4 ms·
> If you're billing by the hour, your client should have a general idea of how long something will take. A lower bound and an upper bound. Time-box all tasks.
by speedplane 7y ago
> If you're billing by the hour, your client should have a general idea of how long something will take. A lower bound and an upper bound. Time-box all tasks.
In a world with perfect information, you'd be right. Unfortunately, people have to make decisions with incomplete and potentially misleading information all the time. Demanding perfect time-boxing ahead of time is a recipe for disaster.
- maratd 7y ago> Demanding perfect time-boxing ahead of time is a recipe for disaster. Dear client, this task will take 2 to 6 hours. If I find out it will take longer than this, I will reach out. Dear client, I am 1.5 hours into this task. Based on my experience, it look like it will take 7 to 10 hours instead. Should I continue? For all of this to work well, you need to have experience in estimating well and also understand that whatever number pops into your head, multiply it by 2 and tell the client that. I have never had a client be pissed at me because I finished something for less time/money than they were expecting. That said, this sort of thing should really be used for highly indeterminate tasks, like fixing bugs.