That's a good point, but it has two issues you should consider. First, the industrial world also had significant issues with project definition and understandi

That's a good point, but it has two issues you should consider. First, the industrial world also had significant issues with project definition and understanding. The problems were not already solved, and the process, inputs, outputs and the whole system was constantly changing. Every project was already about problem solving and scoping. So there's a bit of rose-colored glasses toward the past here. Second, the idea that time estimation is no longer applicable is probably off. There are two separate problems: problem definition, and problem solving, and estimation is extremely useful in the latter. Problem definition is a different problem that still needs much focus, but it doesn't preclude the need for better understanding of time to coordinate other processes and dependencies. You might be saying that those dependencies aren't as important as we think, and I tend to agree, but that's a different argument. Generally speaking, the idea that knowledge and skills from the industrial era are no longer applicable is untrue. There is a huge body of knowledge about how products are made and built that have 99% applicability to software and technology in the post-industrial world. This is because the problems are the same: management of people, leadership, understanding interactions within complex systems, understanding statistics (the importance of which this article proves profoundly), and improving the spread of knowledge. This is the way that Toyota began operating in the post-WWII era, the way W. Edwards Deming modeled companies, and the way that the current Lean movement guides you to improve almost any business. It's highly relevant. The main point we should take away, is that time and estimates are not constraints on a system; but rather outputs that are predictable and follow statistical patterns. We can use those outputs to make better decisions, especially if we understand the whole process of production in a systemic way. Estimation need not die. It's a tool for good in the hands of a systems thinker.