Evidence-based scheduling: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:11, 19 June 2016

Revision as of 04:07, 31 August 2017

Line 4:

One of the core ideas of Evidence-based Scheduling, that adds to the normal estimation practices, is the idea of '''including all time spent, regardless of relevance'''.

Most people, when estimating, measure the time they actually spend on a project - classic Time Accounting categories such as cited in McConnell's ''Software Project Survival Guide''<ref name="SPSG">[httphttps://www.amazon.com/dp/1572316217 Software Project Survival Guide]</ref> do not allow for accounting for non-project activities. Whilst McConnell goes on to include less obvious activities such as holidays, sick days and project support, he and most others identify such as activities to be separately recorded.

However, recording and attempting to [[budget]] for secondary activities often leads to political pressure to drop such activities. In practice, people find themselves unable to avoid them and compensate by working [[overtime]]. Similarly, as Spolsky points out,<ref name="EBS">[http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/10/26.html Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software]</ref> your bosses' stories about his fishing trips, or model helicopter, are both a time-sink and politically dangerous to put on a time-reporting system.