4 ms·
I just don't know why people won't arbitrarily add 2-3 more time on the estimate...
by mpg33 13y ago
I just don't know why people won't arbitrarily add 2-3 more time on the estimate...
- jwpeddle 13y agoHofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
- flurdy 13y agoTrue, and Parkinson's Law will ensure it will take at least that time
- mpg33 13y agoYes but wouldn't it at least close the gap to make the time estimate a little more realistic?
- dj-wonk 13y agoAccording to DJ Wonk's Law (shamelessly self-named), when discussing software estimation, it is inevitable (only a matter of time) that someone will mention Hofstadter's Law.
- astrodust 13y agoYou need to calibrate your "optimism factor" as most of the time you'll estimate by the wrong amount. I chalk this up to people being optimists, that is, ignoring a lot of the junk involved in completing a task that they'd rather not do: Meetings, documentation, integration issues, testing and so on. For most people it's around 2-5 but for some as high as 10 to 20. You might feel like an idiot when you tell people "Hm, change the color of the logo to a different shade of green? Six hours." This is probably how long it will take, though, for that so-called "five minute fix".