First, developers give terrible estimates because of pride. They don't think through the problem, they don't consider complexity, and they want to look awesome so they ALWAYS over promise and under deliver.
This sounds like bullshit. More often than not, bad estimates are a result of built-in bias in the overall estimation system that gets blamed on the people.
For example, I routinely see people underestimating larger tasks when the cost of splitting them is prohibitively high, while the cost of being late with a task is largely imaginary.
This sounds like bullshit. More often than not, bad estimates are a result of built-in bias in the overall estimation system that gets blamed on the people.
For example, I routinely see people underestimating larger tasks when the cost of splitting them is prohibitively high, while the cost of being late with a task is largely imaginary.