11. Use All Four Parts of Project Estimation

What if you’re not agile? You need to track your estimate and refine it over time.

Project work estimation has three components: the initial first cut, or a SWAG; tracking the estimate against the actuals; and using the schedule to see what’s happening in your project.

If you’ve been assigned project estimates, or if your project estimates aren’t particularly close to reality, don’t fret. Try these techniques to estimate and learn about your estimates.

11.1 Part 1: Create an Initial Estimate

If you’re a project manager, you probably try to estimate the work at the beginning of the project, even if you’re assigned a project end date. Sometimes, senior managers have trouble hearing what you’ve said ...

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