Development Estimation

Overview

Create consistent, defensible estimates by breaking scope into components, identifying risks, and providing confidence intervals.

When to Use

• Estimating feature or project scope
• Providing effort or complexity estimates
• Delivering risk-aware breakdowns

Avoid when:

• The task is trivial or a rough gut-check is sufficient
• Requirements are unknown and need discovery first

Quick Reference

Workflow

1. Define scope and estimation type (time/effort/complexity).
2. Load the estimation reference for structure.
3. Break into components and dependencies.
4. Add risks and confidence intervals.
5. Deliver estimate with assumptions.

Output

• Estimate with breakdown and confidence interval
• Assumptions, risks, and validation notes

Common Mistakes

• Estimating without clear scope
• Ignoring risk and dependency factors
• Overstating precision beyond available data