By It's the age-old project manager's nightmare; dodgy spec and a fixed-price project. Why doesn't everyone accept that people will do their best and go for the flexibility and realism of Time & Materials (T&M)? These days there seems to be a strong leaning towards fixing the price of software development projects; after all, the budget is fixed so it doesn't make sense not to fix the price as well. The trouble is, as many experienced PMs know, things are rarely that simple.
Mind the Gap!
The Three Types of Bad Project Estimates and How to Avoid Them
Estimating time is one of the most challenging aspects of any project plan. This is especially true when it comes to "Agile" software development projects where teams work in sprints (i.e., pre-defined buckets of time) with the goal of shipping products faster without compromising quality.
Four Ways to Improve Project Performance by Avoiding Single-Point Estimates
Estimating time in a single, fixed number (single-point estimation) is a popular practice, yet it has several interrelated and detrimental effects on project outcome. Estimate padding, estimate negotiation, and delayed resolution of uncertainty are all made worse by the use of single-point estimates. This article examines the chain of cause and effect in each of these behaviors and suggests that estimating in ranges can produce significantly better project outcomes.
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