Change Direction When New Evidence Invalidates Your Plan

Tell me about a project where new evidence showed that your original direction was wrong or no longer worthwhile. What changed, how did you decide to pivot, and how did you bring stakeholders and the team through the change? ### Constraints & Assumptions - Choose a material change in direction rather than a routine implementation adjustment. - Explain both the cost of continuing and the cost of changing course. - Do not rewrite the story as though the new direction was obvious from the start. ### Clarifying Questions to Ask - What assumption did the original plan depend on? - Which new evidence was strong enough to challenge it? - Was the decision reversible, and who had authority to make it? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clearly stated original hypothesis and a credible disconfirming signal. - Revalidation of the evidence rather than reacting to one noisy event. - Explicit treatment of sunk cost, migration risk, and commitments already made. - A concrete transition plan with stakeholder communication and team support. - Outcome measures and a lesson incorporated into later planning. ### Follow-up Questions - Who disagreed with the pivot, and what was their strongest argument? - What work from the original plan could be preserved? - Which early checkpoint would reveal the same issue sooner next time?