Estimating durations

Duration estimating is more of an art form than a science. Some people are good at it and others, well, not so much. You know that one friend you have that is always early or the other friend who is always late? Both are annoying, but you love them anyway. Which one do you love more? The first one probably. Most estimates are either too much or not enough, and that is because time is a concept. If we turn to the story of the three bears to explain this, we are looking for exactly right. Exactly right is tough to attain though, so we must use a multitude of different techniques to get a duration estimate that is realistic for each activity. Dates, duration, and effort are three totally different things that affect your project schedule equally. These concepts and sequencing activities can drive a project manager into hurling the computer out of the window....