Rapper's cheat-sheet for providing the best estimates - Software Development

What is an important prerequisite for providing good estimates in software development?

Simple answer is: You need to have a good list of features which is what your product is all about. I am not talking about a feature list at a customer level. I am talking about a feature list from the engineering level that maps to the high-level feature list that product management owns.

So now that you know what you need, the question is how to get it if you don't have it available off the shelf in your documentation.

Simple answer is:

1. Create what I call a rapper's cheat-sheet.
2. Read through your project requirements and circle the features/components on the rapper's cheat-sheet.
3. Consolidate all the information into a nice list and then start the process of estimating.

If you are still wondering what "a rapper's cheat-sheet" is, here is what I mean. It is one sheet of paper where you list all the engineering features/components without specific organization. The point is to put as much on that paper without trying to organize it. This can be achieved in a brainstorming session with between you as the technical lead/manager and your teammate engineers.

Happy estimating !!!


Keywords: #estimates #LOE #development #software #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering
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