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From: rwh@aesat.UUCP (Russ Herman)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: There isn't any "there" here
Message-ID: <307@aesat.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Dec-84 08:37:57 EST
Article-I.D.: aesat.307
Posted: Sun Dec 16 08:37:57 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Dec-84 13:32:48 EST
References: <1292@eosp1.UUCP>
Organization: AES Data Inc., Mississauga, Ont., CANADA L5N 3C9
Lines: 30

>The issue:
>
>	- Given that, on the basis of almost universal experience,
>	  your client should never believe the (probably optimistic)
>	  software development schedules you announce, how should one
>	  go about communicating accurate schedule information, on
>	  those rare occasionas when one probably has accurate
>	  information to communicate?
>			Toby Robison (not Robinson!)

I think this question really belongs in net.psychology. However, since we
don't have any such newsgroup, ... .

What it is a instance of is the general question of "How do we build trust?"
Essentially, what you are trying to do is build someone's confidence in
*their appraisal of your estimate*, rather than *the truth of your estimate*.
Thus, if you learn from experience that someone will automatically add
50% to your estimate, go 50% low. If another person can learn gradually,
from a string of accurate estimates, that you really mean what you say,
then give the actual estimates.

If you can supply a long enough string of accurate estimates to build this
degree of trust, you're a better planner than most of us :-)!
-- 
  ______			Russ Herman
 /      \			{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!aesat!rwh
@( ?  ? )@			
 (  ||  )			The opinions above are strictly personal, and 
 ( \__/ )			do not reflect those of my employer (or even
  \____/			possibly myself an hour from now.)