, 6 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
When talking with developers about estimates, it is easy to fall into believing that the developers know how long it will take but are reluctant to say because they are negotiating for more time.

The truth is harder....
They don’t know. They think it could easily take much longer than it seems. They are holding out for more time because they don’t know and they fear disappointing you.
If they don’t allow enough time for learning, surprises, and interruptions then they can easily blow the schedule and leave you in a tight spot. So they want more time.... but...
If they say five weeks, and those problems don’t emerge then they will be done so early that you will not trust their estimates in the future.

Mind you, if they finish early they won’t hide that from you and will take on more work, but history has them concerned.
They don’t want you to think they are padding to slow down and sandbag. They don’t want to cause cascading schedule failure.

They don’t know what the correct middle ground is.

And they don’t know what you will do that will stop progress in the meantime.
It is tricky enough to try to be right, which they likely can’t.

But the real game is the social consequences. That is the hard part. They aren’t hiding the real size from you, they are trying not to hurt you.
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Tim "Agile Otter" Ottinger
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!