hardCase StudyScenarioMidSeniorLead
How do you size and price an engagement when the scope is still uncertain, and what do you do when you are told to cut the number?
7 min readUpdated 2026-08-15
Answer
Short answer
Estimate bottom-up against comparable work, carry an explicit three-point range with contingency as a visible line, then choose a commercial shape that matches the uncertainty.
In a strong estimation answer, the how do you size and price detail should connect the decision to a visible consequence.
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Likely follow-ups
- The customer wants a fixed price and refuses a paid discovery phase. What do you propose?
- Your delivery lead says the estimate is 30 per cent too low. How do you resolve that before submission?
- How do you price the second and third year of a managed service you have never run at this scale?
- You win at the reduced number and the risk fires in month four. What did you put in the proposal to survive it?
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