Week 25, year 2014
- The Cost of Estimation - On Estimation The Cost of Estimation Sterile Estimation Ballpark Figures When somebody asks you to estimate how long a feature or a project will take, you will estimate the shortest possible time in which you can complete it. Think about this. Observe your own thoughts while estimating, and you’ll know it’s true. Even if the request was done with the best of intentions, the implicit assumption is not “how long will it take to build it right” but “how fast can you build it”. If you have been burned by this, you move on to phase 2: padding your estimation. You do it secretly, and you feel like a cheat for doing it. [Mathias Verraes]