By: Never Opposed Project Manager Is A Risky Affair – Quality Assurance and Project Management « Pebble in the Still Waters

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:10:07 +0000

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By: TomLiotta

TomLiotta — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:09:10 +0000

…timelines that you assign or decide…

Time estimates should be made by estimators, rather than by project managers or developers; and the estimators should be accountable for missed deadlines. If they can’t get it right, how can anyone be expected to?

Estimating is not a trivial task for a project. It should be done by qualified individuals who understand time studies. It definitely should not be done by the individuals doing the actual task work, though those individuals may have useful and valid input.

A capital construction project often relies upon external professional estimating services. E.g., see http://www.tempestcompany.com/estimating.asp . Professional estimators are not unheard of in many areas outside of software projects. Is there any solid reason why a software estimate should be different?

That’s not asking why external estimators are not brought in for software project estimates. It’s asking why separated duties for estimates are so unusual. We just go along assuming that estimates are often meaningless.

Tom
Tom

Comments on: Never Opposed Project Manager Is A Risky Affair

By: Never Opposed Project Manager Is A Risky Affair – Quality Assurance and Project Management « Pebble in the Still Waters

By: TomLiotta