Project Leader Skills Evaluation

Purpose

To evaluate the suitability of candidates for the position of Project Leader, by measuring essential skills including business judgment, supervisory practices, problem solving and knowledge of project organization, control, scheduling and planning concepts.

General Description

The Project Leader Skills Evaluation (1-hour Version) consists of five problems. In problem 1, (approximately 8 minutes), the candidate must answer six questions that evaluate generally accepted project leadership practices. Problem 2 (approximately 15 minutes) requires the individual to analyze a business situation and develop a structured problem solving approach. Problem 3 (approximately 8 minutes) consists of six questions about common working situations that determine the test-taker’s general business judgment. Problem 4 (approximately 8 minutes) examines the candidate’s supervisory abilities. In problem 5 (approximately 30 minutes), the individual must analyze a project plan to determine such issues as estimated time of completion, slack, and manpower requirements.

Positions for which the test is appropriate

Job criteria measured

Test administration

The test requires only clerical supervision to administer. Once begun, it is self-instructive for candidates, requiring 1 hour to complete.

Sample question (segment)

CREDIBLE CAR CORP. marketed several lines of auto parts throughout the United States. They recently installed a new computer system-order entry and billing. Much to everyone's embarrassment, the invoices were consistently wrong, resulting in a disastrous effect on the company's reputation for quality and accuracy.
Mr. Smith, the Marketing Manager, talked to the systems and operations managers about this problem. "How could you fellows have made such a blunder?" he asked. "Didn't you test those systems?  This failure will cost us plenty."
The Systems man smiled. "It's your mistake," he said. "Remember last year that fellow Smith, who is responsible for Customer Liaison, wanted to take over some applications. He claimed that the marketing people knew more about how customers react to such systems than anyone. Besides, those simple systems were very easy to buy - you could get them right off the shelf. He's your man, and this is your mistake."
Smith was surprised to find out that his inside sales representative was responsible for such systems. Upon checking, he found that his sales representative had made this agreement over a year ago with the people in systems. His man Smith was eager to make his name in the company, and he tended to take up whatever responsibilities he could. The agreement had been concluded several levels below Mr. Smith, and he had merely concurred at the time. Mr. Smith had argued that it is reasonable for the marketing people to choose simple systems, because they often make the difference between consumer acceptance and failure. Moreover, systems and operations often choose over-expensive, over-systematized programs for the consumer goods division, reflecting their interest in the computer, not sales.
If YOU were hired to deal with this problem, what five key steps (ranked in priority order) would you take to ultimately rectify the situation?

Sample Candidate Evaluation Report

Click here to view a sample detailed evaluation report.

Evaluation

The overall rating is based on scores according to the following table:

Validation Information

May, 2000:

Given the demonstrated relationship between the abilities and traits required to perform the ten key tasks of the Project Leader incumbent, and those measured by the Project Leader Skills Evaluation (1-Hour), the test represents a content valid evaluation device for those positions.

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