(^54) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
Estimate, Estimate, Estimate
Richard Sheridan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
So oFTEn In PRojECT MAnAgEMEnT, we get an estimate for a project at the
beginning of the project (when we know the least) and then never revisit that
estimate during the course of the project (when we know more than we did
at the beginning). Worse, we never compare our original estimate with actual
results to hone our future skills.
In our practice at my organization, we estimate once a week on every project.
Even for those tasks we have previously estimated but haven’t worked on yet,
we estimate again. Why do we do this? There are several reasons:
• We get better at estimating the more we do it.
• Sometimes we now know more and that helps our estimating.
• Sometimes we learn we didn’t know as much as we thought we did, and
that helps our estimating.
• Often when a new technology is involved, early estimates have “fear” built
in; as we learn more about the new technology, the fear-based component
lessens.
• Estimating is a great “conversation” in our world, since we estimate as a
group activity.Finally, the best way to get better at estimating is to make sure you also keep track
of actuals so that the team gets feedback on how well it did in estimating. My only
warning: you can’t use this information to punish the team! True accountability
around estimating doesn’t involve getting people to hit their estimate, but rather to
have them warn you as soon as they think they are going to miss.