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IntermediateBEHAVIORAL
Describe a project where you were responsible for estimating effort and duration for tasks. How did you build your estimates, what techniques did you use, and how accurate were the final outcomes compared to your plan?
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Sample Answer

On a recent cross‑functional initiative to roll out a new internal request portal, I owned the effort and timeline estimates for a team of 7 (engineering, ops, and design). I started by breaking the work into small, clearly defined tasks and running a planning session where each person gave their own estimate. We used a mix of planning poker and three‑point estimating (best case, most likely, worst case), then converted that into a range rather than a single date. I also pulled data from two similar projects we’d completed the prior year to calibrate our assumptions on velocity and risk buffers. We built in a 20% contingency for integration work, which historically was our biggest unknown. In the end, we delivered the MVP in 9 weeks versus an 8–10 week estimate, and 92% of the tasks landed within their original time range.

Keywords

Broke work into small tasks and used team-based estimating (planning poker, three-point estimates)Calibrated estimates using historical data and known team velocityAdded explicit contingency for high-risk integration workDelivered within the estimated 8–10 week window with high task-level accuracy
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