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Always Multiply Your Estimates by π (2013)

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268 points behnamoh | 1 comments | 27 Sep 21 04:48 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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capableweb ◴[27 Sep 21 08:11 UTC] No.28668272[source]▶
This is good advice but forgets that people are part of how long time something will take as well. If it's one engineer, it'll probably take $estimation * π, but if it's two engineers, you probably need to double that. If it's three, triple it. New calculation should be something like "($estimation * π) * $peopleWorkingOnSameThing". Communication overhead and mistakes should not be underestimated.
replies(4): >>28668376 #>>28668394 #>>28668452 #>>28688773 #
1. RedBeetDeadpool ◴[28 Sep 21 23:46 UTC] No.28688773[source]▶
Don't forget politics. Depending on the team, rework can be demanded by some alpha male positioning for power, just so he can assert his dominance.