Tell me about a project where the requirements were not clear or kept changing. How did you adapt and maintain productivity?

In my first year, I worked on a small internal dashboard feature where the request started as 'show account health,' but the exact metrics kept changing as users saw early mockups. I wrote down the pieces that were still unclear, checked with my mentor which metrics were actually required for the first version, and focused on building the data loading and page structure first because those parts were unlikely to change. For the changing parts, I shared my assumptions in the ticket and in code review so people could correct them early. That helped us avoid redoing the entire feature every time feedback came in. We shipped a smaller first version on time, and after that I got more comfortable breaking vague work into what is stable versus what still needs answers.

At a small agency I worked on a two-week project to build a signup and donation flow for a nonprofit, but the stakeholders kept changing which fields and payment options they wanted as they debated priorities. To stay productive I built a simple clickable prototype first and walked the team through it so we could agree on the actual user steps before I wrote backend code. I also asked the client to pick a "must-have" list for the launch and a separate "nice-to-have" list, and I estimated how much time each change would add so they understood the tradeoffs. I kept a short change log and did brief daily check-ins so no surprises accumulated. By freezing the core flow and adding smaller requests to a follow-up sprint, I delivered a working flow on time and kept the client engaged and informed. I learned that quick prototypes and clear impact estimates are the best way to handle unclear, shifting requirements when time is tight.