Program SenseProgram Management

What did you learn from a time when you ran over budget for a program?

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Answers

Anonymous

8 months ago
3.6Strong
We maintained the document inventory in the excel file. The file became slow as lot of meta data was added with time. Since there was no plan of dashboard we had no budget for it. I went ahead and got a basic dashboard built. The Qlik dashboard was interactive where the customer could easily download reports and present a real time status to the leadership team. Also, taking data driven decisions were easy. As dashboard was connected to document management system. Any discrepancy was caught immediately and corrective measures were taken. Though budget didn't allow customer was satisfied with the end result. I learnt that some buffer amount can be kept for customer delight or to manage the risk

Anonymous

9 months ago
4.4Exceptional
Situation:

"I was leading a program to optimize our production workflow. We ran into a critical issue where inconsistent retail pricing was showing up across different channels for a major sales event. This had the potential to confuse customers and negatively impact our brand."

Task & Action:

"Recognizing the urgency, I immediately assembled a cross-functional team and developed a project plan to identify the root cause and implement solutions. We initially focused on the retail pricing problem, but discovered a broader issue with inconsistent product data across multiple areas.

To tackle this expanded scope, I brought in additional resources like data analysts and engineers. While this decision strained our budget, I felt it was crucial to address the root problem to prevent similar issues in the future. I communicated the changes in scope and associated costs transparently to stakeholders, ensuring everyone understood the rationale behind the decision."

Result & Learnings:

"Ultimately, we successfully resolved the pricing discrepancies and implemented a more robust data validation process to prevent future errors.  The project took longer and cost more than initially planned, but the long-term benefits to customer trust and operational efficiency far outweighed the short-term budgetary impact.

This experience taught me the importance of thorough initial scoping, but also the need to be adaptable when unexpected issues arise.  I learned to be more proactive in uncovering potential risks and to build in contingency plans from the start. I also became more skilled at communicating changes in scope and budget to stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in throughout the project."

Relevance to Amazon:

"In the Amazon Program Manager role, I believe these learnings would be invaluable. My ability to pivot quickly, manage resources effectively, and communicate transparently would help me deliver successful projects even in the face of unexpected challenges. The experience also reinforced my commitment to data integrity and customer-centric solutions, which align perfectly with Amazon's core values."

Anonymous

a year ago
4.2Exceptional
As a TPM, I understand the budgeting and pricing and know that resources are budgeted per hour. In my early days as a TPM , In my previous instance where we encountered challenges with migration from on premise on on cloud services, the extension in projects timeline had a financial implication as the human resource budget accounted for the initial project timelines. We therefore went over budget with over 80 hours for each team member. From this experience, I learnt that at project inception, as a TPM, I should have a buffer budget for risks associated with program delays due to unforeseen circumstances. From that program going forward, I made sure to incorporate that in the initial budget.
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Interview question asked to candidates interviewing at top companies: What did you learn from a time when you ran over budget for a program?.