--- title: All Estimations Are Wrong, But None Are Useful | daily.dev description: Software estimations are always wrong due to various factors. Plans often fail because of imprecise requirements, not considering technical debt, and other... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/all-estimations-are-wrong-but-none-are-useful-niagxvlbz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: All Estimations Are Wrong, But None Are Useful | daily.dev og:description: Software estimations are always wrong due to various factors. Plans often fail because of imprecise requirements, not considering technical debt, and other... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/all-estimations-are-wrong-but-none-are-useful-niagxvlbz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/NIAGxVLbz.png og:image:alt: All Estimations Are Wrong, But None Are Useful og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # All Estimations Are Wrong, But None Are Useful **[Community Picks](https://daily.dev/sources/community)** · 5 min read · 23 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Software estimations are always wrong due to various factors. Plans often fail because of imprecise requirements, not considering technical debt, and other reasons. Remediations to improve accuracy include tracking progress with estimates, using contingency buffers, allowing space for the unexpected, and more. Vasco Duarte suggests an alternative approach to estimation, focusing on delivering minor work that provides significant value and utilizing empirical data. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@pararise** · 3 upvotes > These is awesome : > > ## Key laws and principles mentioned include: > > - **Hofstadter’s Law**: Estimations tend to be optimistic and ignore the recursive nature of tasks. > - **Brook’s Law**: Adding manpower to a delayed project only causes further delays. > - **Planning Fallacy**: A tendency to underestimate the time and resources needed. > - **Bikeshedding**: Focusing on trivial tasks at the expense of more critical tasks. > - **Parkinson’s Law**: Work expands to fill the available time, leading to inefficiency. > - **Ninety-Ninety Rule**: The last part of a project often takes much longer than expected. --- Tags: [#productivity](https://daily.dev/tags/productivity), [#agile](https://daily.dev/tags/agile), [#leadership](https://daily.dev/tags/leadership), [#project-management](https://daily.dev/tags/project-management), [#scrum](https://daily.dev/tags/scrum) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/all-estimations-are-wrong-but-none-are-useful-niagxvlbz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"All Estimations Are Wrong, But None Are Useful","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/all-estimations-are-wrong-but-none-are-useful-niagxvlbz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/all-estimations-are-wrong-but-none-are-useful-niagxvlbz"},"datePublished":"2024-03-22T11:30:57.657Z","dateModified":"2024-03-22T11:30:57.237Z","description":"Software estimations are always wrong due to various factors. 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