

Ask HN: How does your team do bug estimation? - edroche

I have been doing software development for a long time and been a part of companies that absolutely need (so they think) estimates on bugs and those that understand that question is like asking a fisherman how long it will take to catch a fish. So how does your team (or yourself) handle estimating bug fixes, or how do you handle the people asking for the estimations?
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PopsiclePete
I usually pull a number out of my ass. I roll a die, in my head, and spit out
the first number that comes to mind.

I find that estimates for this kind of work are usually pointless. The data
isn't being used for anything useful. It took me 2 hours to fix vs an estimate
of 3? Nobody cares. It took me one day vs 2 hrs? Again nobody cares, in the
grand scheme of things. They care that it got fixed, that's all. They start to
care if it's taking more than 3 days. But anything between 15 minutes and 3
days....nobody cares. Maybe my situation isn't typical.

