3 ms·

Counter anecdote: I’ve been on teams shipping 50 custom software projects a year. We hit 90% of our deadlines.

• chasd00 6y ago
  I bet you worked in a small consultancy right? Smaller firms are eat-what-you-kill hard nosed business and if you can't make good estimates and deliver on your promises then the lights go out. I led delivery in a small firm for the past 2 years before leaving for one of the big players, we were very good at estimating and delivering on those estimates because that's how we made bank account deposits. I think a lot of developers deep in the bowels of large companies are completely disconnected from their work and their paycheck. Granted, a lot of management deep in the bowels of large companies are equally disconnected. It would be good for a developer out of college to spend a couple years in a small consulting shop. You get to see the whole business of software development end-to-end. It gives you perspective you wouldn't get in a large company or in like a highly specialized technical team.
  • JamesBarney 6y ago
    I think there is some truth to this. I was better than most devs when I was in a big organization (due to reading Steve McConnell's the black art of software estimation), but starting my own consultancy has made a huge difference. Nothing like eating a part of an invoice to keep a client happy because you mis-estimated to take your estimation skills to the next level.
  • rubidium 6y ago
    Your bet is correct.