Scott Adams provides cartons of what not to do for most things technical. Software and Hardware. I actually saw him once, when he worked for PacBell in Pleasanton, CA. I was on a job at major oil company deploying document management systems for OSHA 1910.119 - process safety management and integrating CAD systems for control of safety critical documents.
The most popular use of Dilbert cartoon lately has been with the #NoEstimates community in support of the notion that estimates are somehow evil, used to make commitments that can't be met, and generally should be avoided when spending other people's money.
The cartoon below resonated with me for several reasons. What's happening here is classic misguided, intentionally ignoring the established processes of Reference Class Forecasting. As well, in typical Dilbert fashion, doing stupid things on purpose.
Reference Class Forecasting is a well developed estimating process used across a broad range of technical, business, and finance domains. The characters above seem not to know anything about RCF. As a result they are DSTOP.
Here's how not to DSTOP for cost and schedule estimates and the associated risks and the technical risk that the product you're building can't do what it's supposed to do on or before the date it needs to do it, at or below the cost you need it to do it in order to stay in business.
The approach below may be complete overkill for your domain. So start by asking what's the Value at Risk. How much of our customers money are we willing to right off, if we don't have a sense of what DONE looks like in units of measure meaningful to the decision makers. Don't know that? then it's likely you've already put that money at risk, you're likely late, and don't really know what capabiltiies will be produced when you run out of time and money.
Don't end up a cartoon character in Dilbert strip. Learn how to properly manage your efforts, the efforts of others, using your customers money.
