"High-Level Estimates"
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I give all estimates in ranges now, with the broadness of the range tied to the specificity of the request.
So someone gives me something that sounds like 12 weeks, but with so few details, that I don't really know?
I say "Well, it depends on what the details are, but could take from 8 to 32 weeks, and I'd expect it to take 18." So it's a skewed distribution, and weighted past what I really think, so that people don't get married to some short, improbable number.
Then, as more details are known, I narrow down the range, and adjust the expected value.
So someone gives me something that sounds like 12 weeks, but with so few details, that I don't really know?
I say "Well, it depends on what the details are, but could take from 8 to 32 weeks, and I'd expect it to take 18." So it's a skewed distribution, and weighted past what I really think, so that people don't get married to some short, improbable number.
Then, as more details are known, I narrow down the range, and adjust the expected value.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Depends how good the estimator is at predicting what the estimatee wants to hear.thibodeaux wrote:You're given a single sheet of paper that contains a block diagram with a few notes on it. You're asked for a "high-level estimate" of how long it would take you to implement the system "specified" by the paper.
I mean really. How useful is that?
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
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It gives the illusion that work is getting done so a manager can get his boss off his back.thibodeaux wrote:Yes, yes, but how is it useful to anybody? That's what I don't understand.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Couldn't that just be explained informally in a sentence or two?TheCatt wrote:Gives them a rough idea as to whether the costs are worth the potential benefits?
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
The less I hate the job, the more inclined I am to devote more energy appearing not to hate people, which is a close approximation of my definition of tact.GORDON wrote:I've known for a long time that in some situations, I lack tact.
Combat and business being the majority of those situations.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
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- Posts: 8121
- Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 7:32 pm
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