Project Context
NotionFlow, a B2B workflow SaaS company, has asked you to manage three overlapping projects in the same quarter: a CRM integration launch for enterprise customers, a mobile performance remediation program, and a security audit remediation required for renewal of a major customer contract. You are the program manager coordinating a 12-person cross-functional team across engineering, design, QA, and go-to-market. The CEO has asked for a clear prioritization plan within 5 business days because all three initiatives are currently marked as "top priority."
Key Stakeholders
The VP of Sales wants the CRM integration released before quarter-end to close $1.8M in pipeline. The CTO insists security remediation must come first because 6 critical findings must be closed before the customer’s audit in 8 weeks. The Head of Product is pushing mobile performance fixes after app store ratings dropped from 4.6 to 4.1, hurting self-serve growth. Engineering managers are concerned the team cannot deliver all three at full scope without quality issues.
Constraints
- Timeline: 10 weeks until quarter-end
- Team: 6 engineers, 2 QA, 1 designer, 1 data analyst, 1 PM, you as program manager
- Budget: $120,000 remaining, including up to $35,000 for contractors
- Dependencies: CRM launch needs a third-party API certification that takes 3 weeks; security fixes require legal sign-off; mobile work depends on a shared backend service owner who is only available 40% of the time
- Capacity: Two engineers are already committed 25% to production support
Complications
- The largest enterprise prospect says they will sign only if the CRM integration is live by Week 9.
- One critical security finding affects the same service needed for mobile performance improvements.
- QA can support only one major release train at a time.
Deliverables
- Build a prioritized 10-week execution plan across all three projects.
- Explain your prioritization framework and the trade-offs you would make.
- Propose how you would sequence work given shared dependencies and limited QA capacity.
- Define stakeholder communication and escalation points for priority conflicts.
- Identify the top risks and contingency actions if one project slips.
