Your team is consistently missing deadlines. What steps do you take to fix this?
Why This Is Asked
Interviewers want to see your diagnostic and problem-solving approach when delivery is broken. They're assessing whether you look at root causes (estimation, scope, capacity, process) rather than blaming people, and whether you implement sustainable fixes rather than short-term workarounds.
Key Points to Cover
- Diagnosis: investigating why deadlines are missed (estimation accuracy, scope creep, capacity, blockers, dependencies)
- Data-driven analysis: using historical data to identify patterns
- Corrective actions: adjusting estimation, scope management, capacity planning, or process
- Communication: resetting expectations with stakeholders and building trust
STAR Method Answer Template
Describe the context - what was happening, what team/company, what was at stake
What was your specific responsibility or challenge?
What specific steps did you take? Be detailed about YOUR actions
What was the outcome? Use metrics where possible. What did you learn?
đź’ˇ Tips
- Avoid blaming individuals; focus on process, estimation, and systemic factors
- Show a structured approach: diagnose → hypothesize → implement → measure
- Include how you communicated with stakeholders during the fix (transparency, revised timelines)
✍️ Example Response
STAR formatSituation: I took over an engineering team of 8 that had missed the last three release deadlines. Morale was low, and product had lost trust in our commitments. The team was capable but overwhelmed—scope kept growing, and estimates were consistently optimistic.
Task: I needed to diagnose the root causes, implement corrective actions, and rebuild trust with stakeholders.
Action: I started with data. I pulled historical sprint data: planned vs. completed story points, scope changes mid-sprint, and blocker frequency. The pattern was clear: we were overcommitting by about 30%, and scope creep added another 15–20% per sprint. I also ran a retro with the team—no blame—and heard that we had no buffer for unknowns and that dependencies on other teams were often late. I implemented three changes: (1) we reduced commitment by 25% and used the buffer for unplanned work; (2) we introduced a "scope freeze" after sprint planning—any new request required a trade-off; (3) we started biweekly syncs with dependent teams to align on handoffs. I proactively met with product to reset expectations: "We'll under-promise and over-deliver for the next two sprints while we stabilize."
Result: We hit our next four deadlines. Velocity stabilized, and we gradually increased commitment as our predictability improved. Product trust returned. I learned that missed deadlines are usually a process problem, not a people problem—and that transparent communication during the fix is as important as the fix itself.
🏢 Companies Known to Ask This
| Company | Variation / Focus |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Deliver Results, Ownership — "Your team keeps missing deadlines. What do you do?" |
| Meta | Shipping impact, execution |
| Microsoft | Execution |
| Collaboration, impact at scale | |
| Netflix | High performance |
| Stripe | Reliability |