C_S4PPM_1909 – SAP Portfolio and Project Management Interview Questions

The SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP S/4HANA Portfolio and Project Management certification exam, C_S4PPM_1909, verifies that the applicant has the fundamental and core knowledge required for the SAP S/4HANA PPM Implementation Consultant role.

This certification verifies that the candidate has a broad grasp and in-depth technical abilities necessary to serve as a mentor on a project team.

1.) What does a project mean to you?

A project is a collection of tasks and actions carried out in order to produce a product, service, or outcome. These are transient in the sense that they are not routine tasks, such as production, but rather one-time activities.

2.) How do you feel about Project Management?

Project management entails using the project team’s knowledge and abilities, including the project manager’s, as well as the tools and procedures at hand, to guarantee that the set tasks are accomplished correctly. Completion in a proper manner entails achieving desired outcomes within budget and schedule restrictions. It typically entails balancing the scope, money, timeline, quality, risks, and resources restrictions.

3.) Is there a distinction between different types of activities in a project?

During the course of a project’s existence, it is common for it to go through a series of activities that may be easily identified. Some common activities that are associated with starting a project can be recognized. To plan the actions to be conducted in order to attain the established goals, a set of activities must be planned. Executing a set of activities aids in the completion of the project. A linked set of activities is required to monitor and rectify the project’s course of action in order to keep it on track. The final group of actions is concerned with the project’s systematic closure. The most crucial of them is, of course, to formally record what was learned during the project’s implementation. Organizational process assets are a set of documents, relevant forms to be utilized, the manner estimates are to be made, a database of estimates for similar projects, and so on that have been recorded.

4.) What is the difference between projects, programs, and a portfolio, in your opinion?

Projects are carried out for a single or a group of connected goals. A program is a collection of projects that are managed together to achieve various aspects of a larger purpose. The command module and lunar landing modules, for example, were developed as separate programs for NASA’s lunar landing program. A portfolio is a collection of initiatives, programs, and even other portfolios that work together to assist a company to achieve a high-level business goal.

5.) What does it mean to be a stakeholder?

Any individual, organization, or entity whose interests are impacted by the initiative, whether positively or negatively. Stakeholder influence is a key factor to consider during any planning process, and then again during implementation.

6.) What are the effects of the organization?

Every organization has its own method of doing things, as well as collective wisdom on how to do things in the best manner possible, which influences the planning and execution processes. When estimating and planning project-related tasks, these factors must be taken into account. The term “organizational environmental factors” is frequently used.

7.) Could you describe the project life cycle to me?

When the range of activities necessary to complete project work varies, a project has multiple phases. There is a definite “start” phase, which is followed by a phase of organizing and preparation. “Carrying out” refers to the project’s actual execution. The “closing” phase ensures that the project’s temporary activities are concluded in a systematic manner. Phase gates, exits, milestones, and death points are all terms used to describe the points in time when phase shifts occur. If a project should be closed, it is decided at these stages based on its performance or whether the project’s need has vanished.

8.) What exactly do you mean by a project charter?

This is the starting point for everything. This document is used to authorize projects, and projects are started using the top-level requirements provided in this document. It also includes a description of the project’s initial requirements as seen by stakeholders and the project’s outcomes.

9.) What do you mean when you say “plan baselines”?

Before the project execution begins, baselines are the final form of all blueprints. Project baselines are the initial versions of all project-related plans, such as the time schedule, quality plan, communication strategy, and so on. This serves as a benchmark against which project success is judged.

10.) What skills do you need to be a successful project manager?

In order to be effective, the PM must have additional personal qualities in addition to being a skilled professional manager. It is not only necessary for him to have project management abilities, but it is also necessary for him to be proficient in them. It is necessary to have the right attitude, basic personality traits, and leadership qualities. Team management and leadership skills are essential to help the team achieve common objectives and goals.

11.) What are the differences between processes and process groups?

A process is a set of steps that must be followed in order to complete a task. The process not only specifies the acts to be completed but also the order in which they should be carried out. Process groups are a collection of processes that can be used at different stages of a project. For instance, a group that initiates the process, a group that plans the process, and so on. Each process takes a defined set of inputs and uses a set of tools and techniques to produce a defined set of outputs.

12.) What are the knowledge areas that are important when working on a project?

The knowledge areas of scope management, time management, and cost management are self-evident. The same may be said for quality control. The project integration knowledge area must be understood in order to execute a project in all areas. Communication is crucial, as is the understanding of communication management. Two critical support areas are procurement and risk management. Human resources management is equally vital because people get things done.

13.) What exactly is RAID in terms of project management?

Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies (RAID) are acronyms for risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies. These are essential items for a PM to be aware of at all times. There are always dangers associated with activities, and a PM must take the actions that pose the least risk.

14.) What are the critical project integration management processes?

It all starts with the creation of a project charter. Another key action is the creation of a project management plan. Monitor and control, as well as direct and manage project execution, are plans that must be followed throughout the project. The project’s (or current phase’s) closure is the last set of tasks for integration management. Because changes are often unavoidable, a comprehensive change management strategy must be designed to guide all changes in a systematic manner.

15.) What is a Statement of Work (SOW)?

The statement of work, or SOW, is a precise description of the project’s outcomes in terms of what products, services, or results are expected. If the customer is the one who requests the project, the most complete SOW is usually provided by him.

16.) What is scope management and what does it entail?

Collecting requirements, defining scope, developing WBS, confirming scope, and controlling scope are typical steps in this process. The scope baseline is defined by the project scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary. Scoping creep must be minimized by controlling the scoping process.

17.) What methods should be used to keep changes under control?

Through the use of an integrated change management methodology. A change control board will have to review any requested changes. Only the changes that have been approved should be included in the document changes that guide project execution.

18.) What is Work Breakdown Structure (WBD) and how does it influence task/activity work estimates?

The work breakdown structure describes the project’s work activities as well as the sub-activities for each work requirement. The breakdown is broken down into tiers where all of the work that needs to be done is evident. Work does not need to be broken down any further. Additional data that help describe the tasks are included in the work breakdown dictionary. When all aspects of the work and dependencies are known, time and effort estimations can be correct.

19.) What do you mean when you say “milestone”?

A milestone is a moment in a project’s timeline when a goal, a portion of a result, or a portion of the anticipated services are met.

20.) What are some methods for determining scope?

Product breakdown, requirements analysis, systems engineering, systems analysis, value engineering, value analysis, and alternatives analysis are all terms used to describe the process of breaking down a product. Brainstorming, lateral thinking, and pair-wise comparisons, among other techniques, can aid in alternative analysis.

21.) What role does project scheduling play in project completion?

When the activity effort and resource estimates are known, how the tasks are scheduled determines how much work gets done. Other activities’ dependencies must be properly understood. What actions should be done first and what should come after determine the basic order. To save time on a project, unrelated tasks/activities might be sequenced in parallel.

How are “activity time” estimations calculated?

Techniques for estimating activity time estimates include parametric estimates, three-point estimates, and similar estimates.

22.) In the three-point estimating method, how do you estimate?

To calculate 3 point estimation, there are two formulas.

E = (P+M+O)/3 ; 2) E = (P+4M+O)/6 ; 3) E = (P+4M+O)/6 ; 4) E = (P+4M+O)/6 ; 5) E = (P+4M+O)/6 ; 6) E = (P+

PERT = Program Evaluation and Review Techniques, where P stands for a pessimist, O for the optimist, and M for most likely.

23.) What is the most common way in which the project time schedule is represented?

The most typical depiction for a project time schedule is an activity scheduling network diagram. Milestone charts and bar charts are frequently used in conjunction with this.

24.) In a scheduling network diagram, what is a critical path?

There will be activities whose start and/or end times are not crucial after activity scheduling is completed. Due to dependencies, it may be possible to start a job later than the scheduled start date; similarly, an activity may be completed later if no other activity is waiting for it to finish. Floats are the name for these time pads. There is always a path from beginning to end that is free of floats. Not only must all of the actions along the path be completed on time, but there must also be no delays. Any delays will have a direct impact on the project’s completion date. The critical path is the sequence of actions or the path from beginning to end.

25.) What are some methods for shortening a project’s timeline?

Crashing and fast-tracking are two techniques for shortening a project’s timeline. The crash technique seeks to improve the schedule by utilizing the available time floats while keeping expenses low. The goal of fast-tracking is to make certain tasks go faster by utilizing more resources as needed. It could entail paying team members over time, paying for a consultant’s time, and so on

26.) What is the difference between effort and effort variance?

It is the discrepancy between the estimated effort and the actual effort required. Work performance is evaluated on a regular basis to see if there are any discrepancies in an effort so that corrective action may be performed.

Earned value management, or EVM, is a term that refers to the management of earned value.

The projected value (PV), earned value (EV), and actual cost (AC) are all checked at each monitoring point. PMB stands for performance measurement baseline, and it is the sum of all planned values. Schedule variance (SV) and cost variance (CV) are estimated based on deviations from baselines. If earned value equals projected value, the project is on track to meet its objectives. If there is a major schedule or cost variance, proper action must be done to fix the slips. The estimate at completion (EAC) is calculated and compared to the budget at the end of the project. If there is a blunder, the financial repercussions will be known.

27.) What are the benefits of A processes?

“A is a means of systematic monitoring and evaluation of aspects of a project, service, or facility to ensure that quality standards are met,” according to a dictionary. As a result, everything it takes to ensure that products fulfill customer expectations is part of A’s efforts. Quality is ensured by ensuring that everything that goes into manufacturing a product is of the highest quality and that no mistakes are made along the way.

28.) What is quality control and how does it work?

Inspections are part of the quality control procedures to verify that quality standards are met.

29.) Why are process improvement strategies necessary?

The constant improvement of processes is a cornerstone of A. Process improvements reduces errors in processes, resulting in higher quality.

30.) What method is employed to arrive at process improvements?

The method employed is GM, or objectives, questions, and metrics. Goals are established, questions on how to enhance the process are posed, and metrics (measurements that provide information about the process) are implemented.

31.) What are the most significant parts of a project team’s HR plan?

The areas where clear-cut policies should exist and be well understood to team members include acquiring the team, assembling the team, assigning roles and responsibilities, appraisal policies, awards & recognition, and appraisal policies.

32.) Why is the HR management plan’s performance management method important?

People enjoy being acknowledged for their contributions. The project management team must recognize and reward talent as well as recognize and reward the performers. Not only should the assessment be fair, but it should also be seen to be fair.

33.) How can you figure out what stakeholders require in terms of communication?

Stakeholder communication requirements are determined by their power/influence grid, power/interest grid, and impact/influence grid positions. Another way for determining who is most effective for the project’s benefit is salience modeling. This is a qualitative assessment that will define the type and extent of project communications.

34.) Do you agree that the project manager’s direct tasks include forming a team, developing the team, and expanding knowledge?

The project is carried out by the team. As a result, it’s critical to hire the proper personnel. The importance of team development is critical since any holes must be filled. Improving one’s own and the team’s expertise is the same as continuously improving a process, and it should have an impact on the project’s quality.

35.) Do you believe that a PM’s professionalism and integrity are necessary qualities?

The project manager is in charge of overseeing all parts of the project. There are numerous things that can go wrong unless he is a professional with ethics. Untruthful progress reporting will quickly backfire on the PM, resulting in a delayed or failing project for the organization.