Re-Estimation will not Increase Certainty

As a business leader, it’s natural to want certainty and predictability. In software development, absolute certainty is not possible. This leads to unrealistic expectations. When reality doesn’t align with those expectations, frustration and blame often follow.

When (not if) the estimate turns out to be inaccurate, the instinct may be to think, “We need to get better at estimating,” or “Let’s re-estimate.”. Re-estimating repeatedly won’t make the outcome more certain, but it will waste valuable time.

Instead of focusing on perfecting estimates, it is important to invest in stakeholder management so that scope, time, and costs can be effectively managed.