"No, it's less effort than that" (smartguess.is)

Article summary

The article discusses the issue of stakeholders pushing for lower estimates from development teams without understanding the implementation details or providing new information. This can lead to unrealistic expectations and diminished trust between stakeholders and development teams. The article suggests that development teams should provide data to back their estimates and have a more productive discussion with stakeholders about the scope and complexity of the project. By doing so, teams can avoid setting bad expectations and deliver software that meets the business needs.

Main themes

• Estimation and planning
• Stakeholder management
• Team dynamics and communication
• Project complexity and scope
• Incentives and biases
• Agile methodology and planning poker
• Uncertainty and risk management

What commenters say

• Pushing for lower estimates without understanding the implementation details is not productive and can lead to unrealistic expectations.
• Developers have an incentive to overestimate to make life easier, but this is not always the case and can be influenced by various factors.
• Management's push for lower estimates is often driven by their own incentives and biases, rather than a genuine understanding of the project's complexity.
• Estimating high is a mathematically valid approach in the face of uncertainty, and developers should not be punished for being ambitious and failing.
• The use of planning poker and other estimation techniques can help identify differing expectations and facilitate discussion, but its effectiveness is limited by team dynamics and management practices.
• Developers and stakeholders often have different understandings of the project's requirements and complexity, leading to frustration and miscommunication.
• The article's suggestion to discuss scope and complexity with stakeholders is seen as a valuable approach, but its implementation can be challenging in practice.
• The relationship between estimates, deadlines, and bonuses can create perverse incentives and lead to unrealistic expectations and burnout.