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Mike Jacobsen

Interview Question: When you are given a new project what do you do first? – Answer Tips

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Question forms part of

Civil Service Question Bank
Project Manager Question & Answer Sheet

Other interview questions that are similar

What does the beginning of the project look like to you?
How do you prepare at the start of a project?
What is the first stage of project delivery?

What the interviewer is looking for by asking this question

This is a very popular question for junior and intermediate project managers.

The interviewer wants to see whether you know the PM theory and principles to know how a project should be opened, but they also want to see your experience in starting projects and what your approach is.

While there are best practices with regard to how to open a project, each project manager will have a different take on what works best for them. This is what the interviewer wants to see, whether your way of working is likely to excel in the organisation.

The best approach to answering this question

This is a blend of a technical and experience based question. The interviewer is not strictly asking you to provide an example (“Tell me about a time”) but your answer will always be stronger if you are able to highlight your experience in the area.

For this question the best approach to answering will be using a modified B-STAR answer.

Let’s look at how that would go:

B – Belief – Talk about your thoughts, feelings or philosophies regarding the question – In this instance you should answer the technical aspect to the question first. Detail how you usually start your projects, what do you like to get out of the way first, how do you prepare for success?

S/T – Situation/Task – What was going on and how were you involved? – Seamlessly segue from explaining how you normally start a project to describing an actual project that you were involved in.

A – Activity – What steps did you take and why? – Using the project described already run through the steps you took at the very beginning and explain why you took those actions.

R – Results – How did everything pan out in the end? – The interviewer has only really asked about how you start projects but since you’ve gone through all the effort of describing an actual project to them you may as well tell them how it finished (nobody likes an unfinished tale) remember though the bulk of your answer should be in the Activity stage.

How NOT to answer this question

Don’t sound like a textbook. The interviewer is not your teacher marking you on your project management essay, they will know full well what the supposed ‘best practices’ are for initiating a project. They are not interested in hearing that. They want to hear what you do first and why you think it important. Add some personality to your answer.

Don’t confuse the question. This is asking you what you do ‘first’. Not how you plan your projects or any other number of questions. Make sure your answer is directly about what you do first and why you feel that first step is the most important (or the one you give priority to out of all others)

Don’t avoid the question. If you’ve never worked a project in a professional setting then you need to go further afield, think outside the box. Think about volunteer work you have done, or some extra-curricular activities, have you ever organised a holiday with friends? Even a school project that you had to complete. Anything is better than saying “I have never done that”.

When you are given a new project what do you do first? – Example answer

The first thing I do when given a new project is to seek out the project sponsor and ensure that we are both on the same page. I prefer to do this face-to-face but will settle for a call or video conference if that is all that is available. I feel that at the start of a project it is crucial to make sure that nothing is lost in translation and that all expectations are clear.

In my current organisation the sponsor for most of my projects is the Chief Technology Officer. Just recently I was given a new project that would deploy a major upgrade to one of our core systems. I made sure that I caught a coffee meeting with the CTO so that we could discuss the project.

I enquired as to what the expectations were from both the business and from him personally. I find asking this is key as my CTO has higher expectations than the wider business so while the business was expecting delivery by the end of the year my CTO was expecting it much earlier.

Similarly with regard to quality and budget, the business had minimum quality requirements and a budget restraint. My CTO however had higher quality requirements and made me aware that the budget could be expanded if I needed it – something that was not in the project presentation provided by the business!

Finally I confirmed with the CTO which project members were available and made a mental note to which colleagues I had worked with before and which were new to me (for the new ones I tried to pry information from the CTO as to their skills and work style)

As far as first steps goes I feel like getting the project sponsor, in this case the CTO, to have a frank and open discussion as to the aims and expectations is the best thing to do. After my conversation with the CTO I was in a really good space to start my planning, with the next step being to bring the project members into the loop.

In the end we managed to deliver the upgrade within the timelines and meeting the quality expectations set by the CTO – something that might not have been given the proper attention had I not taken that first step.“

Other Interview Question and Answers

79 Civil Service Interview Questions (And Example Answers)
94 Project Manager Interview Questions (And Example Answers)

Interview Question: Tell me about a time where you were responsible for bringing people together to work on a project or piece of work? – Answer Tips

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Question forms part of

Civil Service Question Bank

Other interview questions that are similar

Tell me about a time when you managed a project team of people from different areas of the business
Have you ever needed to form a new team to get the job done?

What the interviewer is looking for by asking this question

Working Together is one of the core behaviours / competencies that is assessed when applying for jobs at the Civil Service. But it’s not just public sector jobs that will assess you on this, a lot of private sectors will as well. It probably won’t be called ‘Working Together’ when they ask but the questions will be similar. All about bring people together and working together to maximise output. Oftentimes cross-functionally.

A cross-functional team, also known as a multidisciplinary team or interdisciplinary team, is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal. It may include people from finance, marketing, operations, and human resources departments. Wikipedia

With this particular question the interviewer wants to see that not only are you able to work cross-functionally but that you are capable of being the one that brings people together in the first place.

This means they want to know if you are able to understand the importance of bringing people together, whether you possess the people management skills required to facilitate working between different groups and finally they want to know if you have the experience of doing this before.

The best approach to answering this question

This is a ‘Tell me about a time’ question so your answer needs to use a relevant example. The best answers will follow the B-STAR method.

Here’s how that would look for this question:

B – Belief – What are your thoughts / feelings regarding people working cross-functionally. Talk about how you appreciate that some projects require different people with a range of skills and expertise and the best way you have found to get the most out of these people is to have them all work together, sharing ideas without any obstacles.

S – Situation – Describe the scenario to the interviewer. Remember that you only have a short amount of time to answer each question so ensure that you don’t get too involved in describing every minute detail of your example. High level descriptors only, if the interviewer wants to learn more they will ask follow-up questions at the end.

T – Task – What was your role in the situation? Take another look at the question, it says to talk about a time where you were responsible for bringing people together. So ensure that your role in the tale is correct and that you were the one in charge of setting up this cross functional team.

A – Activity – What steps did you take? Talk about how you first identified the need to bring people together, then talk about how you set about doing that.

R – Results – How did it all turn out? This is an interview so your example should have positive results that benefit the company. Try to mention how the result was a direct consequence of the team working together.

How NOT to answer this question

Do not have a passive role. It is not enough to have just worked together will people from different areas. This question is specifically about you bringing people together. Make sure your answer touches on how you sought out other people to work with for the betterment of your piece of work or project.

Do not talk about a failure. This is an interview, if you are allowed to boast at any time it is in an interview. You need to sell yourself to these people in order to land the job. It is much harder to do so if you give an example of a time that failed. Sure you might be able to spin the failure into a good learning experience and the interviewer might score that response highly. But it is much, much easier to score highly by giving a successful example.

Tell me about a time where you were responsible for bringing people together to work on a project or piece of work? – Example answer

“As a project manager I often have to deal with people from various areas of the business. At the start of every project I feel that it is important to have a range of differing expertises within the project team as I believe this produces a better environment for the fostering of ideas and eventually a better run project.

There was a project in my organisation recently which was established to deliver a new finance tool that would seek to automate some of the current manual functions being performed by the business.

I was asked to be the project manager on this project. In my first meeting with the project sponsor I advised that I would need to establish a cross-functional team to act as the project team.

The first step I took was to identify who I needed, I did this by examining the project scope and determining what expertises would be required and matching this to the expertises available within the organisation. I quickly realised that we were missing crucial team members so sought approval to being in vendors to fill the gap.

Once I had established all of my key players I produced a roles and responsibilities report so that all team members were aware of what was required by them, when it was required and who they could lean on for support.

I held daily stand-up meetings with the whole team so that any issues could be raised quickly and be resolved then and there. These meetings proved very useful in facilitating conversations between the various different business groups.

In the end the project was delivered successfully and the new automation tool reduced the process time by around 75% in the 3 months post-launch, a success I attribute in no small part to the smooth working of the team.

Other Interview Question and Answers

79 Civil Service Interview Questions (And Example Answers)

Are Business Analysts Considered To Be Well Paid?

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Is business analysis a high paying career?

The Business Analyst position is considered to be popular and there are many job opportunities in this sector. Almost all kinds of organizations require a Business Analyst at some point in their trajectory. 

There is usually always a requirement for Business Analysts and the number of job vacancies have been increasing over recent years for this position. 

Important questions that need to be answered is whether Business Analysts are paid well and what are the contributing factors that determine the level of salary for a successful Business Analyst?

Let us try to answer these questions with the help of the following article.

Experience:

Like all job positions, the level of salary is directly proportional to the level of experience and expertise a Business Analyst candidate has.

If a candidate has a higher level of experience, then in most cases they can determine and negotiate their salary for their skill sets. On the other hand, if a candidate has only recently completed their education, the salary for the candidate would depend more heavily on the organization they wish to join, rather than negotiation alone.

For Business Analysts in the United States of America, the average starting salary is around $70,000 per annum and would be expected to increase according to the experience and skills the candidate gains.

For seasoned Business Analysts with a higher level of experience, the salary can reach up to $100,000 and beyond per annum, according to the organization.

There are also many Fortune 500 companies that provide a higher level of salary for the right candidate.

Skill Sets:

Even though experience plays a major role in determining the salary for the Business Analyst, the skill sets of the candidate should also be taken into account when determining the salary.

To negotiate a higher salary, the analyst needs to update their skills according to the market needs. Like any other job positions, Business Analysts are also required to have all-round skills and should have a full understand the operations of working of the business.

Can it be said that Business Analysts are well paid?

Now, let us attempt to answer the most important question; do Business Analysts get paid well?

The answer is both yes and no. 

If we look at the broader picture and view the market as a whole, there is more supply than demand.

Every year there are thousands of graduates looking for a Business Analyst position, this imbalance naturally reduces the salary prospects for these fresh graduates.

When we consider the tuition fee paid by these new graduates, then the obvious answer is they are not getting paid as well when in entry level positions.

However, when looking at long-term opportunities and scope for growth, we can say yes for the above-mentioned question.

As we said earlier, there are many reputable organizations who are looking for the right candidate for the Business Analyst position. With the right experience and right skill sets, it is possible for a successful candidate to achieve a position with a high-paying salary.

Not only in business organizations there is also scope of work in other industries like tutoring. So, an analyst with a high level of skill sets can earn a good living as a Business Analyst.

Can a Business Analyst become a Project Manager?

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The role of Business Analyst and Project Manager have been considered to be interchangeable terms in the past due to the overlapping responsibilities.

However, more recently, companies have differentiated the scope and responsibilities of each role. The scope can vary within each individual company. 

Some companies still use Business Analysts as Project Managers due to budgetary reasons. We are unable to draw a firm line between these two roles within certain companies. Many Business Analysts who have years of experience within their role desire to change their career and become out and out Project Managers. 

They may feel overqualified in their role, or they may want to learn and earn more in another challenging role. To those people, a Project Manager role is often considered the next logical step in their career progression. Let’s look at the overlapping qualities and responsibilities of a Business Analyst and a Project Manager.

Business Analysts serve an important purpose in an organization. They are responsible for identifying problems, analysis of said issues, evaluating the solutions, sharing their insights with the cross-functional teams, recommending suitable solutions and presenting it to the relevant departments and stakeholders of the company. 

Business Analysts need strong analytical and communication skills, as well as interpersonal experience. A competent Business Analyst must have extensive problem-solving familiarity and a vast industry knowledge. Through their diverse skills, they must ensure that their solutions are implemented with the correct approach going forward. 

Their scope of responsibilities go well beyond a particular project and they have to ensure that business runs without any disruption. 

Project Managers, on the other hand, are responsible for initiating the project, planning it perfectly for successful completion, executing the plan and overseeing it, and then finally closing the project.

Their responsibilities are restricted only to the project but the process which they go through to finish a project requires responsibilities that are similar to a Business Analyst. 

In order to complete a project, Project Managers need to build a team, recruit suitable human resources, assign tasks to each of them and make these tasks achievable. Further to this, they have to monitor and evaluate the completed tasks on a regular basis to reduce the risk of errors. 

They are expected to lead and influence the team without authority. The decisions and solutions they make should be rooted in deep analysis of a project. 

Now that we know the roles and responsibilities of a Business Analyst and a Project Manager, let us look at some of the skill sets that overlap with each other. 

  • Analytical skills – both the roles require analytical skill to identify the problems and provide suitable solution
  • Communication skills – communication is essential for the two roles, as both have to interact with the concerned teams and relevant departments.
  • Managing and presenting to stakeholders – Business Analysts and Project Managers have to meet up with the stakeholders of a company, and effectively put forth their idea to complete the tasks successfully. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Project Managers have to gauge the progress and ensure that the objectives of the project suit the overall business objectives. 

Business Analysts focus on improvements to business and on strategy development. A Business Analyst can manage various aspects of a project, but they would need to upgrade their skills and should look to get a proper certification in Project Management to take on this role. 

Differences between Business Analysis and Change Management

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Occasionally, it is possible to interchange the usage of Business Analysis and Change Management in our conversations. However, there are notable differences in both these positions, each of the positions has its own goals and definitions.

It is not necessarily immediately obvious the differences between the two roles, but both Business Analysts and Change Managers are essential for a successful organization. 

Will we attempt to show in this article the notable differences between the two roles.

Goals:

A Business Analyst is an employee who analyzes the business processes in an organization and proposes solutions to any issues or problems for the betterment of the organization.

On the other hand, when it comes to Change Management, the major goal of the management team is to propose changes that would affect the whole organization according to the business environment and practices.

Change Management makes sure that the business does not become complacent and is always updated with the innovations in the market. Management is expected to think long term and to suggest and perform changes to the organization.

A Business Analyst’s goals are much broader and involves the day-to-day work of the business. Here the analyst would collate the day-to-day activities of the organization and implement solutions according to the need.

An organization could depend on a Business Analyst for its day-to-day operations and it can take the advice of Change Management for future course of action for the business.

Way of working:

There is also a great deal of difference in the way both the Business Analysts and Change Management operate.

A Business Analyst looks through the inefficiencies within the business operations and would be expected to provide solutions to solve the identified vulnerabilities within the operation. 

On the other hand, a Change Management team would look at the operations of the business and compare it with the prevailing market conditions. If the Change Management team discovers if there is any change required for the organization, then the team would propose it to the organization.

Skills Required:

Skills required also differ in both these job positions, within business analysis, the analyst needs to have an eye for detail and should have good investigation skills to determine problem areas or issues within the business.

Whereas, in a Change Management, the team member should have extensive knowledge of the market conditions. The team member should have the skills to think for the long term and should be able to assess and forecast the impact of the proposed changes to the organization.

Scope of the Job:

Both of these roles offer good scope for growth within an organization, but there are still some minor differences in terms of salary and growth market.

The average pay for an entry level Business Analyst in a reputed organization is $70,000 per year and the year-on-year growth percentage for the job stands at close to 10%.

Whereas, the average pay for an entry level Change Management team member is around $90,000 and the growth rate in this industry is around 5%.

We can see that the Change Management has an upper-hand in salary, but still there is a lot of room for growth within the Business Analyst position.

If you are interested in the Business Analyst role you should prepare for interview questions. Check out this bank of questions and see how you get on

Which Business Analyst Certification is Best?

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For any type of work, certification gives credibility for the professional and the same applies for becoming a Business Analyst. When hiring Business Analysts, in addition to experience, recognised certification is also required by a lot of major Multi-National Companies (MNCs).

So, it is important to know about the best Business Analyst certifications available. Before choosing a certification course, you must understand what the course provides for the betterment of your business skills.

This article will attempt to explain the best certification courses for a successful Business Analyst.

IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP):

CBAP is a certification provided for Business Analysts with extensive experience in this field. The certification is issued by IIBA (International institute of business analysts), which is a non-profit organization that serves the field of business analysis.

Certification Requirement:

  • 7500 hours of Business Analysis experience within the last 10 years.
  • In this 7500 hours, 3600 hours (900*4) of experience should be in 4 of the 6 BABOK Guide Knowledge Areas.
  • 35 hours of professional development in the last 4 years.
  • At least 2 references.
  • Agree to terms and code of conduct
  • A successful passing grade on the exam.

There is also an online option available to take this certification exam, so anyone from any part of the world can get this certification, if they can fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.

PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA):

PMI-PBA certification is suitable for Business Analysts with a medium level of professional experience. With this experience, they have the ability to jump start their career and can give further credibility to their skill sets.

Compared to CBAP, the requirements for this certification are considered easier to fulfill. The requirements for this certification are:

  • Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree)
  • 60 months of business analysis experience
  • 35 contact hours of education within business analysis

(Or)

  • Bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent
  • 36 months of business analysis experience
  • 35 contact hours of education in business analysis

A candidate has to earn at least 60 professional development units (PDUs) in the PMI-PBA exam to get the certification. The certification is recognised within places like Europe, UK, USA, India, China and also in other parts Asia.

Business Analyst Master’s Program by SimpliLearn:

SimpliLearn is one of the most popular online platforms and if you are looking for a certification with good online course materials, then this certification would be worth consideration. 

There are over 90+ hours of online videos and there are also real-life projects which can give a glimpse of the responsibility of  a Business Analysts position.

Unlike the other two certifications, a business analyst certification provided by SimpliLearn does not require any experience. Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in any discipline can attend this course.

The course is designed perfectly for beginners and it is easy to follow with a defined learning curve.

The course tries to cover almost all major parts of business analysis like analyzing data, SQL querying, understanding business transactions and many more.

Should you be looking to start your career into business analysis then you can consider the online masters program provided by the SimpliLearn. It can give both credibility and skills to become a professional Business Analyst.

Certifications are not all you need to become a business analyst. You also need the experience and good interview skills. Check out these Business Analyst Interview Question and Answers for help in securing a new role

Can a Business Analyst become a Scrum Master?

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Switching roles within the company has become quite common recently. IT industries are evolving every year, and they require even more manpower to handle the various aspects of software development. 

Scrum master position comes under agile software development, which focuses on setting a goal and developing a new software. 

Since agile software development is gaining in popularity, many Scrum Masters are required. Either people with knowledge about scrum are recruited or sometimes people with different responsibilities within the team take up the role as a Scrum Master. 

So, who is a Scrum Master? What do they do? And can anyone with the existing responsibilities within the company take up the role as a Scrum Master?

Whilst the title of the role may have the word “master” within it, this doesn’t mean that the Scrum Masters are automatically considered as Team Leaders. They typically don’t have a leadership role, rather it is usually referred to as a “servant leader” role. 

They act as an intermediate between Developers and Product Owners. The Scrum Masters are a facilitator, an adviser, and a guide to the team that works with him or her. 

The main objective of the Scrum Master is to keep up the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. Their responsibilities include:

  • Training or coaching the Scrum Team.
  • Conduct daily meetings with the team to review the progress.
  • Product backlog is controlled by the Product Owner. It records all the duties that the Scrum Team has to complete during a project. The Scrum Master acts as a facilitator and helps the Product Owner to modify the product backlog based on the updates provided. 
  • Helping  the team to be productive and removing obstacles that prevent work from being completed efficiently.
  • Teaching and providing their knowledge about scrum work to the team.

The role of the Business Analyst is to identify problems in the business, provide technical solutions, and implement solutions to facilitate the growth of the business. 

They must keep the team updated with their insights, provide improvements, and regularly communicate their strategy with the stakeholders and the relevant teams. Occasionally, the Scrum Masters have a Business Analyst in their team. 

Business analysts could hold the responsibility in agile software development as a product owner. If they are a product owner, they control everything about the product backlog. Such being the case, it would be too many responsibilities for a business analyst to also become a scrum master within the same team. 

Common skill sets that a Scrum Master and a Business Analyst share are communication, interpersonal and listening skills, and facilitation. 

Despite sharing a few common skill sets, the Business Analyst cannot be termed Scrum Masters for the following reasons: 

  • Scrum Master only focuses on improving the Scrum Team.
  • Business Analysts can be product owners, and deal with business and strategy, which is outside the scope of Scrum Team.

On the whole, their main domains of responsibilities differ. Also, when compared to the Project Manager role, the Business Analyst has less in common with the Scrum Master role. It would not be difficult for a Business Analyst to become a Scrum Master but it would require further training and certification should a candidate wish to progress their career to a Scrum Master. 

Are Business Analysts in High Demand?

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The main role of a Business Analyst is to identify problems within the business, provide achievable solutions based on the data, and contribute to the growth of the company. 

Business Analysts play a crucial role in business development. This role is considered to be a new or modern career in more recent times however, the presence of Business Analysts in a company has quickly become indispensable. In this article, we will endeavour to understand about the role of Business Analysts and why they are considered an asset by companies all around the world. 

Why do companies need Business Analysts?

Problems and risks become part and parcel of every business and it is inevitable that issues will arise. But if companies keep focusing on solving problems, they may not have enough time to focus on other important issues.

A successful and forward thinking business would require a worker with an analytical mindset to help them make better decisions, and to assist in driving revenue and profits to the company. This is why the majority of companies are earnestly seeking employees with business analyst expertise. 

There are different roles within the company that a Business Analyst can slip into, some of which are: Operations Research Analyst, Financial Analyst, Management Analyst, and Market Research Analyst.

Business Analysts have to use research methodologies to gather information about problems that restrict the company from achieving their targets. Once the issues have been identified, the next step is to communicate the problems with the concerned team and share their insights. 

They would be required to complete a critical analysis of the information gathered so far and arrive at a solution that is confirmed by the available data. By presenting their strategies to the company, they can pave the way for improvements, adjustments, and ensure smooth flow of the business. 

This is also a growing field, with an increase in job vacancies year on year. With new types of industries popping up, we can expect a greater demand for Business Analysts in the near future.

To name a few, the demand for Business Analysts is constantly increasing in business like Information Technology, Finance and Insurance, the Public Sector, the Health Care sector, and within Business Consultancies. 

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics have advised that there would be a rapid increase in demand for all Business Analysts roles. Please note that the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics use ‘Business Analysts’ an umbrella term to refer to other analysts’ roles previously mentioned. 

In particular, the demand for the Technical and Information Security Analysts role will see a 31% increase by 2029. This sudden rise in demand for Business Analyst may be due to the COVID 19 pandemic period. COVID 19 and subsequent lockdowns have had a huge and mostly negative impact on many businesses and industries. Many businesses are struggling to navigate their way in this ‘new normal’ and this may explain why Business Analysts became essential for even small-scale companies. 

While the demand is on the rise, there is a question if there is enough labour force with relevant analytical skills. IBM has advised that people with the relevant skills serving in different roles would have to switch their career to meet the growing annual demand for a Business Analyst role.