I want to show you my story of doing one test case on the position of ERP project manager.
It is a very interesting case to use JIRA, and I want to share with you my experience. I got a backlog, a large table in Microsoft Excel with different information about tasks and resources, start and finish dates, and priorities of the project tasks.
And the first question of this test case was to reduce the backlog and propose improvement points.
My answer was the topic for improvements is to use a hybrid type of project - Waterfall and Agile. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool used to divide a project into smaller manageable tasks; the exact structure of the WBS will depend on the specific implementation project and the organization's needs.
However, here is an example of WBS for implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 with all the previously listed models broken into the third level of details, and you can see the WBS.
1. Project Initiation
1.1. Project charter
1.2. Project plan
1.3. Stakeholder analysis
2. Business Process Analysis
2.1. Current process assessment
2.2. Gap analysis
2.3. Future process design
3. System Design
3.1. System architecture
3.2. Technical design
3.3. Data migration plan
4. Development and Customization
4.1. Finance
4.1.1. Financial management
4.1.2. Accounting
4.1.3. Financial Reporting
4.2. Supply Chain Management
4.2.1. Inventory management
4.2.2. Purchasing
4.2.3. Logistics
4.3. Project Service Automation
4.3.1. Project management
4.3.2. Scheduling
4.3.3. Time tracking
4.4. Sales
4.4.1. Lead management
4.4.2. Account management
4.4.3. Sales forecasting
4.5. Marketing
4.5.1. Marketing campaign management
4.5.2. Email campaigns
4.5.3. Campaign tracking
4.6. Customer Service
4.6.1. Case management
4.6.2. Knowledge management
4.6.3. Customer self-service
4.7. Field Service
4.7.1. Scheduling and dispatching
4.7.2. Service contracts
4.7.3. Inventory tracking
4.8. Human Resources
4.8.1. Recruiting
4.8.2. Onboarding
4.8.3. Performance management
4.9. Talent
4.9.1. Recruiting
4.9.2. Onboarding
4.9.3. Performance management
4.10. Retail
4.10.1. Point-of-sale
4.10.2. Inventory management
4.10.3. Customer management
4.11. Commerce
4.11.1. Order management
4.11.2. Inventory management
4.11.3. Customer management
4.12. Business Central
4.12.1. Financial management
4.12.2. Supply chain management
4.12.3. Customer relationship management
4.13. Power Platform
4.13.1. Custom application development
4.13.2. Automation of business processes
4.13.3. Data analysis
5. Deployment
5.1. System setup and configuration
5.2. Data migration
5.3. User acceptance testing
6. Training and Support
6.1. End-user training
6.2. System administrator training
6.3. Ongoing support and maintenance
The next question was to prepare a Project Plan in Jira based on the current backlog. The goal is to manage project scope, task, and team capacity within Project Plan in Jira.
Okay, go to Jira, and we will see what I did. First, I did a backlog table from Microsoft Excel to Jira Software. Then, I did different filters and a work breakdown structure. I use other tasks (Epics, Stories, Tasks, and Subtasks). We can assign resources. We can use priority for the project tasks, and we can use different filters.
And the next I did was a breakdown structure where we can do Baseline Plan for some tasks or the whole project. Now I will show you how I do a Baseline plan for selected project tasks.
And the next I did was a breakdown structure where we can do Baseline Plan for some tasks or the whole project. Now I will show you how I do a Baseline plan for selected project tasks.
And you can see Baseline's Start and Finish dates and lines on the Gantt Diagram. Next, I did a Scrum board with statuses from the Microsoft Excel table.
I can move the task from one status to another status. Please note that there are many other statuses inside the In Progress column (in progress, analyzes, confidence, decision, ongoing plan). Please choose what you need.
Next, I did a workload report. It is a way to see workloads in percentage or hours of team members; next, you can see the single resource card with his personal workload plans, skills, or other information.
I asked for the opinion of ChatGPT:
The initial data for the test task is a current backlog table in MS Excel with 17 columns and 77 rows with 1073 data values (text and numeric). The conditions of the test task when applying for a job sound like this:
1. Review the backlog and propose points for improvements.
2. Prepare Project Plan in Jira based on the current backlog. The goal is to manage project scope, task and team capacity within Project Plan in Jira.
At the same time, the company does not provide customized JIRA and task evaluation criteria and does not pay for its implementation.
Can such a task be qualified as receiving a free examination (consultation) from a job candidate?
and this is the answer I received from ChatGPT:
Yes, such a task can be considered as receiving a free examination (consultation) from a job candidate. The conditions of the task described in the scenario do not appear to be a typical test task that is part of the job application process. The company is asking the job candidate to perform a significant amount of work without providing customized JIRA or clear evaluation criteria and without compensating the candidate for their time and effort. This type of task is more akin to a free consultation than a test task, as the company is asking for the candidate's expertise and not evaluating their suitability for the job.
It is important for job candidates to understand the conditions of the tasks they are being asked to complete during the job application process. If a task seems unreasonable or if the company is not transparent about the purpose of the task, it is important to discuss these concerns with the hiring manager or recruitment team to ensure that your time and effort are being used appropriately.
After the presentation of the video with my story in Linkedin, I received the following questions:
And here are my answers to these questions.
#01.
Is this a task you were presented with during an actual interview?
Yes, it was an actual interview that started with a meeting on December 29, 2022,⋅11:00 – 11:45, and ended on February 09, 2023, at 17:11.
#02.
Have you been presented with similar tasks in other interviews?
This is the first time I have received such a task in my professional project management career. Usually, a small presentation was enough.
#03.
If it was part of an interview process, how long were you given to complete the task?
I spent at least 8 hours on this assignment from the moment it was received on Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 16:17 to the submission on Friday, January 27, 2023, at 10:57.
It takes much time to set up Jira and not just transfer data from the MS Excel spreadsheet to Jira. Therefore, I did not enter all the data from the MS Excel spreadsheet into Jira, so as not to delay the answer.
#04.
Did you receive an offer or feedback?
Yes, I received a rejection and extensive feedback.
It is important to note that the reasons for rejection were not satisfied with my answers to two other answers (No. 3 and 4), which I did not give in my video, but they can be seen in the title of the sheets (No. 3 and 4) in the MS Excel file.
And here, it is essential to note that I deliberately did not prepare such detailed answers to questions 3 and 4 as to questions 1 and 2, for the reason that I treated this task as a free consultation, and not a regular test task.
#05.
And do you feel that ChatGPT was correct in assessing that this type of "interview" is simply a business taking advantage of candidates?
Yes, chatGPT only confirmed my initial assessment that it was on a regular Jira knowledge test and a way to get a free consultation.
This question was not answered in the community
https://community.atlassian.com/t5/New-to-Jira-discussions/Jira-for-system-implementation/td-p/1542326
as well as my questions:
1) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7018242020515151872
2) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7018164264255254528
3) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017885597880958978
The regular Jira knowledge test is as follows
https://university.atlassian.com/student/path/815443/activity/1080730
I hope you got a lot of exciting and valuable information here.
