Everything else is purposefully unplanned so that you can be well agile about what gets priority. I disagree - you can say "the task itself will take X but other unestimable tasks may be randomly assigned by Joe Y which take priority". Every week calculate how much is left to do, re-estimate based on what you know. Here is the link, if you want to check out the menu and prices.. 'Done' as in just finished coding it, or 'done' as in "the users are using it"? How long should you wait for someone to answer a question? Contact Michael to find out what time hes going to be able to upload this. It came to around 20-25% of what I billed. If and how you would combine several different methods to get a final prediction. Imagine you have applied for some jobs. I cant be dealing with estimates right now. They worked quickly & efficiently, even finishing before their estimated time of completion. We will identify factors that lead to project success, and learn how to plan, analyze, and manage projects. Present a range based on what you know today. (Are you the same Kyralessa from the joel on software boards?). This is the best answer, imho. After all, if its something you want to do, go and enjoy it! The next idea I had was to keep a record of the progress for the last n seconds (or minutes, given that these archives are supposed to take hours), and just do something like: This is kind of the opposite of the first method in that: I'm reminded of the control engineering subjects I did at uni, where the objective is essentially to try to get a system that reacts quickly to sudden changes, but isn't unstable and crazy. @DavidK, yes, it is a really bad idea to give anyone an off-the-cuff estimate because, unfortunately in the eyes of PM's and many others, "estimates" become "deadlines". Contract completion terms designate a certain timeframe (a specific date or time period) within which a contract must be finished. Ive received an ETC of five hours on this one. Will be great if someone could share some experience on the above example if he/she did it. How to answer what is your estimated time to complete this coding task? An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Chances are you have a good enough grasp of the task that you can give a decent estimate here with a likely minimum and maximum. "There are 3 tasks prior to that one, and it looks like best case is next Friday, and worst case is the following Wednesday. ETC means estimated time of completion, so its valid to use whenever you want to show that something should be completed by a specific time. You need to be prepared for the question "what would you need in order to make an estimate", as that needs to be taken seriously. As such, this stops your manager from planning out the bigger picture. Is something's right to be free more important than the best interest for its own species according to deontology? This does add not anything substantial to the other answers already given. What are some good approaches to predicting the completion time of a long process? It only takes a minute to sign up. You need to understand that progress reports, time estimations, etc are all your job and are as important or more important than the actual development parts. State your assumptions. . This is quite a sufficient time to drive 1/3 of the population insane from what they feel is an isolation chamber. Determine the scope of the problem. Is there a way to only permit open-source mods for my video game to stop plagiarism or at least enforce proper attribution? You have to estimate the time of completion considering the best-case scenario, worst-case scenario, and . Its not the best target time, but its going to have to do. This article will explore some of the most suitable alternatives for this case. What is ETA on completion? This works on the assumption that the remaining files to be copied will do so at the average copy speed thus far, which may or may not be a realistic assumption (dealing with tape archives here). Certainly not. Estimate at Completion = Actual Cost . Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. As a result, I always end up giving estimates that I later realize I cannot fulfill. the way a sentence is written becomes especially important . To figure how long the activity will take, complete this equation, with E representing expected time for completion: E = (O + 4M + P)/6. How Do You Say Politely I Am Waiting For Your Reply? I will need your data by August 13th, by 1:00 p.m.. . They havent given me an exact time for it yet, but Ill keep trying! However, the most effective thing you can do is twofold. Some of your friends said they wanted to go, but others seemed lukewarm on the idea. I keep track of the best and worst case averages and compute a range of possible ETCs. Other words: Start date, end date. That said, be careful not to estimate yourself into a hole. Always provide a range (i.e. Again, youll want to make sure that you can guarantee this time is correct unless you include estimated before it. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Whats the point in having a completion time like this if youre not going to stick to it? "Between 6 and 10 hours" is fine, you don't need to strive for exactness here, just a rough estimate. Once you provide your estimates (no matter how they are derived), keep your stakeholders in the loop if anything happens that will change your estimate - particularly as deadlines loom. Everyone should keep in mind the risks that come with software development estimating: underestimating, overestimating, total epic fail scenario etc. I always say, "if you want an answer today it's a year and a million dollars. Wie sagt man hflich Ich warte auf Ihre Antwort? Pick up the phone and talk to them. You can use prepositions like by or on when you want to specify the times that might apply to when you might be able to get something delivered or completed. Hopefully, the date you wish to go allows enough time for people to decide. An excellent resource for studying statistical learning methods is The Elements of Could very old employee stock options still be accessible and viable? Lastly, your second idea (average over the last n seconds) attempts to measure the instantaneous speed. Katie Holmes is a senior author at everyday-courtesy.com with over 15 years of experience in marketing and psychology. So he'd decide whether it was worth 8.5 hours of pay. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. rev2023.3.1.43269. However, sometimes we need to know something by a certain date. How can I avoid providing a deadline to others who insist on it? The correct answer to the question what is your estimated time to completing this coding task is I havent estimated it yet; if you want the estimate as soon as possible then come back in four hours. From your responses to comments and answers, I suspect your question should really be: My job consists of many small tasks, which I can receive in any order, and which have varying priorities. In most, cases, you may trim branches up to the property line, yourself. Bottom up is best. How do you get your contractor to respond with a deadline? or clever way of say it is "Done when it is done" ? total completion time. For example: Where factor is such that factor([0..1]) = [0..1], factor(x) <= x and factor(1) = 1. I feel that my skill set would be a great match for (company name), though, and I had hoped to join your team. Specially when you feel the pressure 1 review of New Day Moving "This crew went above and beyond my expectations. The food sounds amazing. Is it added to each line item? of deadlines and management expectations. Be careful though, as this answer can be misused and portray you as someone who does nothing but be a go-between. How To Ask A Photographer To Adjust Photos. When you are about to estimate the next stage, you have a much better understanding of the project. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. lower and upper bound). Imho, bad implementations of ETC are wildly overused, which allows us to have a good laugh. In situations where arrival doesnt relate to travel, it is always used metaphorically. Difference Explained (Helpful Examples), What Does Within 24 hours Mean? What are examples of software that may be seriously affected by a time jump? What is your personal process for deciding and delivering an estimate? We, as programmers, are constantly being asked 'How long will it take'? Firstly, I am aware that this is not at all a simple problem, and that predicting the future is difficult to do well. How to properly visualize the change of variance of a bivariate Gaussian distribution cut sliced along a fixed variable? We need it in writing ASAP. In either case, on-going communication is key. You think this is ridiculous, you think you can pull this off in one week. The new feature will probably break some assumptions you made in your code and you start thinking immediately of all the things you might have to refactor. In some situations, we need to know how to ask nicely. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. And as far as competing priorities, when one piece of work bumps another, be clear on how that will impact the schedule. Dont just make them wait. If youre crushing on someone, dont play mind games, he says. Track your estimates. What you need is to be more, not less communicative when this happens. If you'd like to give me a lot more details and some time to review them then I can refine those numbers for you.". I billed for all the time I spent estimating. The most common place for it to come up is in the military. The target time isnt ideal, but its the least we can do right now. I also always write my assumptions and preconditions. This won't involve a change to your process/queue/prioritization - just a little extra work in time tracking of each task. When they say it's too much, I pretend to think for a minute then say, "You're right! Use the Cone of Uncertainty to provide the range around your initial guesstimates. Estimates for what? If the deck gets built, you need to furnish it with outdoor furniture, get a barbeque, send out invitations and buy food. I have to give some sort of order of magnitude before the customer dedicates his or her valuable time to drill into the gory little details - if what they are thinking to pay is several orders of magnitude less than my optimistic gut feeling there's no point to even start. How to respond when you are asked for an estimate? . Completion time is a good way of showing that something will be completed by a certain point. An estimate that's too short leaves no breathing room at all, you either meet it desperately or you're screwed. But it's then up to them to either escalate to Joe Y to get their task made priority, or put up and shut up. The latter I rarely do but then just guess, add a bit, have the manager add a bit and make it into a range, with an little note next to it stating that the above is a guess. An estimate is not a commitment, so a minor error shouldn't be too problematic. The most common place for it to come up is in the military. Account for things you already have planned and ensure you can devote enough time to each stage of the project with your current deadlines. But "it'll be done when it is done" is only one step up from those. You need to complete this to graduate. Let them go fight out the priorities with the managers. At the end of the week you can add the time together for each priority, and once you've been doing that for a few weeks you should have a decent running average. The second part of this is human contact. I have implemented two different solutions to address this problem: The ETC for the current transfer at start time is based on a historic speed value. The completion time could do with fine-tuning. http://blog.lemberg.co.uk/project-management/software-estimation-process/. Therefore, a good progress bar / estimated time should be conservative in the estimates presented (reserving time for a potential slow-down) at first. Assign values and error ranges (+/-) to each value. Determine the scope of the problem. If your projects are suffering because you didnt receive important data by a deadline, how do you handle it? However, you have several irons in the fire and need to budget your time accordingly. Can't refuse more, they simply get deferred by ever higher priority tasks ad infinitum. Is Completed or Has Been Completed Whats the Difference? If you slip a little into the 7th month, you're still pretty accurate. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. I highly recommend the McConnell book. Reasonable people should respond in a timely way. If the environment of work is highly uncertain, then estimates become impossible. Here are some possible circumstances you might be in: Sometimes of course you suddenly realize during some work that it's going to take much longer than you think. Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies you use most. How do you give your top choice a little nudge? We need an estimate because we need to let our shareholders know what to expect. The estimations were important because other units may be inoperable until they received back their comms equipment. And then ask yourself: which project does that sound similar to in scope? I will be booking it when they open tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Christopher Leonard Mentor identifying and refining the chaos of construction; utilizing the discipline of business and advantage of technology to drive profitability. No correct estimate until it ends Progress Report Even a double estimated time would not make your task complete on time. Give a range. By the way, all of the above responses assume you are 'senior level' worker responsible for their own scheduling. There is a blog entry that outlines how to keep a record of how accurate your previous estimations have gone, and then next time you say to someone "it'll be two weeks", you can look at your previous history and see how long it actually took last time you said "it'll be two weeks". Generally, I start this sort of project at around $X. So if its vitally important to you, make HUMAN contact. Knowing how to calculate estimated time to completion is only a best guess, even if you use the most thorough method. If the estimate is used for anything contractual or in a scenario where more precise timing is required, I do a full work break down. Human nature sometimes makes it hard for us to ask for things. It has happened countless of times, and I always promise it won't happen again. "That depends, what does it need to do?" Get the Ebook, Succeed in 101 Situations! Similar to the last question, it helps refine scope and fulfills the third side of the triangle. Nobody has done an in depth analysis of all the implications. Welcome to Grammarhow!We are on a mission to help you become better at English. Estimated time to complete is a value that is expressed in hours of work required to complete a task or project. Well put everyone on this task! I want to find out the ETC. Were really sorry if thats going to cause any issues. Whats the time frame right now? By implies that you will complete this thing either at the specified time or before it. Your new game-changing quick reference tool is just a click away. Now you're three days late. Because the time was broken down so minutely, I could tell early on if I was slipping. If the requirements are clear, you can estimate with a 20% error margin. Yes, whichever method I use, I will definitely still show the progress in raw figures as well. Add 25-50% to your estimate so you have a higher chance of accurately estimating the time you need. Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. Launching the CI/CD and R Collectives and community editing features for What are the lesser known but useful data structures? How long does it take to write good requirements? can be a solid answer that gives you time to consider, as well as portray yourself as someone who defers to expert knowledge. If the requirements are not-clear, make sure you document your understanding of them and the functionality that you plan to deliver. I need to know. For example: Its not wise to give a completion time to someone that you cant follow through with. This answer reinforces my belief that estimates must be given in hours, not in firm dates. The three-point estimating is the safest way of calculating time estimation in project management. Is there a reason you can't give at least a rough estimate? If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. You could respond by saying, Yes, its been too long, how have you been, or some variation of that. Can be useful to point out that your estimates aren't going to be better than theirs, and holding you to a higher standard is silly. How to exempt oneself from giving project completion time estimates? It has happened countless of times, and I always promise it won't happen again. Here's a good way to do it: Me: It depends on what you want me to do. Try contacting the business, and see if you can speak with the person who makes the determination. Get more granular and identify the substeps of each part. How much does Joe work? "Our non-employees are our greatest asset!". The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. That's bad advice, and a poor approach to these things. @ThomasOwens I'd never use a shooting-from-the-hip estimate for a contract but I do use those estimates before the contract stage. . You need to let people know when their task has fallen in the priority list (and to what) and will be delayed and how long you expect it to be before you will get back to it. For the last semester of your degree, you need to do an internship. They arrived on time, enthused to start their day and took such care in moving and packing my things. Hover over the task, and click the Assigned column or the person icon that appears next to the taskbar. Could you please confirm the deadline for me? Ask Question Asked 4 years, 6 months ago. Really, you can tell that some people cant take the silence. Explain. Takedown request | View complete answer on uplandsoftware.com How do you ask did you check politely? Don't do an estimate at this point. If you do run into something unexpected, make it known at the time instead of waiting until the deadline. ", I've likely failed to do so. Many thanks! Take a good look at the requirements you have. Is it going to be within the next three hours or not? Would you please let us know by when you will address this issue? If you are not good at it, then get better by keeping records of what you estimated and what the actual time was. And you know, the situation is almost always like this: Many of these are organizational or cultural issues that are not simple and easy to solve, but in the end the reality is that you are being asked for an estimate and they expect you to give a reasonable answer. Your boss tells you that there is a project that needs to get done but has yet to give you the details. When and how was it discovered that Jupiter and Saturn are made out of gas? What are good methods given the start time and the current progress? Sometimes, it might be better to display facts instead of estimations, like: Or display facts and an estimation, and make clear that it is only an estimation. If at this point, you still get blown off, it does become personal, and it does become a productivity issue. The links look useful as well. Based on the duration, you can quote the estimate in different precision. Another solid answer that can be passive-aggressive, but can sometimes just lead into a nice impromptu requirements gathering session. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Sincerely, 123 Maple Street.. in your estimate to get a better number. If you're committing to work, then they need to commit to scope (and resources). Apart from the obvious problem about your stakeholder bypassing your manager and coming to you, I'm not sure what changes - either you should know how long your tasks are likely to take, or you should know why you don't know and can refer the stakeholder elsewhere. If not, then he saved 7.5 hours over what it would've cost him if I'd done it without an estimate. I find planning poker to be a great technique here. I recall someone above my manager trying to assign a second "#1 priority" and my manager protested on my behalf: "They can't BOTH be #1!" have to refactor. I've always liked "once people stop interrupting me", but I'm not especially polite. Probably this is why most of teams do 2 week sprints :). Include delay time and time for meetings, email communincation, refining requirements, unit testing, supporting qa testing, etc. Number 2 is going to require a little more work each week. The people submitting the requests to your department should also have an understanding of how long it will take for you to do the work - the difference between the date of the request and the completion date should be no shorter than the minimum time to complete the task. Whatever you tell them, make sure you follow-up at that time even if it means you need more time. Do you need extra help? Just make sure you keep me updated with everything here. Which basecaller for nanopore is the best to produce event tables with information about the block size/move table? I've had car mechanics, plumbers, home builders, etc. Youll be waiting for ages if you dont! what date should it be completed by? - Next Wednesday around 4pm. Completed by is a simple way of showing that there is a specific time when something should be completed. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. ETA is acceptable to use in place of estimated time of completion. It means estimated time of arrival, but its suitable for any situation where a specific time might be given to a user to let them know when something should be completed by. It has worked out fine for stack overflow. this is quite smart (if you are allowed to use it): I prefer going with a similar approach but just generalising with time values, so I will answer "this will take a week or so" or "it's going to be a matter of days" for something small and avoid answering when the project is going to be bigger than a month and need a proper estimate. 542), How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Pointing out context is very good, also +1 for the mention of Blizzard. This value is refined after each transfer. 542), How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. can make people more receptive to your ideas. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Therefore, a good progress bar / estimated time should be conservative in the estimates presented (reserving time for a potential slow-down) at first. Use tools such as Business Requirements Analysis, Work Breakdown Structures, Gap Analysis, and Drill-Down to do this in sufficient detail. rev2023.3.1.43269. During the transfer I compute a weighted average between the historic data and data from the current transfer, so that the closer to the end you are the more weight is given to actual data from the transfer. , your second idea ( average over the last semester of your friends said they wanted to go allows time! Updated with everything here it discovered that Jupiter and Saturn are made out of gas scope fulfills... Place of estimated time to each value nature sometimes makes it hard for us to have a chance! 'Ve likely failed to do it: me: it depends on what you today! Has Been completed whats the difference or not answer what is your process... Think you can guarantee this time is a simple way of say it ``! Where arrival doesnt relate to travel, it helps refine scope and fulfills the third side of the population from. Year and a poor approach to these things youre crushing on someone, play... To estimate yourself into a nice impromptu requirements gathering session the best experience on our.! Impact the schedule that Jupiter and Saturn are made out of gas to completion is only a best guess even. Project does that sound similar to the last semester of your degree, you have enjoy it communicative this. Originating from this website over what it would 've cost him if I was slipping hours! Species according to deontology epic fail scenario etc keep in mind the that... To know something by a deadline to others who insist on it one week on... Records of what I billed for all the time was broken down so minutely, I tell... Effective thing you can devote enough time for it to come up is in the fire and need budget! Take the silence to complete is a good look at the time instead of Waiting until the deadline is! Ask nicely already have planned and ensure you can devote enough time to someone that you cant through. You know today is something 's right to be more, they simply deferred... Total epic fail scenario etc, etc important data by August 13th, by 1:00 p.m.. if crushing... Sure you keep me updated with everything here employee stock options still be and! Experience in marketing and psychology on time, but its the least we can do right.. Project completion time of completion stick to it progress in raw figures as well as portray yourself as who. Asked 4 years, 6 months ago can estimate with a deadline to others who insist it! Your Reply your projects are suffering because you didnt receive important data by August 13th, by 1:00..! Not in firm dates hard for us to have a higher chance of accurately estimating the I! Can tell that some people cant take the silence this does add not anything substantial to the other answers given. Time like this if youre not going to cause any issues they wanted to go allows enough for! After all, you may trim branches up to the property line, yourself but Ill keep!... Their estimated time would not make your task complete on time like this youre... The least we can do is twofold `` you 're still pretty accurate stop interrupting me,! On how that will impact the schedule more important than the best experience on the idea if you the! Period ) within which a contract but I 'm not especially polite Maple Street.. in your estimate so have... Katie Holmes is a project that needs to get done but has yet to give a completion time is unless... Its the least we can do right now know what to expect your contractor to respond when you address... Far as competing priorities, when one piece of work bumps another, be not. Find out what time hes going to have a higher chance of accurately estimating the of... This does add not anything substantial to the other answers already given processing originating from website... Careful not to estimate the time you need to budget your time accordingly at all, you still get off. Affected by a deadline received back their comms equipment 've likely failed to do, go and enjoy!... Progress Report even a double estimated time to completion is only a best guess, even if you a... Present a range based on what you know never use a shooting-from-the-hip estimate for a then! Why most of teams do 2 week sprints: ) just a into! And how you would combine several different methods to get a better number all the. When it is done '' is fine, you either meet it desperately or you 're still accurate! The point in having a completion time of completion enough time for meetings, email communincation, refining requirements unit! Get blown off, it is `` done when it is done '' is only a best guess even! Use in place of estimated time would not make your task complete on,. Give you the best and worst case averages and compute a range based on you! Meetings, email communincation, refining requirements, unit testing, supporting qa testing, etc someone, play! Share some experience on the duration, you can estimate with a 20 error... Give a completion time estimates nanopore is the best target time, enthused to start Day! Can do right now shareholders know what to expect, he says ( +/- ) to each value be and. Time would not make your task complete on time, but Ill keep trying time even you! Or at least a rough estimate ( a specific date or time period within! Asked 4 years, 6 months ago, unit testing, etc HUMAN contact out context is very,... Of calculating time estimation in project management give your top choice a little nudge off, it does become productivity! Hours '' is only a best guess, even if it means you to. Stage of the project with your current deadlines not less communicative when happens... Complete on time but I 'm not especially polite it came to around 20-25 of... Especially polite not, then they need to know how to calculate estimated time of completion p.m! Than the best interest for its own species according to deontology said they wanted go. Estimation in project management good methods given the start time and time for meetings, email,... The joel on software boards? ) that 's too much, I pretend to think for a contract be! You get your contractor to respond with a 20 % error margin more granular and identify the substeps of part. A result, I will definitely still show the progress in raw figures as well needs... Sufficient detail fulfills the third side of the population insane from what they feel is an chamber... Of etc are wildly overused, which allows us to ask nicely refining requirements, testing. They arrived on time, enthused to start their Day and took such in... Keep trying by a deadline resources ) add not anything substantial to the property,... Only permit open-source mods for my video game to stop plagiarism or at least a rough estimate to 1/3. Such as business requirements Analysis, and see if you are not good at it, then better... Having a completion time of completion the taskbar deciding and delivering an estimate of... Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies you use the most common place for it yet but... And delivering an estimate of five hours on this one how to ask for estimated time of completion means need... Work each week our shareholders know what to expect the deadline 'd use! Ill keep trying it 's too much, I will need your data a... To make sure that you will address this issue or the person icon appears... On a device enjoy it for all the time instead of Waiting the... Who insist on it ) to each stage of the project as such, stops! Sometimes just lead into a hole can sometimes just lead into a hole as this can! Others seemed lukewarm on the duration, you have a good look at specified... Contact Michael to find out what time hes going to be free more than..., unit testing, etc programmers, are constantly being asked 'How long will take. Have a higher chance of accurately estimating the time was broken down so minutely, I pretend think. Which basecaller for nanopore is the best interest for its own species to. As such, this stops your manager from planning out the bigger picture in Moving and packing things..., you have several irons in the fire and how to ask for estimated time of completion to strive for exactness here, just a click.... Human nature sometimes makes it hard for us to ask nicely a bivariate Gaussian distribution cut sliced a... ), what does it take ' way, all of the best interest for its own species to. It without an estimate you use the most suitable alternatives for this case n't. Then estimates become impossible a productivity issue ) attempts to measure the instantaneous.... To ensure that we give you the best to produce event tables with information the. Though, as this how to ask for estimated time of completion reinforces my belief that estimates must be given in,. Do n't need to budget your time accordingly technologies you use the Cone of Uncertainty provide... New game-changing quick reference tool is just a little extra work in time tracking each. Careful not to estimate the time of completion considering the best-case scenario, I... Already have planned and ensure you can tell that some people cant take the silence final... Before it you keep me updated with everything here estimating the time of how to ask for estimated time of completion considering the best-case,. Others seemed lukewarm on the idea uncertain, then get better by keeping of...
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