ETA issues

[Thadeus]

Environment: We have a multi-terabyte database at our company. I am in the reporting department. On a weekly basis, we have a meeting with our IT contacts regarding bug-fix and enhancement requests.

On most of our issues, there is an ETA provided that represents either the date the code will go live or the date the analysis on the issue/enhancement is expected to be complete. If analysis determines that a code change will be implemented, the ETA is changed to reflect the go-live date.

All is good to this point.

On a number of entries, there is no ETA provided. This doesn’t make sense to me. I have never worked in an environment where people are unable to provide even an estimate of when they will be able to complete a task. In fact, I have been on the receiving end of having to provide an ETA at other companies so I know it is not an exact science… that is why the word Estimate is used.

When I requested that we get ETAs from the other department, I ran into a wall of opposition even from my own department.

Am I wrong to think that people should be able to provide an ETA on analysis of a problem?

~Thadeus

 

[CajunCenturion]

Sometimes, it depends on the problem, and how much is known about the problem.

How well is the problem defined?
How well is the desired objective defined?
How stable is the desired objective?

One of the big problems with an ETA is that people, often in management, forget that it is an estimate. The ETA becomes an expectation, and after you've been burned so many times, you become very leery of providing an estimate.

What happens in your culture when an ETA is missed?
How many times can an ETA get pushed back until someone blows up?
How you do feel, personally, when you have to push back one of the ETA that you provide?
How often had you been asked to provide an ETA when some aspect of the project is totally outside of your control?

I think you're right to expect an ETA, but I think there needs to a corresponding understanding of how much estimation is actually in play.

Good Luck
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[dhulbert]

Depending on the complexity of the problem then you wouldn't necessarily get and ETA at the first meeting but they should provide you as a minimun with an ETA for the ETA i.e. "We/ll have a look at it and give you the ETA at the next meeting".

 

[chiph]

I've been burned from estimates that had to be revised later that I'm very hesitant to give them unless I'm sure I can meet the deadline.

Note: I used the word deadline intentionally, as that is what an estimate ends up becoming.

Chip H.


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