Android Nomad - #32 Estimations

Software Estimations are HARD.

There’s only one reason for it:

The work is never “just the work”.

Here are 8 categories to split up the work:

0. The work around the work: Meetings, reviews, project management, etc.

1. The work to get the work: Research, experimentation, scoping, quoting, pitching

2. The work before the work: Configurations, setup, services, infrastructure

3. The work: The actual build, product design, tests, docs, etc.

4. The work between the work: Iterations, debugging, refactoring, maintenance, tooling

5. The work beyond the work: Changes, omissions, nice-to-haves, scope creep

6. The work outside the work: Surprises, contingency, disasters, mission creep

7. The work after the work: Hosting, deployment, security, support, updates, fixes

Consider every aspect of the work to create realistic timelines. This way you can better manage expectations and prepare for uncertainties.

Couple of tips:

1. Break down tasks as much as you can

2. Always start with quick wins

3. Keep diffs small and reviews commits as you build out

4. Reflect once tasks is complete and rate which categories you got it right and which ones slipped to help you reorient for future work.

Credits

Reference: https://davestewart.co.uk/blog/the-work-is-never-just-the-work/