topic Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks in SAS Programming

Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

xxformat_com — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:20:39 GMT

Hi,

I've never been good at estimating how much time I need for a project.

Here is a few recommandations for software developers: https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/39468/how-possible-is-it-to-estimate-time-for-programming-projects

But I would be interested to learn from your experience when it comes to SAS projects.

Cheers

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

SASKiwi — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 22:41:41 GMT

This is a "how long is a length of string" question. It depends on many factors including:

the programmers' experience
how well the requirements are documented and understood
the size and complexity of the requirements
the rigour, depth and evidence of testing required
the time to run the programs being modified
the level of team collaboration required
the change management processes required
the criticality of the changes being made

Personally I find it relatively easy to provide a ballpark estimate based on known factors like those listed. However unexpected issues can always occur, like finding previously unknown errors for example, that can result in scope change. The more experience you have the easier and more accurate it is to estimate the time required.

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

Kurt_Bremser — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 05:54:20 GMT

Experience, experience, experience. Only this will increase the accuracy of your estimates.

In most cases, testing, documentation and the change management process will constitute the major part of the coding task.

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

ZissLatz — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 09:38:34 GMT

It is difficult to estimate the time needed for a project without more information. However, there are a few general tips that might be useful for software developers. For example, it is essential to break the project down into smaller tasks and to estimate the time needed for each task. Additionally, it is helpful to keep a realistic estimate of the time required for the project and to allow for some flexibility in the schedule, for I am using a custom project management system integrated with AI that always helps to organize my tasks.

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

freyafrigohre — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:15:16 GMT

I'd love to hear more about how you've evolved in your approach to project management over the last year!

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

abyssguard — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:19:57 GMT

I totally get the struggle with estimating time for programming tasks—it's something many of us wrestle with, especially when it comes to complex SAS projects. That Stack Exchange link you shared has some solid recommendations, like breaking tasks down into smaller components to make it easier to estimate the time needed.

Re: Project Management: How much time for programming tasks

abyssguard — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 11:17:22 GMT

I totally get the struggle with estimating time for programming tasks—it's something many of us wrestle with, especially when it comes to complex SAS projects. That Stack Exchange link you shared has some solid recommendations, like breaking tasks down into smaller components to make it easier to estimate the time needed.

Since the thread is a year old, I'm not sure if you've found a reliable method for time estimation yet, but another thing that really helped me was using the Best IT Asset Management Software. Have you considered that? It helps keep track of software licenses, and hardware and even helps with project management. It not only aids in managing your resources but can also give you better insights into how much time similar tasks have taken in the past."