So incredibly true. I used to be staunchly in the "estimates are empty promises made by business people" camp. The last couple of years I've worked in an enviro

So incredibly true. I used to be staunchly in the "estimates are empty promises made by business people" camp. The last couple of years I've worked in an environment where both engineering and product understand that estimates are not created out of thin air and they have real consequences on both sides of the coin. Our estimates have become far more accurate not only because we all understand that they _are_ estimates but because engineering is able to creatively come up with solutions that meet the business needs, not just the outlined "requirements." Most importantly, any potential shifts in our estimates are communicated every week and we have built in float time to account for these shifts. We haven't missed an estimated date in over a year.