Early project scoping rarely offers full clarity. Time is limited, stakeholder access is fragmented, and many deliverables are still loosely defined. Even so, we’re expected to provide an estimate. That estimate helps support a go or no-go decision and begins shaping what comes next.
At this stage, trying to break work into tasks and assign hours can create a false sense of precision. A better approach is to ask how well each deliverable is understood, how much ambiguity it carries, and how much coordination it will require across teams. These questions don’t lead to exact answers, but they reveal where confidence is warranted and where it isn’t.
As professionals grow into more senior roles, the ability to navigate ambiguity becomes essential. Business context, technical architecture, and operating models often have to be clarified in parallel. Estimation shifts from a question of effort to a question of readiness, alignment, and shared understanding, often in the absence of clear inputs.
Some deliverables are clear-cut. Others involve shifting requirements, unclear ownership, or dependencies that haven’t been explored yet. On paper they may look similar. In practice, they behave very differently.
In these situations, a focused proof of concept can help. It gives teams and stakeholders a way to test assumptions early, build trust, and establish a working rhythm. Communication habits start to form. Decision-making styles become visible. The estimate becomes more grounded, not because the ambiguity is gone, but because the team has started working with it directly.
Estimation in this kind of environment isn’t about locking things down. It’s about seeing clearly what’s known, what isn’t, and how the work is likely to evolve once in motion.
