Estimates in Software Development
What are estimates (as in: delivery time estimates in software engineering) good for? Those making them mean them as, well, estimates indeed, while those hearing them all too easily fall for mistaking them as guarantees, which dissonance will lead to interesting misunderstandings and consequences.
Let’s be clear: I understand them as expertly informed guesses that come with a confidence score. Implicitly, it’s clear that the confidence score is higher the closer the estimated date is. Still, it’d be good to always communicate the confidence along with the date.
It’s important to keep them updated, too. Nothing’s worse than a dearly held belief or assumption that all of a sudden is shaken up by a late change. Transparency rules: regardless of whether the confidence changes, or the estimated date - it needs to be communicated.
Tags: work