Isabella Garcia

Hey Roman! I've been in a similar spot as a junior on a small team, and what really worked for me was getting ahead of the problem by communicating estimates super early, ideally before sales locks in a date. Start by documenting your story points right after scoping, and share them with your manager or the sales lead in a quick email. For example, I once wrote something like, 'Hey team, we've scoped this at 15 story points, which based on our velocity means about two weeks once dependencies are cleared – does that align with what was promised?'. That way, you're framing it as a collaborative check-in rather than a complaint. It helps to tie it back to facts like dependencies, so you're not just saying no but explaining why. In meetings, I've found phrases like 'To meet this deadline without overtime, we'd need to adjust the scope – could we prioritize these three features first?' keep things positive and solution-oriented. Another one that landed well was 'I'm excited about this project, but given the handoff from the other team is out of our control, what's our contingency if that slips?'. This shows you're committed but realistic, and it invites input without sounding negative. If you're unsure about the exact velocity numbers, just say you're basing it on past sprints and offer to dive deeper. Over time, this built a habit where sales started looping us in earlier, which cut down on those last-minute crunches.