While I have not been involved in this directly, I imagine there should be contracts set up by the company’s legal team to mitigate this. There should be clauses that protect the company if the vendor falls through and especially…   Read more»

It is important to first figure out the cause of the under performance of the employee. It would be ideal to set up a meeting with the employee to figure out if there is something going on personally that is…   Read more»

Before committing to a vendor or company, thorough research should be done to ensure that they are a reputable and reliable company. Questions to consider include: (1) what types of products/services are being offered (2) how long have they been…   Read more»

At the current moment, I would take on an engineering role. Being fresh out of school, it is appealing to want to get in the field and get as much hands on experience as possible and applying all the skills…   Read more»

Absolutely, a single project most definitely can focus on more than one priority at a time. I’ve seen in manufacturing where one product will go through numerous processes and after each process, the parts are inspected to make sure that…   Read more»

I am also motivated by challenges and learning. While it can be daunting to take on something unfamiliar and difficult, it is invigorating making progress as well as learning along the way. A manager once piled on numerous tasks for…   Read more»

While HR can sometimes be looked over, they do play an important role in ensuring a health and positive working environment. Engineers are often stereotyped for not being able to communicate well. This can sometimes lead to unnecessary conflicts in…   Read more»

It wouldn’t be ideal if a team member changes positions in the middle of a project with a critical task remaining. However, if this does occur, I would assign multiple people to cover for that person’s role until the completion…   Read more»

I’ve also had a similar situation with capstone in which a timeline had to be pushed back because of an outstanding task that was not completed which resulted in the whole team being behind as one task was intertwined with…   Read more»

Some of the big name companies that have locations on the East Coast include: Stryker, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squib, Becton Dickinson, Medtronic. I currently work as an intern at Weiss-Aug Surgical Products and one of the things…   Read more»

I agree with the point made above about increasing the time spent on the project. While elongating the deadline for the project may not be desired, it might be best for the project as it’s important not to rush solutions…   Read more»

This does put the team and company in a rather awkward position because reaching out to an external source whether it be for information or financial support could make the company look like they are not managing their resources correctly…   Read more»

After being assigned as the PM of a brand new team in the midst of a project and noticing that the performance report scores are very low, I would implement multiple techniques to improve the team’s performance. I would first…   Read more»

It would be ideal for the individuals from different departments and backgrounds to have the most influence on the project as they are the ones working directly on it. This would be most ideal as individuals are able to give…   Read more»

Hi everyone!
My name is Snehal Patel and I’m currently pursuing my masters in Biomedical Engineering at NJIT while working at Weiss-Aug Surgical Products. My LinkedIn profile is below:
http://linkedin.com/in/snehal-r-patel

It is vital for project managers to have experience as engineers. PMs who have experience being an engineer have more insight on how projects are not just planned but executes as well. Someone who has worked on multiple projects is…   Read more»

Often times I find that upper management will make unrealistic expectations for engineers in an effort to meet customer needs. During meetings, it’s often expressed that some processes may not be feasible and upper management will want to go through…   Read more»

As a project manager, I would implement multiple boundaries to ensure that a proper work life balance is maintained while keeping the project moving forward by creating realistic deadlines and recommending that employees do not work past a certain time….   Read more»

I find it best to list out broad categories and then making sub categories ensuring that all components of the project are being accounted for. After breaking up the different categories of tasks, it makes assigning the tasks easier since…   Read more»

I agree with all of the posts made in this forum that it is ideal to have experience working as an engineer before stepping into a project manager role. Being a project manager is a huge responsibility as you are…   Read more»