estimates – Tea-Driven Development https://blog.mattwynne.net Matt Wynne taking it one tea at a time Wed, 21 Aug 2019 12:59:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 165828820 Don’t Confuse Estimates with Commitments https://blog.mattwynne.net/2009/05/04/dont-confuse-estimates-with-commitments/ https://blog.mattwynne.net/2009/05/04/dont-confuse-estimates-with-commitments/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 21:05:10 +0000 http://blog.mattwynne.net/2009/05/04/dont-confuse-estimates-with-commitments/ Continue reading "Don’t Confuse Estimates with Commitments"

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Estimate: an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth

Commitment: the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action

  • Estimates are not commitments.
  • Plans based only on estimates are bad plans.
  • Commitments based only on estimates are at best foolish, at worst dishonest.

Estimates are certainly a useful tool for making realistic commitments, but there are many others too that are equally, if not more, useful. Working at a sustainable pace, measuring data about past performance, and facilitating the genuine consensus of the whole team when committing are the way to make plans that can actually be achieved.

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