this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2026
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Programmer Humor

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submitted 4 days ago by raindrop1988@lemmy.ml to c/programmerhumor@lemmy.ml
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Manager: We (meaning you) need to do task A. How long will it take?

Me: Task A will take X days to do.

Manager: That seems awful long.

Me: How long do you think it should take?

Manager: It surely could not take any longer than Y days.

Me: Ok, it seems you have an answer to your question then.

Later:

Manager: It’s been Y days, why isn’t task A done yet?

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[–] markstos@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That pattern is also recommended in the book. Break down estimates into chunks of 5 hours or less.

With lots of smaller tasks, estimates tend to both be more accurate due to smaller scope, and some of the over/under inaccuracies will cancel out.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

That's a really good budgeting idea. My worst boss wanted the estimate accurate to within fifteen minutes. He churns through employees like popcorn.