Guide Recommends Estimating Software Projects as Ranges Rather Than Single Figures

·2 views

An article on DEV Community argues that software project estimates should be presented as a range rather than one precise number, since single figures conceal uncertainty and lead to disputes when schedules slip. It recommends splitting work into milestones, each given low, likely and high estimates in person-weeks, along with the assumptions behind them. The piece cites Steve McConnell's cone of uncertainty, which holds that early estimates can be off by up to fourfold and narrow as requirements and decisions firm up. It also suggests using the PERT formula to derive a planning figure while still showing clients the full range. An illustrative example for an invented field-service app demonstrates how milestone ranges sum to a total of 20 to 37 person-weeks, with a most likely figure of about 26.

Read the full story at DEV Community

This is an AI-generated summary. ShortSingh links to the original source for the complete article.

Discussion (0)

Why Websites Print Incorrectly: Six Common CSS Print Problems and Debugging Tips

A developer describes how a web page that looks correct on screen can break when printed, with tables splitting across pages, backgrounds disappearing, and edges being cut off. The article explains that browsers optimize for screens, so printed documents need dedicated print styles that hide interface elements and remove shadows and fixed widths. It highlights mismatches between A4 and US Letter paper sizes and shows how @page rules can set margins and size, while noting that printer settings still have the final say. It also points out that browser scaling options can shrink output, recommends printing a reference test sheet to tell scaling issues apart from CSS problems, and covers color reproduction, where the print-color-adjust property may be needed to keep backgrounds visible.

0 comments Read more at DEV Community

ProgrammingDEV Community ·

How AI Products Are Dying: Absorption, Consolidation, and Self-Inflicted Failures

An analysis of TechCrunch's AI graveyard argues that failed AI products fall into distinct categories rather than one pattern. Relay and Huxe shut down after platforms like OpenAI, Google, and Spotify built similar features into existing tools. ChatGPT Atlas and Operator were discontinued, with their capabilities folded into ChatGPT, which the author frames as consolidation rather than failure. The piece also highlights failures of platforms' own making, such as OpenAI's rolled-back ChatGPT super app, Apple's delayed Siri, and Microsoft's privacy-criticized Recall. Character.ai's collapse, marked by lawsuits and bankruptcy, is singled out as an outlier that fits none of these categories.

0 comments Read more at DEV Community

ProgrammingDEV Community ·

Browser tool converts hummed melodies into editable MIDI files

A walkthrough explains how to turn a short voice memo or hummed melody into a MIDI draft using a free, browser-based audio-to-MIDI converter. The tool runs locally on the user's device, requires no account, and accepts common audio formats up to 80MB and 2 minutes. It offers a Clean Melody mode for single lines and a Chords mode for harmony, with adjustable sensitivity and minimum note length settings. Users are advised to listen, adjust one setting at a time, and then clean up the output by removing false notes, fixing octave errors and assigning an instrument. The resulting .mid file can be opened in common DAWs and notation apps. The article notes that the author works on the hosting site, MusicFX.

0 comments Read more at DEV Community

ProgrammingDEV Community ·

Zebrafish RNA-seq Study Shows Why High Mapping Rates Don't Guarantee Reliable Results

A bioinformatics student built a Nextflow workflow to analyze paired-end RNA sequencing data from zebrafish at the 2-cell and 6-hour developmental stages. The overall read mapping rates were 91.8% and 89.5%, but concordant pair alignment rates differed by 7.4 percentage points, showing that a single mapping percentage does not capture alignment quality. Four gene identifiers passed the Cuffdiff significance threshold, but with only one sample per stage, they are considered exploratory candidates rather than validated findings. The project highlighted that a pipeline can complete successfully without providing enough evidence for strong biological conclusions. The author has shared the workflow, documentation, and limitations on GitHub.

0 comments Read more at DEV Community