Software Estimation Without Guessing

Chapter 9When People Clash

We’ve looked at reasons for needing estimates, and what kinds of estimates meet the needs behind those reasons. We’ve explored different approaches to estimating. We’ve discovered how to wring value out of estimates, especially when they prove wrong. And thanks to our example stories, using estimates effectively to help us achieve the goals we want sounds easy, doesn’t it?

I can imagine what you’re thinking. If you could talk to me through this book, you’d probably say, “But the stories you tell aren’t believable. The people get along so well, even when they disagree. That’s not how it happens in the real world! People fight and argue. People don’t believe each other. People take advantage of each other.”

Yet it ...