Q1
Walk me through how you would develop a project schedule for a manufacturing facility expansion using critical path method (CPM). What tools have you used, and how do you identify dependencies?
Why they ask this:* They want to assess your understanding of scheduling frameworks essential to operations projects, your familiarity with industry-standard tools (MS Project, Primavera), and your ability to think systematically about task sequencing.
Q2
Describe your experience managing project budgets in operations. How do you track costs, manage contingency reserves, and report variance analysis to stakeholders?
Why they ask this:* This tests your financial acumen, ability to control costs in capital-intensive operations environments, and your communication skills when explaining budget performance to leadership.
Q3
What metrics and KPIs do you typically monitor to measure project health in operations projects? How have you used these to course-correct?
Why they ask this:* They're evaluating whether you understand operations-specific metrics (on-time delivery, resource utilization, safety incidents) and can translate data into actionable insights.
Q4
Explain your experience with supply chain or logistics constraints in project planning. How do you account for lead times, vendor dependencies, or material availability in your schedules?