14. Future Fixes

A reader recently asked me, “When planning a project phase, how do you account for the bugs that you know will be created? Do you simply create a “bug bucket” and hope you put enough time in it? Or is there a better way?”

Yes. Allotting a random amount of time for rework is better than assuming it doesn’t exist, but predicting rework—how much your project will require and when it will end—is tricky. I use several techniques to predict rework, depending on the project and the organization’s culture: allowing each task to complete without incurring extra rework; predictive measures such as historical data and estimation quality factor; and planning and managing the project schedule using critical-chain project buffers or agile ...

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