It can also be that they flubbed at communicating and meant to ask, “what are the things that make it take that long?” Underlying that question would be, “are w

It can also be that they flubbed at communicating and meant to ask, “what are the things that make it take that long?” Underlying that question would be, “are we on the same page about the scope of this?”, “Are you making business assumptions that I can actually provide updated information about?”, and “Are you lacking resources/clarity that I can get delivered to you?”. Thats a charitable interpretation but it’s occasionally the correct one. It might also be that they’re surprised at the complexity and want to know more. For this reason, the important part of an estimate isn’t the number. Its the task-breakdown and the identification of risk.