Your Estimates Suck

REWORK

"Getting out of estimates and getting into appetites and budgets is the single most important thing that we have instituted," - David Heinemeier Hansson

Today, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founders of 37signals, discuss their chapter in Rework on why estimating is not the road to completing projects and what has helped them get things done in their business for over twenty years.

Show Notes:

[00:42] - David shares why it's time to accept that we're awful at estimating.

[03:27] - Why estimating is 'an amazing example of the human optimism to overcome its own fundamental flaws in a way that's just wholesomely unrealistic.'

[04:48] - What 37signals does instead of estimating as relayed in Shape Up.

[05:49] - Jason asks how much you are willing to spend (or lose) in gambling (and software development projects).

[08:13] - The worst situation to be in for rational decision-making.

[09:00] - Why it's vital to stick to your limits.

[10:29] - "Getting out of estimates and getting into appetites and budgets is the single most important thing that we have instituted as a barrier for our software development process over all these years."

[12:47] - In software development, no one—from the owner of the company to the end user—gets everything they want; staying within your parameters is about trading concessions.

[14:15] - You need to keep the engine moving because software development is like baking bread on an industrial scale.

[16:19] - You produce what you practice.

[16:57] - You don't cut corners or quality, you cut scope, and if you can't, you scrap the project.

[18:15] - Losing the right things prevents you from missing out on other opportunities.

[19:48] - Forecasting the next ten years, six weeks at a time.

[20:33] - Shortening planning cycles improves your ability to determine your next steps with more accurate information.

[21:15] - 'We're making a ton of progress with a small team with a product that's been around for 18 years - so it works!'

[23:21] - Why keep doing things that don't work?

Links and Resources:

Rework

Shape Up
Dev.37signals
Sign Up for 30-day FREE trial at Basecamp.com

37signals on YouTube
The REWORK podcast

The 37signals Dev Blog

@reworkpodcast on Twitter

@37signals on Twitter