Software Estimation
A practical guide for software developers and development teams, this book--written by an award-winning author--features effective and understandable formulas, procedures, and heuristics to help organizations improve their project cost estimates.
Stats for nerds
58recommend
120mentions
81people
2007–2026years
69% recommend30% neutral1% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- How do people get to "staff" without reading industry core reading?
Software Estimation: Demystifying the black art by Steve McConnell should be 1st year reading in any software development major in college...
We've largely "solved" this problem in the industry we just have a problem of getting people to read and read the right things
- Depends on the book. There are a lot of books that are the equivalent of a podcast episode (anything by Malcolm Gladwell) or a series of podcast episodes (anything by Robert Greene) and even some serious and influential books in the social sciences and can be cooked down to a single university lecture like
Exit, Voice and Loyalty by Albert O. Hirschman
Logic of Collective Action by Mancur Olson
The Zero-sum Society by Lester Thurow (want to know why the world gave up on tariffs?)
maybe some worthwhile management books could be extended into a podcast series, I'd say
Quality is Free by Phillip Crosby
Then there are some books that really could change your life, say
Solid State Physics by Ashcroft and Mermin
The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth
Principles of Compiler Design by Aho and Ullman
Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art by Steve McConnell
The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home by Paul Stamets
Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
Being and Event by Alain Badiou
Liberation in the Palm of your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche
The Art of Happiness by Mirko Fryba
All of which have the element that they'll only change you if you engage deeply with them or the subject, like for the Rippetoe book you're going to have to pick up a bar.
- Have a look at "Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art" by Steve McConnell [0]
I really found this quote illuminating:
> When executives ask for an “estimate,” they’re often asking for a commitment or for a plan to meet a target. The distinctions between estimates, targets, and commitments are critical to understanding what an estimate is, what an estimate is not, and how to make your estimates better.
It's a pretty deep book that discusses everything around estimating:
- how to estimate and what things get missed during estimation
- why estimates gets missed
Really recommended.
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Deve...
- I read Steve McConnell's Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art and I can recommend it without hesitation. It is quite old by now so there might be something newer and better out there as well.
- This is a great article with some valuable insights.
I also noticed that it is part of a larger series of articles on Software Estimation which in my experience is one of the most challenging aspects of development in any organization.
Worth reading: https://jacobian.org/series/estimation/
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