When we hear about some dysfunction and then hear about the fix for that dysfunction, without any Root Cause Analysis - Ignore it.
No corrective action for any dysfunction of any kind is credible without identifying the Root Cause of the dysfunction. Each Symptom requires a condition and an action to properly identify the Corrective action. This corrective action must do one or both of the following:
- Why wasn't this symptom recognized - corrective action
- How was this symptom allowed to occur - preventative action
So when we hear estimates are the smell of dysfunction that is a bogus statement on the surface and a deep misunderstanding of how any corrective actions are needed to prevent or correct the real root cause of the problem.
And there are lots of problems in the software estimating domain. I spend much of my time working to recover from those problems.
Without a Root Cause Analysis any suggestion is of little value and likely creates more problems.
Start the RCA here
Seven Steps to Effective Problem-Solving. This is the method used in Manned Space Flight, Enterprise IT, Nuclear Power, Large Construction, BioPharma and every other domains we work. It's straightforward, simple, and produces known to work corrective actions. Apply this and you'll know that Not Estimating fixes Nothing in the dysfunction of software development.
