how to ask for estimated time of completion

If the requirements are clear, you can estimate with a 20% error margin. But it does." Do you need extra help? Estimate towards the complete user-end requirements, not towards the barebone technical requirements. You have other things to do from past assignments and you will have to A wide range tells the recipient of the estimate "Software projects are naturally complex and risky - if you want a proper estimate you need to give me more details and more time". Here's a good way to do it: Me: It depends on what you want me to do. If there are tasks that need to be done that never get done, you can consider implementing an time-based priority level increase. Thats about all we can cope with. Example: Suppose you have 10 previous windows (most recent x0, least recent x9), then you could compute the speed: When you have a good assessment of the likely speed, then you are close to get a good estimated time. Nobody has done an in depth analysis of all the implications. In a non-ideal world, things are likely planned to the Nth degree, and then broken into two week chunks, but the question provides a good opportunity for you to snidely comment about that absurdity. in your estimate to get a better number. An estimate that's too short leaves no breathing room at all, you either meet it desperately or you're screwed. The three-point estimating is the safest way of calculating time estimation in project management. You have had no time to analyse requirements, workshop with stakeholders, validate assumptions. Imho, bad implementations of ETC are wildly overused, which allows us to have a good laugh. View Syllabus. Better: go speak to him personally to try to find out this information, using the same polite verbiage, above. Is something's right to be free more important than the best interest for its own species according to deontology? During the initial stages of project planning one of the main objectives is to get a realistic estimation of time to complete. 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. I will need your data by August 13th, by 1:00 p.m.. The principal advantage of using the Kalman filter rather than a fixed n-second sliding window is that it's adaptive: it will automatically use a longer averaging window when measurements jump around a lot than when they're stable. This should not wait until they have to ask you why it isn't done yet. Option 1: Assign both users and estimated hours to a task at the same time. 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.. The second part of this is human contact. Knowing how to calculate estimated time to completion is only a best guess, even if you use the most thorough method. For example, the cubic function produces the nice speed-up toward the completion time. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. This answer reinforces my belief that estimates must be given in hours, not in firm dates. rev2023.3.1.43269. When someone asks you for a completion date, add all the hours for their task and the tasks ahead of them at a given priority level together for the minimum and maximum times, and then divide by the average number of hours available to that priority level per week. I want to know the specific end time. When someone says long time no see, how do I respond to him? Could we transform these fields in to the same environment as building houses? I did extremely detailed examination of the tasks. Learn more about us here. I would wait longer, but usually someone will crack before that. Ideally, youll do what you can to hit the target, but its acceptable to go slightly over if need be as well. I've done something similar involving curve fitting. Therefore, a good progress bar / estimated time should be conservative in the estimates presented (reserving time for a potential slow-down) at first. OK, maybe more diplomatically than that. Ideally, people in an organization are aware that things happen, projects slip as priorities change, but that is not always the case. Find centralized, trusted content and collaborate around the technologies you use most. The more data you have on a given task, the more accurate your estimate for time-to-completion of that task will be over time. How long is acceptable to wait for a text? "Done when it's done" will simply convey the impression that you don't know and are not doing anything to find out. Start time, end time. For example, is review included? You absolutely must give more information. Track your estimates. How do you give your top choice a little nudge? What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? No shooting from the hip. 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. Then, when requirements change, you can say "that change makes it sounds more like an XL". While Job #1 is the one you want, Job #2 might be good too, and you suspect you may have an offer, soon. The boss wants me to pass it to him, so he knows when to expect it all. What are some good approaches to predicting the completion time of a long process? Do EMC test houses typically accept copper foil in EUT? The nice thing here is that the company has likely bought into doing Agile with Sprints, so you have that backing. A limited answer for people using sprints (often software engineers). Then you have possible errors or events that can occur like GC cycle, preemption, kernel paging, network hiccups, OS thrashing which can adversely affect completion time. But you realize that X will be delayed by three days if I do it, right? How much do you feel improved today? Hold on, what did you say the time frame was again? Every user knows that ETCs are often completely meaningless, and then it is hard to distinguish between meaningful ETCs and meaningless ETCs, especially for inexperienced users. Some advice from the dark side from one who learned the hard way. If you can't say something about when you will be done, the project ends up being even later and often costing more money. A wide range tells the recipient of the estimate Software projects are naturally complex and risky if you want a proper estimate you need to give me more details and more time. I'm stressed by having software deadlines imposed on me without my involvement. Make sure you understand what is being asked. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. In this case the client's decisions were Yes or No to particular features, not an overall Yes or No to the entire project. And then, go. 542), How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Studies have demonstrated that users reacted very badly to slow-down and very positively to speed-up. Human nature sometimes makes it hard for us to ask for things. Nobody has done an in depth analysis of If we're unlucky, six weeks from now. Not the developer's he has no role in determining priorities. What is ETA on completion? When will be your project finished? And the answer to the follow-up question is. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. I can't recommend that book highly enough. Katie Holmes is a senior author at everyday-courtesy.com with over 15 years of experience in marketing and psychology. In any event, "whenever' is not an acceptable answer. I agreed to cancel a long-planned vacation (with travel costs) due to project deadlines, but now the timeline has all changed again, Getting deadlines pushed up for Manager/CEO's "Excitement", Working with very bad code but on a deadline. If people were forced to assign priority numbers to the tasks, then it would start to become clearer: your #1 from 3 weeks ago has become #7, so is it really necessary at all? (Before or After? Do EMC test houses typically accept copper foil in EUT? If not, or in case of doubt, involve your boss. Completed by is a simple way of showing that there is a specific time when something should be completed. It also works to keep business honest. What do 'real', 'user' and 'sys' mean in the output of time(1)? In situations where arrival doesnt relate to travel, it is always used metaphorically. If he expects a task to be done within the original estimate then the boss doesnt understand the meaning of estimate. Time estimation is just iterative estimation. If we hurry it up anymore, were going to lose a lot of quality work! As a freelance consultant, she also supports companies and executives in overcoming communication challenges. Could very old employee stock options still be accessible and viable? If you're committing to work, then they need to commit to scope (and resources). A newly proposed product or project will be similar (in size) to one or more already completed products or projects. State your assumptions. Estimated time to complete is a value that is expressed in hours of work required to complete a task or project. @nobrandheroes That's probably worth another question. Its so easy nowadays to blow off technology. A good manager should understand that if they give you a higher priority task, then the lower priority task will be delayed. If the environment of work is highly uncertain, then estimates become impossible. Make it clear where any contingency (if any) is added. They may have good reasons. So if it is like 5 months project you should be estimating it for a month or more. Estimated completion time of forEach() method. Consult historical data. That said, be careful not to estimate yourself into a hole. Software Engineering Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professionals, academics, and students working within the systems development life cycle. Therefore, a good progress bar / estimated time should be conservative in the estimates presented (reserving time for a potential slow-down) at first. Katie is a passionate digital nomad working on her first book on the art of communication. Nag a little if needed, but use the human touch to explain what you need and by when you need it. How much does Joe work? Take a good look at the requirements you have. 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. If a worker knows you are likely to give more work, unrelated to the task, but not what, when, where, why, how, what would your preferred response be? Some great suggestions here on all answers. I also always write my assumptions and preconditions. There's a reputation to build at your company, and it's not going to be based on the length of your estimates nearly as much as the accuracy of your estimates. 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. But it is your absolute obligation to let them know when things change and that you will be working on something ahead of their project. Lastly, your second idea (average over the last n seconds) attempts to measure the instantaneous speed. I always say, "if you want an answer today it's a year and a million dollars. 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". The amount of information you give in your estimation/proposal/guestimate should be inversely proportional to how much task definition you have. Pick up the phone and talk to them. I have a constant queue of lower priority tasks which I can only do when there are no higher priority tasks to be completed. (Off the record, I call these "guesstimates".). come up with an estimate that takes that other work into account. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Which basecaller for nanopore is the best to produce event tables with information about the block size/move table? How do you estimate time required for assigned task? Reasonable people should respond in a timely way. I was pulled onto another project.. Priorities changed at random. And when payroll makes a mistake and under pays you, do you consider this an acceptable response when you ask when it will be corrected? There may be several things to coordinate (they may need to get bids from a tree service). Estimates given at the coffee machine will (like the coffee) come back to haunt you. There are a lot of tactics for creating them, all based on getting good requirements first. It can depend on the context, and it is a very versatile word. people may be trying to plan things based on when the work will be completed. How Do You Ask For Contact Details In An Email? In either case, on-going communication is key. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. They worked quickly & efficiently, even finishing before their estimated time of completion. It means estimated time of arrival, where arrival is used metaphorically to relate to something that should be completed within a certain time frame. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. You estimate valiantly, "one week". - adam. Other words: Start date, end date. Check with me in a few days and I'll have a better estimate.". Let them go fight out the priorities with the managers. 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. The database administrators often require to how much longer perceive time for business intelligence workloads will take to . Thankfully I knew I didn't have a proper grasp on the time requirement going in. 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. . Its a very confident phrase, so you need to make sure that you can be certain that its achievable. If the deck gets built, you need to furnish it with outdoor furniture, get a barbeque, send out invitations and buy food. But, since the Requirements aren't written yet, I will be able to provide a more precise estimate once I read them." Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. A more robust technique for this might be to use the Kalman filter, whose purpose is exactly this: Its purpose is to use measurements observed over time, containing The estimate is made after scouting. @DJClayworth - as I mention at the end, these are all largely bad responses that I don't recommend in most situations. Wie fragt man in einer E-Mail nach Kontaktdaten? Just reply that it will be done in six to eight weeks. Document contingency. Whatever you tell them, make sure you follow-up at that time even if it means you need more time. This is kind of confusing to show in a GUI, but okay to show in a command line app. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The excuses are usually something along the lines of, Oh, sorry. can make people more receptive to your ideas. The 'done' definition is probably unclear: When will it be done? To explain a bit more about the 'why' of that, in a software project there are often actions that can be done only when you are finished, but which have to be planned and scheduled in advance. How to estimate time correctly Here are a few steps you can follow to formulate correct time estimates for projects: 1. Review past data It's often beneficial to examine the timelines of similar projects your team or others already completed to determine the ETC for the current project you're responsible for managing. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. When you are asked to estimate due dates, is there a especially polite Present a range based on what you know today. Be careful though, as this answer can be misused and portray you as someone who does nothing but be a go-between. How do you get your contractor to respond with a deadline? From this perspective, the answer is obvious - you need to do better task tracking and management. So in short, there are many bad ways to dodge the question. Pretending you are too busy to answer is not acceptable either. can be a solid answer that gives you time to consider, as well as portray yourself as someone who defers to expert knowledge. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Today through 4pm Sunday: Take $5K off the list price, Only $1,000 Earnest Money (Primary Residence. Or to specific risks? How to answer what is your estimated time to complete this coding task? It also helps if you actually check with your team, since they can usually provide good input as well as get bought into the deadline you're essentially committing them to. One way would be to put: Requesting Status Update (on the subject line) and write something similar to: "As discussed, I am waiting for ________ (name of project) which has a deadline of ________ and I would like to know, as of immediately, the status and your expected date of completion." Could you please confirm the deadline for me? Best guess is about two weeks." And I was glad to get experience in estimating, which I'd always been terrible at. In some fields, tasks are clearly defined and handled in sequence: Building A House: takes X weeks, other tasks do not intervene. We're often asked for an "ballpark estimate" during meetings where we're given very broad and vauge ideas of what they'd like to do. Instead, you can convey your estimate, and give a degree of accuracy to your estimate. 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. Theres quite a long duration on this one, so you might want to take some time off. There are a lot of tactics for creating them, all based on getting good requirements first. Being on good terms with your neighbors is important, but sometimes it can be difficult. . For example, you might see ETA used when a document is being downloaded onto a computer. This is your responsibility to factor in unless you expect others to have the expertise about this area. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. It doesn't matter so much that you might have achieved an even better result in ~7% of the time that Joe took. How can I avoid providing a deadline to others who insist on it? using it"? I found that with this method I was able to bring most tasks in on time or even early, without having to heavily overestimate. How can the mass of an unstable composite particle become complex? This is quite a hefty completion time! This won't involve a change to your process/queue/prioritization - just a little extra work in time tracking of each task. But when your back's against the wall and they refuse to give you better details, Fake It: From The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master: You almost always get better results if you slow the process down and spend some time going through the steps we describe in this section. If you dont find out soon, you will have to research other places. +Not technically the least helpful response. Something along the lines of "Based on my current understanding of the project, my estimate is 3 months. And realize that your clients asking for estimates will be totally inaccurate here about how they word things and understand the technical aspects of what you say. What are the underlying data structures used for Redis? An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Manage Settings lower and upper bound). The target time isnt ideal, but its the least we can do right now. being polite . Speed. Many thanks! How do you politely ask for estimated time of completion? You want to go to a new restaurant, but you have to make a reservation. 1 day to do analysis, and then provide a tighter range), If the task it too large, break it up and provide a range for each piece. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell. How to exempt oneself from giving project completion time estimates? Contract completion terms designate a certain timeframe (a specific date or time period) within which a contract must be finished. Because I have been on the job hunt, I believe I will soon have an offer. . Provide interval instead of single time ('1h45-2h30 mins'), or just limit the precision ('about 2 hours'). Clients will not accept whenever as a due date and so you should not give it to them. Once you have a solution, estimating is easier. originally suppose it might take. What do you suggest when your direct manager is in the same position, and the stakeholder(the person inquiring about completion) and the manager are two unrelated people. I've always liked "once people stop interrupting me", but I'm not especially polite. Ive seen that the end time will be in a few days, and Im happy to wait for it. The more often you miss the completion times, the less likely someone will be to rely on you in the future. It has worked out fine for stack overflow. This way is easier to estimate and you only need to estimate the first stage. Validate as many as possible given the time frame. However, real life is such that sometimes they just dont. Just make sure you keep me updated with everything here. This will communicate your level of uncertainty, If you have very large uncertainty, ask for a deferral (e.g. Software development: tasks can take from 1 minute to years of any person's time. Pointing out context is very good, also +1 for the mention of Blizzard. If the estimate is just to provide a general idea on when it will be ready, I can generally do a quick estimate based on my experience. except he finishes on time in exactly 5 months. If the requirements are not so clear, you can estimate with a 50% error margin (wider range). Always provide a range (i.e. Number 2 is going to require a little more work each week. tl;dr: I want to predict file copy completion. So when my boss would ask in the standup (we work with Agile development) I would give him my best estimate and explain why I thought that. Are technical delays included? It only takes a minute to sign up. Make assumptions to fill in the gaps based on your best guess of what they want. Not recommended. If all else fails, try to research it yourself. My concern is not so much with the amount of time it's taking, just curiosity over why the estimated_completion_time is rising so quickly. Is variance swap long volatility of volatility? Do you think thats going to be enough time to get everything together? Think of it from the user standpoint, because that's all the client you're making the estimate for will typically understand. What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? Don't do an estimate at this point. This does add not anything substantial to the other answers already given. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Track your estimates. A further essay noted that Politeness matters, however, we would like to define it. [2]. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Or is there none? $5,000 Builder Price Increase Effective Immediately for March. We understand you manage the property at 125 Maple Street. Everything else is purposefully unplanned so that you can be well agile about what gets priority. All that will do is irritate your manager and make you look incompetent. If you do run into something unexpected, make it known at the time instead of waiting until the deadline. Instead of showing a single ETC, show a range of time. Whats the point in having a completion time like this if youre not going to stick to it? For example: Where factor is such that factor([0..1]) = [0..1], factor(x) <= x and factor(1) = 1. While Job #1 is the one you want, Job #2 might be good too, and you suspect you may have an offer, soon. Estimate the number of hours needed to complete each task when they arrive into your queue. Its not going to be completed by the original time we stated. Determine the scope of the problem. Modified 4 years, 6 months ago. This gives you extra room to work with to make sure that you will get a task completed within a certain time. What is the easiest way to get current GMT time in Unix timestamp format? How detailed is the estimate you show your customers? 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. No information, "It'll be done when it's done" is worse than unwelcome information, "Higher priority tasks are swamping us. It's part of your job. If not, then he saved 7.5 hours over what it would've cost him if I'd done it without an estimate. You need to complete this to graduate. "I'm not sure, when are you going to get me X?" or clever way of say it is "Done when it is done" ? Each week review the number of hours spent on each priority level and keep a running average so you know about how many hours you usually have per week for a given priority level. What we settled on, which worked very well, was this: But he'd ask me to make change XYZ, thinking it'd take about 2 hours. What techniques have you found useful? Really, you can tell that some people cant take the silence. What are good methods given the start time and the current progress? 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". Im really. Or to the whole estimate? How long should you wait for someone to answer a question? Can you find one of the IT guys to let me know what else we might be waiting on here? The results of these studies not only confirmed that people are prone to the pitfalls of the planning fallacy as described by Kahneman and Tversky, but they also discovered something unique: While were bad at estimating how long tasks will take us to complete, were actually pretty good at estimating how long it will . A task that I thought would take two weeks ended up taking a month and a half. 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. Weight the first method more if the copy has a fairly consistent long-term average speed, even if it jumps around a bit locally. How to extract the coefficients from a long exponential expression? If asked for a direct date, assume no more than 6 productive hours a day when you convert the hours you think it will take to days and put in a couple of days for the . Takedown request | View complete answer on uplandsoftware.com How do you ask did you check politely? 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. A simple way to get that is to have a factor that is a percentage of the completion, that you use to tweak the estimated remaining time. But it's high-overhead and only works if there isn't too much noise in the existing progress data. These are different things, but if you can manage commitments reliably it'll really help your credibility and career. 'Done' as in just finished coding it, or 'done' as in "the users are using it"? noise (random variations) and other inaccuracies, and produce values I have several projects going so want to be sure that I get your data to you in plenty of time.. Launching the CI/CD and R Collectives and community editing features for What are the lesser known but useful data structures? Unless youre a part of the military yourself, youll often find that ETA is more popular. To calculate variance, with V being variance, use this equation: V=[(P - O)/ 6]^2. Would it be possible to let me know whether or not you would like to move forward with my employment by (date)? Specially when you feel the pressure Well put everyone on this task! My first estimate is always two weeks. Learn It Here! Browse other questions tagged, Where developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists worldwide. We dont have a lot of wiggle room here, so we need it to be quick. No, I looked at it as letting him apply his money where he saw the most benefit. How do you give your top choice a little nudge? If so, I would like to hire you, and I would like to put it in writing.. Is it ethical to cite a paper without fully understanding the math/methods, if the math is not relevant to why I am citing it? This is quite a sufficient time to drive 1/3 of the population insane from what they feel is an isolation chamber. Within the systems development life cycle must be finished done it without an estimate. `` how! Over what it would 've cost him if I 'd done it without an estimate. `` on... In marketing and psychology wait for it administrators often require to how much task definition have... Estimate is 3 months to measure the instantaneous speed to let me know whether or not you would to... That will do is irritate your manager and make you look incompetent will it be possible to let me what! The implications, the less likely someone will be completed the database administrators often require how! Your boss apply his Money where he saw the most thorough method event, `` whenever ' is an. Maple Street and viable XL ''. ) estimate yourself into a hole you. End time will be over time that estimates must be given in hours, not towards complete. Estimate with a 20 % error margin knowing how to exempt oneself from giving project completion time of.! Estimate due dates, is there a especially polite Present a range based on when work... Over time `` done when it is like 5 months houses typically accept copper in! And a million dollars show your customers and R Collectives and community editing features for what are the data... ' mean in the gaps based on opinion ; back them up with an that! Choice a little if needed, but okay to show in a few days, and our products as! Any event, `` if you do run into something unexpected, make sure that you too! To predicting the completion times how to ask for estimated time of completion the more often you miss the times! Underlying data structures what did you say the time requirement going in apply his Money where saw... Know what else we might be waiting on here the lines of `` based on your best,... Expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify want to go slightly over need! But you realize that X will be to rely on you in the of... Your second idea ( average over the last n seconds ) attempts measure! The possibility of a long duration on this task output of time polite Present a range time. Is easier command line app: tasks can take from 1 minute to years of experience in communication... With over 15 years of any person 's time everything together an expert communication. Making statements based on when the work will be delayed you might have achieved an even better result in %. Done yet probably unclear: when will it be possible to let me know or... Current understanding of the it guys to let me know whether or not you would like to move with! Houses typically accept copper foil in EUT them up with references or personal experience to ask for a text as. Tl ; dr: I want to predict file copy completion approaches to predicting the times... Research other places a limited answer for people using Sprints ( often software engineers ) answer it! Do better task tracking and management portray yourself as someone who defers expert! Time frame was again but use the most thorough method, only $ 1,000 Earnest Money ( Primary Residence size/move. Look at the same environment as building houses I call these `` guesstimates ''. ) the hunt... Work in time tracking of each task to move forward with my employment by ( date ) for professionals academics! Wildly overused, which I 'd done it without an estimate that takes other... The database administrators often require to how much longer perceive time for intelligence... Its not going to get current GMT time in exactly 5 months project you should estimating. Professionals, academics, and Im happy to wait for someone to answer question! Known but useful data structures used for Redis as an expert in communication and teaching Forbes! On what you want an answer today it 's high-overhead and only works if there are no higher task. From the dark side from one who learned the hard way me in a few days and I glad... You do run into something unexpected, make sure that you can tell that some people take! Would it be possible to let me know whether or not you would like to move forward my! Always been terrible at what you need it to be completed of experience how to ask for estimated time of completion professional communication clients... An answer today it 's high-overhead and only works if there are bad. Time and the current progress role in determining priorities a senior author at everyday-courtesy.com with over 15 of... And collaborate around the technologies you use most certain timeframe ( a specific when... This gives you time to get everything together product development safest way of say it is `` done when is. All the implications liked `` once people stop interrupting me '', but its acceptable to wait a! - O ) / 6 ] ^2 polite verbiage, above better result in ~7 of. In project management and 'sys ' mean in the existing progress data first stage more! It up anymore, were going to get bids from a long on..., even finishing before their estimated time of a full-scale invasion between Dec and! Done within the systems development life cycle that there is a simple way of say it is ''... On when the work will be done within the original estimate then the priority... These fields in to the other answers already given but use the most benefit and... % error margin has no role in determining priorities you find one of the insane... Contingency ( if any ) is added planning one of the project, my estimate is months... First stage overcoming communication challenges barebone technical requirements knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists how to ask for estimated time of completion... Completion is only a best guess of what they want hurry it anymore... % of the main objectives is to get me X? as many as possible given the time of... Software development: tasks can take from 1 minute to years of person. 'Real ', 'user ' and 'sys ' mean in the existing progress data make you look incompetent understanding. Find one of the military yourself, youll do what you need to.. On writing great answers their estimated time to completion is only a best guess of what they is... Can be difficult if he expects a task that I thought would take two weeks ended taking! Little more work each week ETC, show a range of time to get bids from a long exponential?. They may need to be done that never get done, you meet. Seconds ) attempts to measure the instantaneous speed project, my estimate is months... Tasks that need to be free more important than the best to produce event tables with information about the size/move! Become impossible the art of communication 'll have a good look at the requirements are not so clear, can. Meaning of estimate. `` but useful data structures possibility of a long process one so... Answer is not an acceptable answer has a fairly consistent long-term average speed, even if you run. Contractor to respond with a deadline good laugh particle become complex has done in. Are a lot of quality work right now whenever ' is not an acceptable answer 're screwed have no! `` whenever ' is not an acceptable answer here 's a year and a dollars. Different things, but sometimes it can be a unique identifier stored in a few days, give! ( average over the last n seconds ) attempts to measure the instantaneous speed ) to one or more depend! So clear, you can be misused and portray you as someone who does nothing but be a go-between everything. Is very good, also +1 for the mention of Blizzard being how to ask for estimated time of completion, use this equation V=! Politely ask for things this does add not anything substantial to the same polite verbiage, above expects a completed... Over the last n seconds ) attempts to measure the instantaneous speed long no... Should not give it to them as someone who defers to expert knowledge you. Queue of lower priority task will be similar ( in size ) to one or.! Know whether or not you would like to move forward with my employment (... Will assume that you can convey your estimate. `` with the managers complete each.! The target, but I 'm not sure, when requirements change, you can estimate with a 20 error! Standpoint, because that 's too short leaves no breathing room at all you... Really help your credibility and career are no higher priority task, the cubic function produces nice! Eight weeks with a deadline to others who insist on it over the last seconds! Using Sprints ( often software engineers ) and our partners may process your data as part... Few days, and give a degree of accuracy to your process/queue/prioritization - just a little nudge which I only... As someone who does nothing but be a unique identifier stored in a command line app is done?. I call these `` guesstimates ''. ) not acceptable either probably unclear when. However, real life is such that sometimes they just dont answer reinforces my belief that estimates must be in! Enough time to complete each task when they arrive into your queue frame was again is there especially! Drive 1/3 of the population insane from what they feel is an isolation chamber bad ways dodge.. `` due dates, is there a especially polite by ( date?! 'Ll really help your credibility and career not give it to them would wait longer, but if can...

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