Program SenseProgram Management

As a TPM for Meta, you will often have to handle conflicting priorities. How do you deal with conflicting priorities?

Technical Program Manager

Meta

Did you come across this question in an interview?

Loading step...

Answers

Expert Answer

Anonymous

3 months ago
4.4Exceptional
When I have to deal with multiple tasks and I have to set priorities, first I try to understand the requirements, deadlines, and impacts of the tasks.
Create a visual representation of dependencies, such as a dependency management map or Gantt Chart.
Then, I break down the activities into smaller tasks, and I classify them based on their urgency and importance. For that, I use the Eisenhower Matrix, which is a visual tool that helps me to stay focused on the critical tasks.
The tasks I identified as urgent and critical are the ones that need to be addressed first.
For tasks that are important but not urgent, I fix deadlines and I add them into my Schedule to monitor and ensure they are closed on time.
I also look on the low-impact tasks that can be delegated to other team members or can be handled later

Anonymous

3 months ago
4.4Exceptional
Requirements must be prioritized based on factors like Reach, Impact, Effort, Confidence, Alignment with company mission and vision, etc. by working with stakeholders during the planning phase of the project. Priority can be classified as Must have, should have, could have and won't have. This helps resolve the conflict between different requirements. Now assume, the conflict is between 2 requirements with the same priority. I look for common ground between the requirements and see if a common solution can satisfy both requirements. For example, customers were asking for a baseball batting simulator and pickleball drills and I was able to satisfy both requirements by adding capability to program position, velocity and angular velocity to the ball machine so the customers themselves could configure it to suit their needs. If such a common solution is not possible the next option is to negotiate min viable solutions than can enable the team to deliver both. Once the min viable solutions are delivered the additional functionality may be delivered at a later date. If such a solution isn't possible the next option is to escalate to management with proposal on updated priorities, ask for more resources, or extend the delivery timeline, etc. To summarize, look for a common solution, negotiate min viable solution and phased delivery and lastly escalate the issue with proposed options for management.

Anonymous

7 months ago
4.4Exceptional
I will start reviewing the program charter and the program plan to ensure  priorities and dependencies are aligned with the stakeholders expectations and the current reality of the program.
For conflicting tasks with the same priority I will also organize them using their potential impact and whether they are a dependency for other tasks. This way we can prioritize tasks higher based on their potential impact.
Getting stakeholders involved in the process of reprioritizing tasks to ensure their suggestions and concerns are heard and there is alignment with the outcomes of priority organization.
I’ll collect metrics to help make data driven decisions and if possible the tasks can be split into smaller pieces and assigning different priorities to the smaller tasks.
When working on the Flutter Security Team the program prioritized securing the release workflows with the higher priority and the build infrastructure changes with lower priority. After careful review of the dependencies I found that infrastructure changes were needed to secure the release workflows. I splitted the build infrastructure task into smaller tasks increasing the priority for the ones that were strictly necessary to complete the release improvements. As implementing security for an open source project at google was new territory we were communicating frequently and openly with stakeholders about changes in the execution plan and ensuring alignment.

Anonymous

3 months ago
3.8Strong
I prioritize requirements as P0 (Must have), P1 (Nice to have) and so by considering their reach, impact, confidence and effort. For the sake of this discussion lets assume the conflict is between two P0 priorities. I would look with alignment with company mission and the urgency and set SMART goals and associated KPIs. Brainstorm and negotiate with the stakeholders to root cause and try resolve the conflict. Quite often subtle modifications and shared information can resolve the conflicts. For example, in a recent project one customer was asking for custom pickleball drills while another was asking for improvements to baseball pitches thrown by the ball machine. We didn't have time to deliver both these items but  I was able to satisfy both customers by delivering a programmable ball machine.
  • How do you deal with conflicting priorities? This will be a frequent scenario you'll face as a TPM at Meta.
  • As a TPM at Meta, you'll frequently be faced with conflicting priorities - how do you deal with these?
  • You will often face conflicting priorities in your role as a TPM at Meta, how will you deal with these?
  • As a TPM you will face conflicting priorities frequently at Meta. How do you manage these?
  • How do you deal with conflicting priorities? A TPM at Meta frequently faces these scenarios..
  • Conflicting priorities will be a scenario you will face frequently at Meta as a TPM. How do you deal with this situation?
  • You will have to deal with conflicting priorities on a regular basis as a TPM at Meta - how do you handle this?
  • You will often face conflicting priorities at Meta. How will you manage this as a TPM?
  • As a TPM for Meta, you will often have to handle conflicting priorities. How do you deal with conflicting priorities?
  • In your role as TPM at Meta, you'll encounter many situations where priorities conflict - how will you deal with this?
Try Our AI Interviewer

Prepare for success with realistic, role-specific interview simulations.

Try AI Interview Now

Interview question asked to Technical Program Managers interviewing at Meta: As a TPM for Meta, you will often have to handle conflicting priorities. How do you deal with conflicting priorities?.