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I'll have to (mostly) disagree on this one (although I do think he raises a VERY valid point at the end). The author is very vague on how the conversation with

I'll have to (mostly) disagree on this one (although I do think he raises a VERY valid point at the end). The author is very vague on how the conversation with the "business owner" goes, and I agree that giving an anchor point is very, very dangerous, but as someone who has been on both sides of the table, you CAN and SHOULD give an order-of-magnitude estimate with several very clear caveats. And I disagree that asking for a ballpark estimate translates to "So, can you guess exactly what’s required... (etc.)". It's the opposite of that, it's can you ROUGHLY (not "exactly") guess (yes, you do have to guess, that's what estimates are, guesses). I agree that only the people actually building can give a "real estimate".. but you can give a "ballpark estimate" (which I translate to order-of-magnitude estimate). The one valuable point from the article is "You’re focused on the wrong thing.". Yes, you should help the business owner focus on the ROI. But you can tell him whether it's a job for a $ 1.000 static website, a $ 10.000 web app, a $ 100.000 system with web, mobile and whatever, or a $1.000.000 ERP or whatever. (or outline to him the options) Edit: I agree with yardie ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11741006 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11741006 ) and napoleond ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11740951 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11740951 )

jdmichal 10y ago
I wonder if there's value in simply answering with an order of magnitude... "Based on our discussions so far, a basic web application would fit your requirements. We typically build those with a budget of tens-of-thousands." (OK, maybe with less awkward delivery, but you get the point.)
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  I think it's pretty valuable. After hearing such an estimate, the client may think "oh, it might stress the budget a bit; I'll need to double-check with my boss". Or, "what? I thought it will cost like $100!". Both are valuable conclusions.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> The one valuable point from the article is "You’re focused on the wrong thing.". Yes, you should help the business owner focus on the ROI. OTOH, the business owner probably already has a (possibly inaccurate, and that may need correcting) idea of the value they expect to receive -- otherwise they wouldn't be talking to you at all. When they are asking for an estimate of the cost to realize that value, they are filling in the bit they need to have a picture of the ROI.

jdmichal 10y ago

I wonder if there's value in simply answering with an order of magnitude... "Based on our discussions so far, a basic web application would fit your requirements. We typically build those with a budget of tens-of-thousands." (OK, maybe with less awkward delivery, but you get the point.)

TeMPOraL 10y ago
I think it's pretty valuable. After hearing such an estimate, the client may think "oh, it might stress the budget a bit; I'll need to double-check with my boss". Or, "what? I thought it will cost like $100!". Both are valuable conclusions.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> The one valuable point from the article is "You’re focused on the wrong thing.". Yes, you should help the business owner focus on the ROI. OTOH, the business owner probably already has a (possibly inaccurate, and that may need correcting) idea of the value they expect to receive -- otherwise they wouldn't be talking to you at all. When they are asking for an estimate of the cost to realize that value, they are filling in the bit they need to have a picture of the ROI.