"No, it's less effort than that"

I think the biggest challenge I have is that people will immediately ask for estimates when the project is barely a paragraph description. On top of that, my feeling is always "it depends on how much tech debt is in the code after I look in there."

The only reasonable response I've had is "I need 1-2 days to both push you on solidifying these requirements, and stop & audit the codebase to look for any risks before starting".

Is there anything I could be doing better here?

>Is there anything I could be doing better here?

Yes. Not give a fuck about the code debt and quality, and just rush out something that barely works. That will keep them satisfied.

Having built a few of these and inherited a few, please don't. They become brittle and future changes become increasingly difficult, until velocity grinds to a halt. Then you're just firefighting constantly.

My guess is there is a happy medium between never changing and staying on the cutting edge. A place where you can ride the current of tech, FOSS, dev communities and talent pools.

If course what this looks like day to day and in pointing poker will vary. Ideally there is a seasoned architect on every team who can steer the biggest decisions away from the hazards.