When we mean to build,
We first survey the plot, then draw the model;
and when we see the figure of the house,
Then must we rate the cost of the erection
which if we find outweighs ability,
What do we then but draw anew the model
In fewer offices, or at least desist
To build at all?William Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part2, I.iii,1598
Estimating and building anything has been an age-old process. These problems are Never solved by Not Estimating. From Henry IV's needs for offices to the needed capabilities of a software development project, estimating requires making decisions in the presence of uncertainty that creates risk.
