You bet your life you do and you should involve as many people as possible developing one. If you do get that accurate estimate you will enjoy, in no particular order, the following benefits:
- Focus on the deliverables; hopefully you started with a WBS. Are the task in the estimate directly related to the deliverables or are we gold plating?
- Buy-in from your team members and management. It is not YOUR estimate anymore, it is EVERYONE’s estimate.
- You can run a Monte Carlo simulation to figure out the realistic end date instead of the optimistic one. It is pretty amazing how both values may differ.
- You’ll have identified the training and staffing needs you’ll have if this project becomes part of your portfolio.
- A strong basis for contractual negotiations. Now your sales force knows how much you think this will cost and why.
- If the client says you are too high by X your sales people can ask what can be dropped from scope.
- If your company wants the project to satisfy both its Balanced Score Card financial and customer objectives we now know how many hours we may agree to give away to gain a new client or keep an old one. Remember; do not drop the rate, give hours away instead.
- Faster response time when revising your estimate following scope changes. You already have figures out where you can cut. If the client doesn’t volunteer potential areas of scope reduction you probably have identified them already.
- You’ll have a good starting point for the next time a similar project crops up.
What do you think? As always questions and comments are welcome.
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