owever this type of management style can decrease motivation and increase staff turnover because staff are not consulted and do not feel valued.

,onsultative 5anagement style " consultative management style can be viewed as a combination of the above two. &he manager will ask views and opinions from their staff, allowing them to feel involved but will ultimately make the final decision. >aissez 9aire 5anagement style " laissez faire manager sets the tasks and gives staff complete freedom to complete the task as they see fit. &here is minimal involvement from the manager. &he manager however does not sit idle and watch them workO 0e or she is there to coach or answer /uestions, supply information if re/uired. &here are benefitsA staff again is developed to take responsibility which may lead to improved motivation. 0owever with little direct guidance from the manager staff may begin to feel lost and not reach the goals originally set within the time frame. Ba#eline *aseline is a point of reference 1that includes start and end dates, duration, assignments and cost estimates2 that you've planed prior to project start. &his would serve as a reference for comparison on monitoring your project performance 1planned vs actual2 and would give basis for the earned value analysis. Mile#tone 5ilestone is the end of a stage that marks the completion of a work package or phase, typically marked by a high level event such as completion, endorsement or signing of a deliverable, document or a high level review meeting. 8arned value t is a techni/ue where the project plan, actual work and work!completed value is monitored to see if a project is on track. t is a method for measuring project performance. t compares the amount of work that was planned with what was actually accomplished to determine if cost and schedule performance is as planned. 8arned value management 18)52 is a project management techni/ue for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner.

If you were to deliver a project to a customer, and timely delivery depended upon a sub supplier, what contractual agreements would you put in place?

&here are three main documents and several other documents impacted also. C2 &he primary document is the contract between the main project and the vendor4supplier. t usually outlines a complete set of metrics and the overall plan of work. L2 &he statement of work may be included into the contract or be a separate document. t is about scope, /uality and other technical metrics of the work performed by the contractor. K2 ,ontract management plan is the third very important document to have. &his is a detailed plan around administration of a contract or several contracts during project's lifetime. t has to cover documentation, delivery and performance re/uirements that both party has to meet during e%ecution of the contract. "dding a contractor has impact on other parts of the project plan. P5 has to ensure correctly reflect the impact of adding a contract within at least the following sections of the project management plan: ! ,learly define how authorization and start4finish of e%ecution of contractor's work happensA ! nclude in the overall plan for communicating performance reports a plan for communicating and tracking contractor's performance reports.

! -uality control efforts have to be ready to inspect and verify the /uality of deliverables from the contractor. ! Scope control has to be ready to accept parts of the scope delivered by contractors. ! ,hange control has to consider changes coming from the contractor or changes that have to be pushed to a contractor and outline how this is done. ! 7isk control includes risks that are introduced into the project when a contractor added. ! 5onitoring of payments made to a contractor ensuring that compensation is linked to the progress made by the contractor.
Metric#

" metric /uantifies a characteristic of a process or product. 5etrics can be directly observable /uantities or can be derived from one or more directly observable /uantities. 8%amples of raw metrics include the number of source lines of code, number of documentation pages, number of staff!hours, number of tests, number of re/uirements, etc. 8%amples of derived metrics include source lines of code per staff! hour, defects per thousand lines of code, or a cost performance inde%. Software metrics are numerical data related to software development. 5etrics strongly support software project management activities. &hey relate to the four functions of management as follows: C. Planning ! 5etrics serve as a basis of cost estimating, training planning, resource planning, scheduling, and budgeting. L. 3rganizing ! Size and schedule metrics influence a project's organization. K. ,ontrolling ! 5etrics are used to status and track software development activities for compliance to plans. J. mproving ! 5etrics are used as a tool for process improvement and to identify where improvement efforts should be concentrated and measure the effects of process improvement efforts.
Common Ri#6# in 4T Project Management

C. 5id!project change in scope. ,hanges in scope are fre/uent in & projects and to some e%tent they are /uite logical ; no matter how detailed your specification is, there are always suggestions that come after you have started the implementation. &he problem starts, when these suggestions demand radical changes. &his is especially unpleasant when you are in the middle of the project and actually the choices you have are either to reject the changes, or to trash most of what you have done up to here and go back to implement the new re/uests. Such change re/uests can turn any schedule upside down. L. .oing behind schedule due to unforeseen complications. 8ven if there are no mid! project changes in scope, unforeseen technical complications can also turn the project upside down. @ou might know the technologies you are using in the project very well but still surprises are possible ; this component has always been working fine but now when you integrate it with another component, the mess is complete. 6nfortunately, very often you can't do much to avoid this common & project risk but pray that it doesn't happen to you. K. &echnical inability for a given feature to be implemented. &echnical complications lead not only to delays but they can also affect the scope. f a given functionality can't be implemented because it is technically impossible, the easiest solution is to skip this functionality but when other components depend on it, this isn't wise to do. .enerally, the more e%perienced your technical people are, the lower the risk of unforeseen technical limitations is but still this risk is always present. J. =o problems are reported. 'hen everything is blissfully calm and no problems are reported, this should really worry you. f everything looks too good this spells trouble.

&he fact that no problems are reported could mean that there are no problems to report, which is e%tremely rare, or that problems e%ist but they are not reported because nobody dares to. 8verybody knows the #shoot the messenger$ approach and sometimes even brave guys and gals are cautious to be the messenger, who will report a severe problem. I. " key employee leaves. 3ne of the things that can really shatter a project is when a key employee /uits. 8mployees /uit due to a variety of reasons and generally they have a notice. 'hen you are warned that a key employee is leaving soon, you need to rearrange the team but if there is no suitable person to take over the tasks of the person, who is leaving, this can cause serious disruptions. &hese common & project risk e%amples happen fre/uently. n some cases you an prevent them if you spot them early and this can save the project from failure. >? Common 8$am le# of Project Ri#6#D C. *eing late ! Probably a number one risk is that of the project being delivered late. Sometimes, this is unavoidableA life can happen at unwitting times, like a family emergency or the project itself failing just as it was working out well. 0owever, sometimes the group members suffer from internal or e%ternal issues that cause breakdowns in communication. L. 3ver *udget ! &here is usually a budget that has been outlined for the project, depending on the e/uipment that is involved and things like that. .oing over by a little bit may be all right for some, worse for others, but by just presenting an over! budget project without first knowing it would go over in the first place is bad planning. K. ,ommunication *reakdown ! &his an important one, as without communication to those who need it, the project may fail from the start. .roup members need to know what the project is and whom it is for, managers need to know the progress of the project, shareholders need to know the finances behind it, etc. *y not speaking with the important people involved, chaos can ensure when problems arise. J. 8mployee turnover ! 0aving project members leave for whatever reason can cause strife and stress among those members that remain. &he worst, of course, is if the person leaving has valuable information or insight within the project. ,ertainly, if they are just on vacation or leave, there is the opportunity perhaps to speak to them, but if they leave the company ! no matter what the reasons ! they may not want to continue working with the group. I. =ot ?nowing 'hat's .oing 3n ! " part of the e%ample number three is the failure for the project manager or even the person who hands down the project to the project manager to give details on what the project is and whom it's for. &he project leader can't give details to the rest of the group if he himself doesn't have an idea what the project is. H. =ot 9it for the Bob ! &his is bringing in team members or a leader that doesn't know the specifics of his job role or who has never done that certain role before!!for instance, bringing in the mail clerk to act as the project manager when he has no background ! or interest ! in the role. G. 5embers +on't ?now the Project ! >ike with e%amples five and si%, this e%ample goes with not knowing a certain aspect of the projectA in this case, not knowing the technology or information that the project will be dealing with. F. *ad 8nvironment ! " bad working environment can affect any employee, especially one who is working on a big project. f project meetings are being held within the storage closet or a place that is physically and mentally ta%ing and uncomfortable, that could definitely affect your group, which leads your group members to number seven.

E. 6n!productivity ! 8ven if the si%th e%ample wasn't an issue, dealing with group members that are being unproductive can also cause strife and stress for those involved. CD. 6ser ,ommitment ! &he testing results don't yield any feedback when given to consumers. SD9C Model# / Met*odologie#D >. 3aterfall A9inearBSe&uential( ModelD n :&he 'aterfall: approach, the whole process of software development is divided into separate process phases. &he phases in 'aterfall model are: 7e/uirement Specifications phase, Software +esign, mplementation and &esting R 5aintenance. "ll these phases are cascaded to each other so that second phase is started as and when defined set of goals are achieved for first phase and it is signed off, so the name :'aterfall 5odel:

'.4terative ModelD "n iterative lifecycle model does not attempt to start with a full specification of re/uirements. nstead, development begins by specifying and implementing just part of the software, which can then be reviewed in order to identify further re/uirements. &his process is then repeated, producing a new version of the software for each cycle of the model. ,onsider an iterative lifecycle model which consists of repeating the following four phases in se/uence:

).V model Bust like the waterfall model, the )!Shaped life cycle is a se/uential path of e%ecution of processes. 8ach phase must be completed before the ne%t phase begins. &esting is emphasized in this model more so than the waterfall model though. &he testing procedures are developed early in the life cycle before any coding is done, during each of the phases preceding implementation.

+. Prototy ing model " prototype is a working model that is functionally e/uivalent to a component of the product. n many instances the client only has a general view of what is e%pected from the software product. n such a scenario where there is an absence of detailed information regarding the input to the system, the processing needs and the output re/uirements, the prototyping model may be employed. +evelopers build a prototype during the re/uirements phase. Prototype is evaluated by end users. 6sers give corrective feedback. +evelopers further refine the prototype. 'hen the user is satisfied, the prototype code is brought up to the standards needed for a final product. ,. Ra id " lication model 7"+ 1rapid application development2 is a concept that products can be developed faster and of higher /uality through: S .athering re/uirements using workshops or focus groups S Prototyping and early, reiterative user testing of designs S &he re!use of software components S " rigidly paced schedule that defers design improvements to the ne%t product version S >ess formality in reviews and other team communication 1. 4ncremental model ,onstruct a partial implementation of a total system. &hen slowly add increased functionality. &he incremental model prioritizes re/uirements of the system and then implements them in groups. 8ach subse/uent release of the system adds function to the previous release, until all designed functionality has been implemented.

E.S iral Model &his model combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model. &he spiral model is intended for large, e%pensive, and complicated projects. &he steps in the spiral model can be generalized as follows: C. &he new system re/uirements are defined in as much detail as possible. &his usually involves interviewing a number of users representing all the e%ternal or internal users and other aspects of the e%isting system. L. " preliminary design is created for the new system. K. " first prototype of the new system is constructed from the preliminary design. &his is usually a scaled!down system, and represents an appro%imation of the characteristics of the final product. J. " second prototype is evolved by a fourfold procedure: 1C2 evaluating the first prototype in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, and risksA 1L2 defining the re/uirements of the second prototypeA 1K2 planning and designing the second prototypeA 1J2 constructing and testing the second prototype. I. "t the customer's option, the entire project can be aborted if the risk is deemed too great. 7isk factors might involve development cost overruns, operating!cost miscalculation, or any other factor that could, in the customer's judgment, result in a less!than!satisfactory final product. H. &he e%isting prototype is evaluated in the same manner as was the previous prototype, and, if necessary, another prototype is developed from it according to the fourfold procedure outlined above. G. &he preceding steps are iterated until the customer is satisfied that the refined prototype represents the final product desired. F. &he final system is constructed, based on the refined prototype. E. &he final system is thoroughly evaluated and tested. 7outine maintenance is carried out on a continuing basis to prevent large!scale failures and to minimize downtime. &he spiral model is similar to the incremental model, with more emphases placed on risk analysis. &he spiral model has four phases: Planning, 7isk "nalysis, 8ngineering and 8valuation. " software project repeatedly passes through these phases in iterations 1called Spirals in this model2. &he baseline spiral, starting in the planning phase, re/uirements are gathered and risk is assessed. 8ach subse/uent spirals builds on the baseline spiral. 7e/uirements are gathered

during the planning phase. n the risk analysis phase, a process is undertaken to identify risk and alternate solutions. " prototype is produced at the end of the risk analysis phase. Software is produced in the engineering phase, along with testing at the end of the phase. &he evaluation phase allows the customer to evaluate the output of the project to date before the project continues to the ne%t spiral. n the spiral model, the angular component represents progress, and the radius of the spiral represents cost.

F."gile Develo ment Agile software development uses iterative development as a basis but advocates a lighter and more people-centric viewpoint than traditional approaches. Agile processes use feedback, rather than planning, as their primary control mechanism. The feedback is driven by regular tests and releases of the evolving software. Difference between QA and QC Quality control! Checking at end of development process "e.g. Design activity# Qc is like testing a module against re$uirement specification or design doc,measuring response time, throughput etc.Quality control check that methods are in place and to discover where they are notthen correction are to be made.Qc define features and levels define feature check procedure.Carrying out the check procedure.%ecord result take and recordQc is best carried out on products.Qc should take place at every stage of &D'C. Quality Assurance "QA# (t is about having an overall development management process that provides rightenvironment for ensuring $uality to the final product.QA gives us added assurance that the whole producing or checking process isproperly planned and e)ecuted and thus maintaining high $uality.QA checking process is being properly planned and e)ecuted and hence keeping highour chances of producing software of re$uired $uality.Determines of $uality policy through Q*&.Checking that predetermined QC activates are being properly taken care off.QA is best carried out on process.QA should be done at end of every &D'C i.e., when product building is complete Difference between verification and validation +erification! +erification is a static testing procedure.(t involves verifying the re$uirements, detailed design docs., test plans,walkthroughs, and inspections.(t is a preventive procedure.(t involves more than , to - persons and is a group activity.(t re$uires cooperation and scheduling of meetings and discussion.Are we building the product right (t is also called human testing, since it involves finding the errors by personsparticipating in a review or walkthrough.+erification occurs on re$uirements, design and code. +erification is made both in the e)ecutable and non e)ecutable forms of a workproduct.An effective tool for verification tool is a checklist.+erification tasks include! planning,

e)action+erification activates include! re$uirement verification, functional design verification,internal design verification, code verification+erification deliverables "work products# are! verification test plan, inspection report,verification test report.+erification finds errors in the &D'C and hence reduces the cost of errors. +alidation! +alidation is dynamic testing procedure+alidations involves actual testing of the product as per the test plan. ".(, (T, &T and.AT#Are we building the right product (t is a corrective procedure(t involves the tester and user "some times#(t is to check that the product satisfies the re$uirements and is accepted by the user. (t is also called computer testing, since errors are found out by testing the softwareon a computer.+alidation occurs only code and the e)ecutable application.+alidation is only on e)ecutable forms of a work product.+alidation finds errors only during the testing stage and hence cost of errors reducedis less than verification.+arious manual and automated tools are available for validation.+alidation tasks include! planning, test case development, test e)ecution, test waremaintenance.+alidation activities include! ut, usability testing, function testing, system testing,and acceptance testing.+alidation deliverables are! test plan, test design specification, test case specification, test procedure specification, test log, test incident report. /hat is $uality Quality is defined as meeting the customer0s re$uirements in the first time and every time. Quality can only seen through the eyes of the customers. An understanding of the customer0s e)ceptions is the first step then e)ecuting those e)ceptions is re$uired and the main prospective of the $uality are possesses desiredfeatures, fitness for use, confirmation to re$uirements at an acceptable cost. !uality "##urance Plan +efect tracing ; keeps track of each defect found, its source, when it was detected, when it was resolved, how it was resolved, etc 6nit testing ; each individual module is tested Source code tracing ; step through source code line by line &echnical reviews ; completed work is reviewed by peers ntegration testing !! e%ercise new code in combination with code that already has been integrated System testing ; e%ecution of the software for the purpose of finding defects. :o/ /ill u 6ee trac6 of t*e .ug#Or:o/ many time# you are c*ec6ing t*e .ug #tatu# in a day0Or:o/ you are u#ing 4##ue Trac6er0 n the ssue &racker iam checking the bug status for every Imin. if the bug status isfi%ed then will do regression testing immediately. "ccording to that results willgive the bug status as #closed$ or #re!opened$."n issue tracker will give a mail to the concerned persons automatically. n the development team raised any bugs in the ssue tracker<3r s development team raises bugs in your company< @es. &he developer team also raises the bugs like +esign /ueries. 'ho will raise design issues or design defects< +evelopment team. f the bug is closed in CD days back or previous version, but when your aredoing regression testing now, you got again some problems, then what isthe bug status< *ug status is #re!opened( 0ow do you reports the bugs and to whom to report your bugs<&hrough issure tracker we are reporting all the bugs by assigning group name asdevelopment team lead id and concerned. &esters &est leadProject leadProject 5anager 'hy does software have bugs<

Software has bugs due to:5iscommunications.Software ,omple%ity.,hanging 7e/uirements.&ime Pressure.9ully +ocumented code. 'hat should you do after bug is found< we are posting the bugs through issue tracker with necessary information. 0ow do you found duplicate bugs< n our company when we are posting the bug, we are following a bug template.3ur bug template starts with scenario!id, scenario!name, and short description. Sowhenver we want to found the bugs related to scenario. n short description field weare giving scenario!id, scenario!name and we need to click on search button, thenissue tracker will displays all the defects related to that scenario. 'hat is residual defect< &he defect found after system testing or in the released product. 'hat is severity and priority of a bug< 'hat is the difference betweenthem<Severity: Severity indicates the impact of each defect on testing effort. &he effectlevel of the detected bug on the application, this can be decided by tester only.>evels:! ,ritical 1show stopper2: "n item that prevents further testing of theapplication.&here is a functionality block. &he application is not be able to proceed any further.8%: 5issing menu optionSecurity permissions re/uired to access a function under test."n installation process which doesn(t load a component. 0igh: &he application is not working as desired. "n item that doesn(t function ase%pected ordesigned8%: naccurate calculations.Slow system&urn around performance'rong fields being updated"n updated operation that fails to complete. 5edium: &here are failure reported due to the defect but certainly needs to berectified. #"n item that doesn(t confirm to standards and conventions$.8%: n correct not key operations. "n error condition which is not trapped.5atching visual and test links which leads to different end points. >ow: +efects in the user interface4navigation. #,osmetic issues which are not crucialto the operation of the system$.8%: 5isspelled or grammatical te%t. nappropriate, nconsistence, incorrect formatting such as te%t, font size,alignment, color, etc., Priority: "ssign a priority to the defect which determines the order in which defectsshould be fi%ed.&he importance of the bug that has to be cleared.'e are putting time bounding for the defect.&his will decide the test lead.>evels: mmediate: 7esolve defect with immediate effect. "t the 8arliest: 3n priority at the second level. =ormal: 7esolve the defect. >ater: ,ould be resolved at the later stages 'hat are 8ntrance criteria and e%it criteria< "ll re/uirements must be met to more from one test phase to another." phase can(t be left until its e%it criteria are met." new phase can(t be entered until its entrance criteria are met. 8%plain about change control management<3r0ow to handling change re/uests<

3ur business client sends a formal mail to the project manager, to change hisre/uirements, then project manager will discuss with the project board members andhe will fill up the change re/uest form. Project manager will analyze the e%pectedbenefits, nature of changes, and analyze the impact assessment on cost, size,schedule, effort, estimated time, then project manager will send this report to theclient. f the client is agreed the change re/uest is accepted. 'hat is the cost of /uality< ,ost of /uality is used to /uantify the total cost of failure, appraisal and preventioncost associated with the production of software. 'hat is bug report< *ug report is a document that describes all the bugs. ts contents are bug!id, shortdescription, severity, priority, assigned group, bug status. 'hat is the difference between ,55 and S3< S3: .eneric standards."pplicable for all kinds of organizations.,ontains LD clauses.+ocumentation called -S manual.,ertification "udit is like an e%amination.,ertification is a pass4fail outcome.,55: 5aturity 5odel."pplicable only for software organizations.,ontains CF key process area.+ocumentation called work product or artifacts.9inal assessment is collaborated &he result of the assessment is a /uantitative score of the maturity of softwaredevelopment process 'hat is 7egression testing< 7e!testing of the application after bug fi%ing or enhancement to ensure that changeshave not propagated unintended side effects and additional errors. 'hat is user acceptance testing 16"&2< &his is a system level testing generally done at the client(s environment. &his is donewith the realistic data of the client to find out errors. " series of acceptance tests areconducted to enable the customer to validate all re/uirements. &he objective of theacceptance testing is to test whether the system has been developed as per there/uirements of the user or not. S9" " service!level agreement is a part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. " service!level agreement is a negotiated agreement between two parties, where one is the customer and the other is the service provider. &his can be a legally binding formal or an informal :contract: 1for e%ample, internal department relationships2. ,ontracts between the service provider and other third parties are often 1incorrectly2 called S>"s ; because the level of service has been set by the 1principal2 customer, there can be no :agreement: between third partiesA these agreements are simply a :contract.: &he S>" records a common understanding about services, priorities, responsibilities, guarantees, and warranties. 8ach area of service scope should have the :level of service: defined. &he S>" may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other attributes of the service, such as billing. &he :level of service: can also be specified as :target: and :minimum,: which allows customers to be informed what to e%pect 1the minimum2, while providing a measurable 1average2 target value that shows the level of organization performance. n some contracts, penalties may be agreed upon in the case of non!compliance of the S>" 1but see :internal: customers below2. t is

important to note that the :agreement: relates to the services the customer receives, and not how the service provider delivers that service. S>"s commonly include segments to address: a definition of services, performance measurement, problem management, customer duties, warranties, disaster recovery, termination of agreement. Service level agreement# at different level# S>"s are also defined at different levels: ,ustomer!based S>": "n agreement with an individual customer group, covering all the services they use. 9or e%ample, an S>" between a supplier 1 & service provider2 and the finance department of a large organization for the services such as finance system, payroll system, billing system, procurement4purchase system, etc. Service!based S>": "n agreement for all customers using the services being delivered by the service provider. 9or e%ample: " car service station offers a routine service to all the customers and offers certain maintenance as a part of offer with the universal charging. " mobile service provider offers a routine service to all the customers and offers certain maintenance as a part of offer with the universal charging "n email system for the entire organization. &here are chances of difficulties arising in this type of S>" as level of the services being offered may vary for different customers 1for e%ample, head office staff may use high!speed >"= connections while local offices may have to use a lower speed leased line2. 5ultilevel S>": &he S>" is split into the different levels, each addressing different set of customers for the same services, in the same S>". ,orporate!level S>": ,overing all the generic service level management 1often abbreviated as S>52 issues appropriate to every customer throughout the organization. &hese issues are likely to be less volatile and so updates 1S>" reviews2 are less fre/uently re/uired. ,ustomer!level S>": covering all S>5 issues relevant to the particular customer group, regardless of the services being used. Service!level S>": covering all S>5 issue relevant to the specific services, in relation to this specific customer group. Common metric# Service level agreements can contain numerous service performance metrics with corresponding service level objectives. " common case in & service management is a call center or service desk. 5etrics commonly agreed to in these cases include: "*" 1"bandonment 7ate2: Percentage of calls abandoned while waiting to be answered. "S" 1"verage Speed to "nswer2: "verage time 1usually in seconds2 it takes for a call to be answered by the service desk. &S9 1&ime Service 9actor2: Percentage of calls answered within a definite timeframe, e.g., FDM in LD seconds. 9,7 19irst!,all 7esolution2: Percentage of incoming calls that can be resolved without the use of a callback or without having the caller call back the helpdesk to finish resolving the case. &"& 1&urn!"round &ime2: &ime taken to complete a certain task. 6ptime is also a common metric, often used for data services such as shared hosting, virtual private servers and dedicated servers. ,ommon agreements include percentage of network uptime, power uptime, number of scheduled maintenance windows, etc. Out#ourcing 3utsourcing involves transfer of responsibility from an organization to a supplier. &he management of this new arrangement is through a contract that may include a

service level agreement. &he contract may involve financial penalties and the right to terminate if S>"s metrics are consistently missed. Setting, tracking, and managing S>"s are an important part of the outsourcing relationship management 13752 discipline. t is typical that specific S>"s are negotiated up front as part of the outsourcing contract, and they are utilized as one of the primary tools of outsourcing governance. 3*at i# t*e ur o#e of a Service 9evel "greement AS9"(0 Service >evel "greement 1S>"2 is an agreement between a customer and a provider of services. t provides an opportunity to foster a closer working relationship between the customer and the provider. 8%pectations for services rendered, how they will be delivered and at what costs provide an open and transparent environment. t fosters smarter consumers and holds the provider accountability for delivering services as prescribed.

3*at information i# contained in a Service 9evel "greement0 " Service >evel "greement typically has the following information contained on each agreement: " description of the services provided to the customerA " description of the performance service levels used by the provider to demonstrate the /uality of customer serviceA Service level performance targets which are benchmarked against industry best practicesA 7oles and responsibilities of Project &eamA 7oles and responsibilities of the ,ustomerA 7ates for services provided and billing processA +ispute resolution processA &he process for communicating with , 3439&A and &he S>" renewal process. :o/ i# it t*e S9" different from t*e Term# of Service ATOS(0 &here are significant differences between the two documents. &he new S>" Program focuses on customer service, specific service level performance targets, a clear description of roles and responsibilities, a well!defined set of performance measurements and a clear understanding of the services and rates for each service. &he former &erms of Service program did not clearly define roles and responsibilities, service descriptions, service level targets, billing dispute process or a clear e%planation of rates for each service. &he agencies were confused about services and the rates association with each service.

Work products in SDLC Various end products or work products are generated at each phase of SDLC. The work products of classic waterfall model are tabulated below. Phase !nitiation Description "egins when a need for Phase product/activit Concept proposal

developing a software product arises. Concept development Defines the scope of the proposed software product. Scope document# Cost benefit anal sis# $isk management plan# feasibilit stud Pro&ect plan

Planning

!nvolves estimating or planning for a software product to get the re%uired resources. !nvolves ascertainment of user re%uirements.

$e%uirement anal sis Design

Software $e%uirement Specification 'S$S( Document

This phase focuses on how to Design document deliver the re%uired functionalit . Transforms the re%uirements into complete# detailed s stems design. Converts design into complete software product. Confirms if the developed s stem corresponds to the re%uirements in the S$S. Program codes# Databases# Test cases# reviews Test case e)ecution and test anal sis report

Development

!ntegration and testing !mplementation

!nvolves implementation of Test case e)ecution and the software product into a test anal sis report# production environment and !mplementation testing resolution of the problems identified in testing activities. Describes the tasks re%uired Post implementation to operate and maintain reviews of the software information s stems in a product production environment.

*aintenance

+s seen above# the design phase is a vital activit in the entire SDLC. !n this phase# software re%uirements stated b the customer are modeled or transformed into design models that describe the details of data structures# s stem architecture# interface# and components. These design models are represented in the design document. Components of design document High Level Design ,hile designing a software product# the most important consideration is to ensure that each and ever re%uirement specified b the customer is catered to. -or this# a broader

representation of the re%uirements in the form of design models is made. This process of modeling the re%uirements refers to .igh Level Design '.LD(. .LD essentiall represents the software architecture ie various components and the overall look and feel or user interface of the software product. !t is the first step to anal /e and consider all re%uirements for a software product and attempt to establish a structure or design which is able to fulfill these re%uirements. Preparation of .LD can be represented in the following steps. 0. The first step is to ascertain the components and then represent them. -or this# the software re%uirements specification document 'S$S( is used as the base document. The easiest method is to identif all the nouns in the S$S. *ost often# each noun becomes the class. !dentif the constituents 'attributes and methods( of each class. +scertain the overlaps# if an . -or e)ample# ou ma find that some classes ou have identified are merel the attributes of another class. +lso# identif the classes that are not important to the current design or structural representation. -or e)ample# user3 interface components. These should be dealt with separatel . ,rite a description of each constituent of identified classes# no matter how trivial each constituent seems to be. This is called the data dictionar . 6stablish the relationship between the classes. Sa # for e)ample# ou are creating a database for tracking hospital records. + patient visits a doctor. .ere# both doctor and patient are individual classes. The relationship between them is as follows7 a patient visits a doctor. + doctor treats the patient. + doctor has man other patients. "ut a single patient usuall visits one doctor in a particular department. .ere# ou are identif ing the relationships between classes as well as identif ing the numerical interactions or cardinalit between the relationships. Cardinalit can be one3to3one and man 3to3man .

1. 2.

4. 5.

User interface design (UID): The 8!D la s down the look and feel of the software product. -or a 98! 'graphic user interface( based software product# the 8!D includes7

all options on a menu bar all the submenus and all options in these submenus functionalit of each of the mouse buttons# where appropriate presentation of data# in form of graphics or te)t# or a combination of both screen captures of protot pe interfaces

-or non398! applications# 8!D can be a Command Line !nterface or +pplication Programmatic !nterface '+P!(. +P! is a collection of librar routines that allow ou to link or la er software components. -or an +P!# the 8!D consists of identification of calling interfaces# names of ob&ect methods or routines# parameters and description of what the will perform.

!t is important to consider that the software product and the user interface are independent of each3other. The user interface components should be as generic as possible. Considerations for HLD ,hile documenting the .LD# the following considerations should be made7

.ow do ou intend to organi/e the overall software product: .ave ou clearl identified all the components and their interactions: .ave ou converted all data definitions into data structures and t pes: +re there an available re3usable components that can be used in our software product: ,hat will ou build and what will ou purchase: Cost anal sis of building the components and procuring them commerciall . .ave ou identified the dependencies on e)ternal factors ie factors that are outside the control of our organi/ation# which can impact future change management and software product updates:

Does the defined architecture adhere to organi/ation standards and industr standards: .ave ou ascertained the scalabilit of the s stem to handle the level of use and growth of components# such as data storage and new interfaces:

Low Level Design Low level design 'LLD(# also called functional specification# provides the blueprint for coding. !t details the .LD. -or e)ample# the classes ou have identified during .LD are detailed in LLD. .ere# ou identif the ob&ects 'instances( that are re%uired to implement the s stem. So# considering the e)ample of an automated hospital s stem# the class doctor defines all attributes of doctors# such as name# age# %ualification# charges# etc. The ob&ect ;Dang< refers to the specific attributes of a doctor Dang# whose other attributes are7 4=# *D# $s >==# etc. The LLD7

defines algorithms and implementation details of class methods 'functions(. establishes instantiation from class hierarch and their relationships with one another# especiall associations and cardinalit . provides algorithms for all class/ob&ect methods pseudo code. -or a 98! '9raphic 8ser !nterface(# the LLD describes how a particular selection b a user is represented. -or e)ample# in a te)t editor# a double click on the left mouse button will select a particular te)t# while right click will displa a menu providing options such as cut# paste# font# etc.

uses state and event diagrams to define what happens when a user interacts with particular graphical components. !t thus maps user interactions with graphical components to underl ing application subs stems. -or the te)t editor e)ample# LLD maps a particular selection in the right click menu to the ob&ect that corresponds to cut# paste and font functions.

contains 'for a non398! application( essentiall the same contents as .LD# vi/. details of all data t pes and functions. The LLD contains detailed algorithms that form a base for programming but not actual programming.

Thus# if ou compare the process of writing a software design document to writing a book# the .LD will represent the chapters and sections. LLD will represent the bulleted items that ou plan to cover in each section. ?ou can elaborate these bulleted items once ou start writing their contents. Considerations for LLD ,hile documenting the LLD# following considerations need to be made7

!s the LLD a technical reference guide for the coding team to build code on: .ave ou identified how issues such as hardware and software dependencies and limitations# performance re%uirements# securit re%uirements# error handling and overall logging re%uirements will be addressed:

Template for writing a design document Depending on our organi/ational re%uirements# ou can select a template for our design document. -or e)ample# if our organi/ation is following a particular %ualit model like C** or !S@# ou can use the templates specific to these models. "roadl speaking# a design document will contain the following sections7 Document information: provides information regarding the design document# vi/. name of authors and document status 'reviewed# draft(. elease information: name of the resources who have reviewed# approved and released the design document. Document control information: specifies total number of pages# review period# information regarding the audience of the document. e!ision "istor#: specifies version number# release date# description of individual changes made# resources who have approved the changes. $urpose: lists the purpose of the design document and the intended audience. Scope: relates the design of the document to the S$S. Definitions% &cron#ms% &''re!iations: provides definitions of all terms# acron ms and abbreviations used in the design document. eferences: lists all documents referenced in the design document. !t should also specif the sources from which these references are available. (!erall description: provides an overview of the software product for which the design document is being prepared. Hig" Le!el Design: details the high level design of the software product. This is represented b diagrams# such as s stem organi/ation model 'package diagram and deplo ment diagram( and .igh Level +pplication flow 'represents flow of information in terms of processes(. Low Le!el Design: details the low level design of the software product. This is represented b diagrams# such as interaction diagrams# class diagrams# database design 'entit 3 relationship( diagrams# state transition diagrams# and software interfaces of the s stem.