One day, whilst at work you hear your boss say to you ...

Hey Mike, how's the project coming along?

Could you please take a look at that issue that was raised at our meeting this morning and give me a ballpark figure on our output? Hey, and also keep me in the loop on the progress of those test runs you plan on doing.

We might realize that we're only running around in circles with this whole problem. Perhaps, we could consider going back to the drawing board ASAP!

So, what did he mean when he said all that?

A ballpark figure is an estimate or an approximation

To keep someone in the loop means to keep them updated or to keep them posted

To run around in circles means to do the same thing over and over again without getting any results

To go back to the drawing board means to plan something all over again from the start or to go back to square one

ASAP means As Soon As Possible!