Show prioritization, scoping, and communication under pressure.
How to answer it
The interviewer wants to see how you cut scope, not how many hours you worked. A story that ends with an all-nighter is a story about poor planning.
Structure:
The deadline and why it was real. "The board deck needed a churn analysis by Thursday; I found out on Tuesday."
What you did first: clarify the decision the work had to support. "I asked what question the board would ask. It was whether churn was concentrated in one plan. That is a much smaller analysis than 'a churn analysis'."
How you scoped. "Full cohort analysis by plan, a single chart. Everything else, segment by region and by acquisition channel, listed as follow-ups in the appendix."
How you communicated. "Told the requester on Tuesday exactly what would and would not be in it, so there was no surprise on Thursday."
The outcome and the check. "Delivered Wednesday evening. The board asked the question I had predicted. The regional cut was done the following week when it was actually needed."
The line that makes the story land: you shrank the ask to the decision, said so early, and protected the correctness of the part you did deliver rather than rushing all of it.
What they are checking: prioritisation and communication under pressure, and whether the delivered piece was still right.
Common mistake: "I worked through the night and got it all done." That is the answer the interviewer hopes not to hear.