I picked those projects because they were high-profile. But I'll give you another example that I am intimately involved with. Take the software/web accessibili

I picked those projects because they were high-profile. But I'll give you another example that I am intimately involved with. Take the software/web accessibility remediation mess where universities and companies are being sued left and right for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) violations. These organizations know the real threat of legal liabilities, make projects to improve accessibility of their products (web sites, etc.), and routinely blow up their project timelines only to start with new projects. So the concept of "deadlines are real and have consequences" firmly applies here. Yet, NONE of these projects are completed on time. There are many reason for these project failures, but my original argument still stands in this case: "Estimating in the second type of environment is also bogus".