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Discussion on: Let's talk about estimation.

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jonrandy profile image
Jon Randy πŸŽ–οΈ

From 25 years of professional development, I can safely say that estimation is a waste of time. Seriously, don't do it

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andrzejwp profile image
andrzejwp • Edited

If only life was that easy ;)
There are 2 resources I consider valuable in terms of software estimation:

  1. Joel Spolsky's article: joelonsoftware.com/2007/10/26/evid...
  2. Steve McConnell's book: amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Dem...

I cannot recommend them enough - both for devs, as well as tech PMs.

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jonrandy profile image
Jon Randy πŸŽ–οΈ • Edited

It really is that easy. I wasn't joking

You'll get things done faster, and write better code

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jonrandy profile image
Jon Randy πŸŽ–οΈ

A good quote on the subject:

Estimation is ultimately a futile effort. Software, more or less, is like writing poetry. Or solving mathematical proofs. It takes as long as it takes, and it’s done when it’s done. Perfect, or imperfect, estimation won’t change how long it takes to complete the work. If that sounds horrible to you, then go do something else.

Taken from here