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225 points todsacerdoti | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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DanHulton ◴[] No.46185030[source]
From both the developer and manager side of things, I've found that the most important attribute of estimates is frequently the least paid attention to: that they be kept up to date.

When you discover more work hidden under that "simple" pile of code, you absolutely HAVE to update your estimate. Add more points, add more tickets, whatever. But then your various managers have the ammunition to decide what to do next - allocate more resources to the project, descope the project, push back the release date, etc.

Far too frequently, the estimate is set in stone at the start of the project and used as a deadline that is blown past, with everyone going into crisis mode at that point. The earlier the estimate is updated, the calmer and more comprehensive action everyone responsible can take.

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torginus ◴[] No.46185672[source]
Which if you try to do - those agile people will kill you for it.

They wrangle a number out of you which goes into an user story estimate, which feeds into a Gantt chart they use to make their pretty powerpoints they present to upper management to say that the feature will make it into the Q4 release.

If you move this number around the whole estimation will crumble, not that it wont in real life but you deprave them of two things - an illusion of control and somebody to blame when things go south.

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kragen ◴[] No.46189970[source]
You're describing the opposite of Agile Development. The Agile Manifesto says, "Responding to change over following a plan."
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1. humanfromearth9 ◴[] No.46190483[source]
Yes, but the comment is targeting those people that usually would say about themselves that they embrace agile, while actually fighting everything that changes their little schemes...
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2. kragen ◴[] No.46190563[source]
So should we be talking about how "those democratic people" put everyone who disagrees with them in concentration camps because that's what the Democratic People's Republic of Korea does?

There are, of course, extreme-right-wing reactionaries who make exactly that argument, but I don't think their example is a good one to follow.