I'd like you to share an experience when you disagreed with a team member's approach.

Question Analysis

This question is asking you to describe a situation where you had a disagreement with a team member regarding their approach to a task or project. The interviewer is looking to understand how you handle conflict, your communication skills, and your ability to collaborate and find solutions in a team setting. It's important to demonstrate your ability to address disagreements professionally and constructively, focusing on the resolution of the issue and any positive outcomes.

Answer

Situation: In my previous role as a project manager, my team was tasked with developing a new feature for our software product. One of my team members, Alex, proposed an approach that involved using a third-party library to expedite the development process.

Task: My responsibility was to ensure the project stayed on track and met our quality standards. I was concerned that relying on an external library could lead to compatibility issues and long-term maintenance challenges.

Action: I scheduled a meeting with Alex to discuss my concerns. I listened to his reasoning for choosing the third-party library and acknowledged the potential time-saving benefits. I then shared my perspective, highlighting the risks and suggesting we evaluate both options more thoroughly. We agreed to conduct a quick feasibility study comparing the use of the library versus developing the feature in-house.

Result: After completing the feasibility study, we found that while the third-party library offered initial speed, the in-house development provided better alignment with our architecture and reduced future maintenance risks. Alex appreciated the objective evaluation, and we proceeded with the in-house approach. This decision ultimately led to a successful feature release without any major compatibility issues and strengthened our team's collaborative decision-making process.