Behavioral: Working Under Tight Deadlines and Owning Missed Commitments

Context: In a software engineering technical screen, you may be asked to demonstrate how you plan and deliver under pressure and how you respond when things go wrong. Use a structured example with measurable outcomes.

Part A — Tight Deadline

Describe a time you faced a tight deadline. Address:

1. Effort estimation: how you sized the work and communicated confidence.
2. Prioritization: how you identified the critical path and sequenced tasks.
3. Scope negotiation: what you proposed to cut/phase to hit the date.
4. Communication: how you conveyed trade-offs and risks to stakeholders.

Part B — Missed Commitment

Describe a one-time missed commitment. Address:

1. Root cause of the miss.
2. How you communicated and escalated.
3. What you learned.
4. Safeguards you implemented to prevent recurrence.