Great words by JD!  

 

When I first started estimating work, I found I was almost always
woefully short, so I started doubling my estimates.  Still short, so I
started multiplying by 4, then by 8 (yes, I was often off by a factor of
8).  Still often short, so I changed to estimating the number of lines
of code I'd write and using that as the number of  hours I'd spend.
Rarely was I short after that.  This DOES, however, require that you
know enough about the project to be able to estimate the number of lines
of code...

 

One other comment - I once took a fixed-bid contract.  I quit keeping
track of my hours once I was making under $1/hour...  

 

I was off by at LEAST a factor of 20, probably more (this was VERY early
in my contracting life, and I was only charging about $25/hour back 30
or so years ago).  So estimating is hard, and getting the number within
a factor of 2 is probably impossible without a VERY good specification.

 

 

From: plug-discuss-bounces@lists.phxlinux.org
[mailto:plug-discuss-bounces@lists.phxlinux.org] On Behalf Of JD Austin
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 7:05 AM
To: Main PLUG discussion list
Subject: Re: looking for some project advice for a startup

 

I'll 3rd on documentation... even if you do it yourself.  

....