Chapter 9
When People Clash

We’ve looked at reasons for needing estimates, and what kinds of estimates meet the needs behind those reasons. We’ve explored different approaches to estimating. We’ve discovered how to wring value out of estimates, especially when they prove wrong. And thanks to our example stories, using estimates effectively to help us achieve the goals we want sounds easy, doesn’t it?

I can imagine what you’re thinking. If you could talk to me through this book, you’d probably say, “But the stories you tell aren’t believable. The people get along so well, even when they disagree. That’s not how it happens in the real world! People fight and argue. People don’t believe each other. People take advantage of each other.”

Yet it is easy to use estimates in effective ways. What’s hard is giving up counterproductive behavior, especially when that behavior is part of a mutually reinforcing cycle of behavior in an organization. The relationships between people in an organization are not always healthy. Sometimes one part of the organization seems to treat another part as if it’s the enemy rather than a collaborator for achieving business success. Managers can get isolated from the organizational purpose and diverted to power plays within the organization. When they do, they surely isolate the development teams from the organizational purpose, too. Teams can feel they are the bottom rung and all the bad stuff rains down on their back.

Most of the estimation problems I hear complaints about are not about the estimation, but about the behavior surrounding estimation. While I don’t want to focus the book on bad behavior, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge it and offer some ideas on making it better.