IMHO one of the following things is at play here: 1) They have low-quality standards, so they expect something that barely works 2) They don't expect you to a

IMHO one of the following things is at play here: 1) They have low-quality standards, so they expect something that barely works 2) They don't expect you to actually deliver, only to drive the project from point A to point B, but they didn't tell you just in case you could drive the project to point C (that could be a little exploitative, but that doesn't really matter). 3) They don't care about the result because it's part of a program that runs for <reasons>. I would bet for (3). Either way, If I were you, I'd just do my best within the constraints they gave me, trying to fulfill the minimum requirements and then move on without taking this too seriously. Take this as a learning experience, at this point you shouldn't care about the money, under regular circumstances. Take it as a learning experience.