If I am developing a standard project, I will give you accurate estimates that are often correct. If I am building a custom project, my estimates will vary grea

If I am developing a standard project, I will give you accurate estimates that are often correct. If I am building a custom project, my estimates will vary greatly, based on how custom it is, how well you describe what you want, and how many times I can expect you to change your mind about something. It's really easy to tell whether you're building something standard. If it is standard, you don't need to write software for it. Say you want a standard blog. You use Wordpress. Say you want a blog that's kind of like Wordpress but a little bit different. You need to hire a programmer to write a custom component. Effectively, all the software we write is custom. Once something becomes standardized, you no longer "build" that software. If it is standard, you install and configure it. This is the same in the real world. If you need a standard kitchen, you can estimate how long it will take you to go IKEA, buy the cabinets, bring them home, and install it. If you want something custom, it all depends on how custom. If you want cabinets that retreat into the wall, have glass fronts, bulletproof countertops, can adjust in height so that both your 5'2" wife and her 6'11" husband can use them, in the mobile trailer that needs to tolerate temps from a dry -40F up to humid 100F without discoloration and warping, good luck. Oh, and they need to look really nice and be easy to clean. Estimate that! TL;DR: when hiring a programmer to develop a project, nobody wants standard IKEA.