Estimation · Project Recovery
Signed for 2,500 hours. Needed 11,000.
- Situation
- We joined in sprint 3. The engineering team was still struggling to finalize sprint 1 tasks, while the client was introducing detailed scope changes mid-sprint. The contract had been signed as a fixed commitment of 2,500 to 3,000 hours.
- What We Found
- The initial sales estimate had been prepared in haste without deep requirement analysis. Re-estimating alongside the technical team revealed the realistic backlog required no less than 11,000 hours.
- What We Did
- Management was reluctant to confess the disparity to the client. We built the business case for absolute transparency and presented three clear paths forward:
- Re-calibrate the entire scope and re-plan with adjusted commercials
- Ruthlessly trim scope to preserve the committed hard launch date
- Prioritize: ship core MVP features by the deadline, followed by short, continuous weekly release increments
- Outcome
- The client selected Option 3. A robust, functional MVP shipped on time for their commercial product launch. Subsequent features rolled out predictably every 7 to 8 days until the complete engagement was delivered.
“A problem presented with actionable options is no longer a crisis — it is a plan.”