Comments on: The art of estimating http://jonkruger.com/blog/2008/08/31/the-art-of-estimating/ Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:56:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Tim http://jonkruger.com/blog/2008/08/31/the-art-of-estimating/comment-page-1/#comment-3103 Tim Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:17:47 +0000 http://jonkruger.com/blog/2008/08/31/the-art-of-estimating/#comment-3103 Great post, Jon. One way to help with the "being held to your estimates" portion of working with the project sponsors is to offer a range. A realistic range, but giving a range at the high level opens you up to get back with better details after the team does its estimates. I'm not saying we shouldn't be held to them, but it's easier to be successful with a 70-90 hour estimate than an 80 hour estimate. Also, when agiling it up, when you encounter something that's going to drastically effect your estimate, bring it up sooner than later. Like you said, your client may not like the news, but at least having the information allows them to plan for it. (Or they may like if the change brings you in well under your estimate.) Great post, Jon.

One way to help with the “being held to your estimates” portion of working with the project sponsors is to offer a range. A realistic range, but giving a range at the high level opens you up to get back with better details after the team does its estimates. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be held to them, but it’s easier to be successful with a 70-90 hour estimate than an 80 hour estimate.

Also, when agiling it up, when you encounter something that’s going to drastically effect your estimate, bring it up sooner than later. Like you said, your client may not like the news, but at least having the information allows them to plan for it. (Or they may like if the change brings you in well under your estimate.)

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