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There’s an interview question that i was asked years ago, and I’ve sometimes thought about it but haven’t still figured out an answer. The question is as follows.

You’re working on a project for a client and there’s 15 minutes until it should be delivered, but the solution is not finished yet. What do you do?

The only logical thing I thought of was to just contact the client and tell them it’ll take some more time, but at the same time, telling them 15 minutes before the deadline seems like a sign of bad planning and time management. And it’s probably not realistic to finish everything in 15 minutes. What woold you guys do?

Comments
  • 3
    Everything gets worse in life when you lie. This isn’t worth the lie. If you’ve really got yourself in this situation then it’s most likely your fault. Own it. If you lose the client’s business, that is the cost of building a reputation for integrity. If you learn from this and don’t repeat it then you’re setting yourself up for success.
  • 4
    The hard truth is: this scenario IS bad planning and bad time management. Otherwise, delivery would either have been on track, or the delay would have been communicated properly.

    I would do nothing and leave the customer communication to the PM/PO. After all, I warned him several times, and I was smart enough to do it by email so that I have a paper trail.
  • 4
    1 ) Run on circles for 5 minutes
    2 ) Frenetically type for another minute
    3 ) Realize that I have someone to interview, go to the interview, try to act natural and ask: You're working on a project for a client and there's 5 minutes until it should be delivered, but the solution is not finished yet. What do yo do?
    4 ) Pray that he/she comes up with a solution
  • 1
    The delay should have been identified a lot earlier then the last minute, any kind of planning would have suggested the features aren't getting done in the needed amount of time and delays should have already been communicated.

    Otherwise if you are finalising deployment dry run you could say you identified an issue that needs to be fixed, but this won't buy you the month or two you are probably looking for, you might get a day or two at best.
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