What is a PMO Analyst?
A Project Management Office (PMO) Analyst is usually responsible for the maintenance of project, programme and portfolio processes and procedures. It is usually the analyst that creates and updates the Project Management templates that are used by all of the PMs across the organisation. The analyst will also provide support to the project teams in following project management best practices.
PMO Analyst is a great ‘stepping stone’ position. It allows the person to move into any number of related fields both within management and within the project space.
In the UK the average PMO Analyst can expect to take home between £45000 and £50000. This can vary depending on how developed the PMO office is, analysts that are brought on as contractors to establish a new PMO office can be paid day rates of £500.
In the US the average salary for a PMO Analyst is higher, in the States they can expect to pick up anywhere in the region of $95000. Again this rate will vary based on the industry and how developed the PMO is.
A PMO analyst role is therefore a highly sought after position and most job adverts will have tens of qualified applicants that you will be competing with.
In this post we are going to look at how you can stand apart from these applicants when it comes to the interview process. First we will look at some PMO specific interview tips, then we will look at how you should (and how you should NOT) answer PMO analyst questions. And finally we will look at some of the most popular interview questions you may face when interviewing for a PMO analyst position.
Ready? Let’s get started…
Contents
PMO Analyst Interview Tips
Lean heavily on your experience. This applies even if you have never held a position within a PMO before. A PMO Analyst is responsible for numerous things but primarily ensuring that projects are ran using project management best practices. You don’t need to have held a PMO Analyst title previously to have participated in similar activities. Perhaps you have worked in a role before where you ran projects using best practices? Or maybe you have instituted changes to processes to make projects run more smoothly? When answering questions lean heavily into these experiences.
Know your audience. You should always research the organisation you are interviewing for. But what people don’t think to do is also research the interviewer and the hiring manager (if these are different persons). You want to impress the person making the hiring decision so you should research them specifically trying to understand what makes them tick and what they are looking for in a new employee.
Pepper your answers with technical terms. PMOs have a number of technical terms, processes, systems, tools etc. For example when answering a question you can talk about how your team uses MS Project for creating project plans. Or you might talk about how you used JIRA instead. These little things show the interviewer that you are well versed in the area and are not just full of fluff.
Read our new guide. Packed with over 100 sample answers and tailored advice, it’s your ultimate tool for interview success, regardless of your experience level.
How Best To Answer PMO Analyst Interview Questions
Unless the question you are asked is a straight ‘up or down / yes or no’ style question then you are going to need to learn to describe, expand and elaborate on your answers. The best way of doing this is to follow the B-STAR technique for answering interview questions.
Answers using this method follow the below structure:
B – Belief – What are your thoughts and feelings with regard to the subject matter? – As a PMO Analyst you should have your own set of processes and methodologies that you tailor to each situation.
S – Situation – What was going on? Briefly explain the scenario that was taking place – Try not to spend too much time describing the situation. The bulk of your answer needs to be about you and what you did so keep the situation simple to understand and even simpler to describe.
T – Task – What was your role in the action? Most of the time it is best that you are taking an active rather than passive role in the encounter – You are going for a PMO Analyst role (presumably if you are reading this) so the situation you describe should have you involved with project management.
A – Activity (or action) – What did you do? Detail the steps you took and why you took them. – This should take up the bulk of your time answering the question.
R – Result – How did everything end up? Try to use figures if possible (e.g. Over 100 templates created, Project failures reduced 50% etc.).
Remember though that the B-STAR technique is descriptive not prescriptive. You do not need to follow this flow strictly, go with what is best for your answers and that will allow you to put your point across and show your experience the best.
What You Should Not Do When Answering PMO Analyst Questions
Do not avoid the question.
Do not describe a failure (unless specifically asked).
Do not downplay the situation.
Do not overhype the situation.
Do not say you have no experience with the subject matter.
Do not reject the premise of the question.
Do not have a passive role in the situation.
Do not give a one-sentence answer.
Do not overly describe the scenario and miss the action.
PMO Analyst Interview Question & Answers
“I believe that it’s incredibly difficult to overcome a bad first impression. Because of this I always strive to never make one. That’s why for important meetings, or interviews like this, I make a clear plan of what I want to get from the meeting and outline the steps I need to take to achieve that goal.
So when I received the call about scheduling this interview the first thing I did was research your offices. As you are based in an area of town I am not familiar with I drove by here after work one evening just to make sure I knew the way. I also checked Google Maps to see what the traffic would be like at this time. Nothing worse than being late sitting in traffic after all.
I actually have a contact who works in your finance department, Claire, we were colleagues in the place I am currently working. I reached out to her to see if there was anything she could tell me about the interview process. We had spoken before about the company as a whole and how she talks about the company is one of the reasons I applied.
Following our chat I went through all of my work achievements and made sure they fully encompassed everything I have accomplished in my career.
I’m glad I took the time to prepare as I did because there was a lot of traffic so it was good I knew to expect that. Also talking with Claire helped jog my memory on a project we both worked on a few years back delivering a piece of financial software that I believe your company is in the process of deploying.”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
Tell me about a new skill or qualification you have learned over the last 6 months?
“In my current role I use Microsoft Projects extensively for scheduling tasks when working with certain clients. A few months ago I learned that one of our newer clients used Primavera as their preferred PM tool.
Even though the new firm were content that we continue to use Microsoft Projects I thought it would be best to upskill myself on Primavera so that I at least could understand what the client was used to versus what we would be providing.
I started by following some courses on LinkedIn and eventually I asked my employer if they would support me in attaining the certification – which they did.
I passed the qualification on the first go and was able to successfully amend our MS Project reports so that they more closely resembled what the client was used to”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
Tell Me About A Time You Helped A Co-Worker Learn A New Skill
“I love working in a team. I truly believe that when a team is functioning correctly that it is greater than the sum of its parts. More work just seems to get done than would be if we were working independently. That’s why whenever I see a team member struggling I always reach out and try to help for the good of the team. I also adore the feeling when someone learns something as a result of my help. In a different walk of life I might have been a teacher!
There was one occasion when our company was adopting a more Agile approach to our projects. Moving away from waterfall and into a sprint based delivery approach.
I noticed rather early on that one of my colleagues, Jayne, was not grasping the fundamental idea behind the change and was still trying to operate in a waterfall approach.
I approached my manager to ask if we could support some additional training for the team on Agile so that we could all understand the philosophies. He agreed and we all began taking LinkedIn courses in the afternoons.
I reached out to Jayne during these sessions so that we could share notes and discuss what we had learned. I even offered that we should work together on a project so that we could bounce the ideas we had learned off each other.
That was all it took really. After we delivered a couple sprints in our project Jayne was a full Agile convert. She has actually moved out of the team now and has taken a SCRUM master position in a different department.”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
How do you ensure that you have considered all stakeholder needs when undertaking a new initiative?
“I think getting input from stakeholders is crucial when undertaking any new initiatives. As a project manager I am often asked to lead projects in areas that I have no experience, and even if I am leading a project where I know the subject matter well it is always good to get a diverse range of thoughts on the project and its deliverables. After all ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.
That’s why whenever I start a new project I complete a full stakeholder analysis. This begins with a deep dive session to identify everyone that will be impacted by the project, both during delivery and with the end result.
The next step is to produce a key stakeholder list. For example in a recent project I managed we had deduced that the finance department would be stakeholders, but it would have been irresponsible to include every member of the department in our communications so we consulted with the Finance Chief and assigned one key stakeholder for the department (and one backup). We did the same or similar for all the stakeholders previously identified. If we came to a stakeholder group that we couldn’t feasibly include then we assigned an advocate. In the same project our PMO analyst would act as a representative for the customer (as she actually was a customer!).
Once I have finalised this list of key stakeholders I formalise everything by creating a RACI matrix and a communication strategy. This way we have all of the stakeholders listed, their responsibilities toward the project and how/when they will be contacted with updates. This is approved by each stakeholder.
Overall when these steps have been followed correctly I have never had a complaint from a stakeholder to say that they felt their needs were not being met.
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
What new skills do you hope to learn over the next 6 months?
“I am always looking to learn new things. I believe that once we stop learning we stop growing, both as individuals and as a business. Sooner or later someone will come along and overtake us. That’s why I always keep my ear to ground, as it were, and make sure I am always up to date with all the latest advancements in my area.
Within the change and project space I can see the shift to Agile methodologies growing even further and reaching into industries and firms that would previous move at glacial speed using Waterfall projects. My previous role at a Top 4 Bank showed me that even in a traditionally cautious moving firm they were slowly adopting to more agile mindsets, that is where I was working when I studied for, and attained, my PRINCE2 Agile qualification.
For me in the next 6 months I wish to expand my knowledge further from this qualification and undertake learning for the Certified Scrum Product Owner qualification. While I have been a Product Owner in my previous role I believe formal training will allow me to further develop my understanding of the role.
I think by learning more about the Product Owner position I will be able to further enhance this organisation’s release strategy and hopefully open up further progression opportunities for myself within the firm when the time comes (assuming I get the role of course!).
After Product Owner I think I will want to get further acquainted with Programme and Portfolio management skills, but let’s just take it 6 months at a time for now.“
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
Describe a situation when you were responsible for other team members learning a new skill?
“I’m a big believer in learning new things. I’m the person on the team who is always first in line whenever new training sessions are available for the team. I just think that the more you know the better you can produce.
There was one occasion where a training seminar was held for a new software that had been introduced within our department. The core functionality of the software was the same as what we used already so we were told that the seminar was voluntary.
I of course went along. And while a lot of the features were the same – as was expected – there was some new advanced functions that I thought could be great for our team.
I spoke to the training lead after the seminar and he sent me across some documentation and guidance on the new functionality. I studied through all the documents and realised that if our team was trained on this new reporting methodology that we could save quite a bit of time each week.
I positioned this to my manager who was delighted with the idea. And the next week I trained all of my team in this new skill. Some were reluctant at first because there was an element of coding involved – we needed to use SQL queries for the reports, but once they got the hang of it they were amazed at how much could be done.
The results were immediate. Our team was getting work done in twice the time. Time spent manually pulling reports was no longer. Some of the team went even further and started to develop more and more complex reports that would never have been possible without knowing this new skill.“
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
What Project Management Methodology do you believe is better?
“My preference is for Agile. I find that it is the most adaptive methodology meaning that we can pivot on a dime and be able to deliver quickly and often. Something that I don’t believe is possible when working with a Waterfall or even a Hybrid model.
That is not to say though that I believe Agile is better. I think all of the methodologies have their place in an organisation. I have worked Waterfall before and believe that it is better adapted for complex projects with a single one time delivery, like the time I oversaw the opening of a new call centre wing. That was better suited to Waterfall as there were defined stages and a handover to the business.
Contrast that with the time I managed a software deployment (to the same call centre in fact). This was better suited to an Agile-based deployment as we initially delivered a MVP of the software and then deployed multiple releases that introduced new features as we went. Agile was the better choice in this instance as it allowed us to deliver a working product much earlier than we would have done had we used Waterfall.”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
What would you do if a Stakeholder approached you with a change midway through a project?
“If this was one of the projects run within my current PMO then there would be a clearly defined change request process that should be followed for all requests. This will have been discussed with all stakeholders by the relevant PM and approved by all. Given this I would speak to the stakeholder in question and guide them through the Change Request process so that their request could be reviewed and actioned if necessary.
When these type of requests occur I find it best to gently remind the stakeholder that there was a process agreed at the beginning of the project and to remind them of that process and how changes are reviewed and progressed. I had a similar request recently where a senior stakeholder wanted to increase the scope of the software product we were deploying in a month’s time, the stakeholder reached out to me directly and requested it was added for the first release. I gently reminded my colleague that all change requests needed to be raised to the CR portal and would be triaged by a member of the project team, as his change was above the agreed small change limit it would need to be approved by the Change Board. The colleague was content with this and progressed his item through the proper channels were the request was approved for deployment in second release.
Of course this all assumes that the project was being deployed using waterfall methodologies, if we were following a more agile approach the change request would have been prioritised and added to the sprint plan where appropriate.“
“I have never worked with <insert tool or software> before and I see that it plays an integral role in your organisation. I have worked with <insert other tool> before and from what I hear it lacks a number of features present in <tool>. I look forward to the opportunity to use this new tool as I hear great things about it, I have also found a crash course online that I would look to take to get up to speed as quickly as possible…should I be offered the job”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
“I have never worked with <insert tool or software> before and I see that it plays an integral role in your organisation. I have worked with <insert other tool> before and from what I hear it lacks a number of features present in <tool>. I look forward to the opportunity to use this new tool as I hear great things about it, I have also found a crash course online that I would look to take to get up to speed as quickly as possible…should I be offered the job”
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
“As you can see from my CV I am an experienced project manager and I do believe I am very good at my role. I am a very good planner, I am quick to adapt to changing business environments but I believe my best attribute is my communication skills.
Being a project manager is all about being able to communicate effectively and to all different types of stakeholders – something I learned recently when we released a new software upgrade and I was communicating with front-line customer service colleagues all the way up to the CEO of the whole group! – It is this experience and others that have moulded me in to the skilled communicator I am today
Get more example answers in our full PMO Analyst Interview Success Guide
What services should the PMO provide?
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As a PMO analyst, what has been the most successful project you’ve managed?
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What methods would you use to set up a PMO?
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How would you resolve a project halt due to budgetary restrictions?
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How would you ensure that project members understand the needs and expectations of a client?
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How would you optimize a project to ensure timely completion?
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How do you determine the organization’s resource capacity?
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How would you manage new project requests in the PMO?
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What do you consider the primary objectives of a PMO?
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How Do You Share Best Practices Within A Team?
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What’s Your Experience With PMO And Different Project Management Tools?
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What Do You Do When You Are Met With Resistance From Your Team Members?
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What Project Management Software Are You Familiar With?
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How does your current job fit into the overall business?
Interview Question: How does your current (or previous) role fit into the organisation’s wider goals? – Answer Tips
Tell Me About A Project That Failed
Interview Question: Tell Me About A Project That Failed – Answer Tips
Tell me about a time when you have identified an opportunity for improvement within your processes?
Interview Question: Tell me about a time when you have identified an opportunity for improvement within your processes? – Answer Tips
Have you ever had to work to an extremely tight deadline? How did you navigate that?
Interview Question: Have you ever had to work to an extremely tight deadline? How did you navigate that? – Answer Tips
How do you handle disagreements within your team?
Interview Question: How do you handle disagreements within your team? – Answer Tips
Tell me about a time when you were late delivering a piece of work?
Interview Question: Being Late / Missing a Deadline – Answer Tips
Tell Me About A Time Someone Challenged Your Decision
Interview Question: Tell Me About A Time Someone Challenged Your Decision – Answer Tips
Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed
Interview Question: Tell me about a time when you have had to make a decision using only limited information? – Answer Tips
Tell me about a time when you have challenged the usual way of doing things
Interview Question: Tell me about a time when you have challenged the usual way of doing things – Answer Tips
Describe a time when you communicated effectively in a difficult situation
Interview Question: Describe a time when you communicated effectively in a difficult situation – Answer Tips
Have You Ever Needed To Change Someone’s Mind?
Interview Help: Have you ever needed to change someone’s mind? – Answer Tips
Tell Me About A Time You Improved A Process
Interview Question: Tell Me About A Time You Improved A Process – Answer Tips
Do you have any questions for us?
10 Questions To Ask At The End Of An Interview (And 6 That You Shouldn’t!)