Estimating can be a tedious task, and the final numbers are influenced by a daunting number of factors: scope, type of project, resources involved in estimating, type of client, unknown variables, potential risks and more. But estimating is critical to your project’s—and your organization’s—success.
One of the project manager’s major concerns at a project’s inception is the reliability of the project’s estimates. Too often, these estimates are inaccurate because the estimators incorrectly used the estimating processes available. This paper examines estimating--its processes and the artful use of these processes to obtain accurate estimates of project labor costs. In doing so, it ...
Projects that successfully meet planned targets are those that often began with estimates that accurately reflected the reality involved in realizing the project. This paper examines a process for developing accurate project estimates. In doing so, it overviews the significance of accurately estimating project costs, schedules, and activities. It discusses how project managers can use a work ...
Estimating work effort in agile projects is fundamentally different from traditional methods of estimation. The traditional approach is to estimate using a "bottom-up" technique: detail out all requirements and estimate each task to complete those requirements in hours/days, and then use this data to develop the project schedule. Agile projects, by contrast, use a "top-down" approach, using ...
Estimating is an inherently imprecise and difficult process; this article discusses eight tips for creating more accurate estimates: 1) better estimates require better information; 2) never estimate alone, but always involve several people; 3) approximately right is better than absolutely wrong, so estimate in ranges rather than specific numbers; 4) use estimating methods that are workable ...