Estimates are a contentious topic in software development. They have value in many cases but increasingly are fraught with peril. Most of our development teams hate providing estimates and many managers are starting to view them as unnecessary. As senior software leaders, how can we determine whether estimates are helpful or harmful to our teams?

We are excited to be joined by Beekey Cheung, a software consultant and blogger known as Professor Beekums, who has helped many leaders and teams go from fearing estimates to using them appropriately. He'll walk us through the value of estimates, how to overcome the hesitancy many have in giving them, and how to provide better estimates.

In this talk, Beekey will cover:

  • How to have productive conversations about estimates, goals, and commitments with stakeholders to get alignment and ultimately deliver better products
  • Tactics for getting more accurate estimates, but why accuracy is often not the right yardstick
  • Projects where estimates are not appropriate and what to do instead

This is a critical topic for senior software leaders to get right. Failure to do so hurts both your company and your relationships with stakeholders.

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