Renjie Chen

Effort vs Reality

14 Dec 2025

Guess, Test, and Show

Effort estimation has always been a struggle for me, both in software engineering and for outside tasks. This is largely due to procrastination and underestimating how long it takes to complete a task. Through ICS 314 I learned, the hard way, the importance of effort estimation and progress tracking. I confronted these tendencies directly and developed an approach to both estimating effort and tracking actual time spent. Although the estimates may not always be precise, the process of documentation and estimation gave me a better understanding of my workflow and work habits and revealed areas where I can improve for future projects.

Final Project Effort Estimation

For the final project, I used the same format as the WODs and timed how long it took me to resolve each issue. I then compared those times to previous WODs with similar tasks and estimated the “effort” required for each issue. Some issues were fairly easy and took less than 30 minutes because of prior WOD experience; others took many hours. I compared the actual time to my initial estimates to see where I was optimistic or realistic. Even when estimates were off, planning effort and time in advance helped me schedule tasks in a coherent order. For example, I completed easier tasks first (such as configuring the navigation bar) and then moved on to longer, harder tasks (like database setup and implementation).

Using effort estimation, I was able to set goals for myself and my group and to create timeframes for milestones. This allowed the team to focus on the main tasks and make steady progress toward completion.

Conclusion

Estimating effort and tracking time kept my group and me on track during the final project. It provided a thorough timeline and produced data that highlighted our weaknesses and the skill sets we need to improve. Effort estimation can be applied not only in software engineering but also to many other tasks. Overall, it was a valuable skill to learn, and I look forward to implementing it in my day-to-day life.