Absolutely it must be true that accurate estimates have some value. And, of course, one can derive cost estimates from schedule estimates and these can be helpful as well. I think it would depend a lot on the project, though. For example, if a project were of an optional nature, accurate cost estimates could be used to decided about proceeding with the project.
I tend to be involved more with "we
need it" type projects, for which a cost estimate might be nice to have. At some level somebody says "do it" and we do, without much thought to cost. Usually at this point we don't really know the requirements anyway, so it would be an excercise in futility anyway.
In fact, it is often the case that the real requirements are discovered along the way of the development process. I find it difficult to convey that, though, when I'm asked about schedule estimates. We talk about ideal engineering days (which don't exist in my workplace) and maybe a confidence interval, but often miss the fact that the requirements are a moving target.
Also, it's interesting to note that studies done by (or at least cited in "Peopleware") DeMarco and Lister show that developers tend to miss their own estimates very frequently, miss estimates of a system analyst somewhat less frequently and actually work fastest in the complete absence of any schedule estimate.
So, is estimating much ado about nothing?
Originally posted by shailesh sonavadekar:
not only the schedule , but the cost estimation is also very important. infact the most important.
