TL;DR
In the previous post, we found out how little instead how much can we estimate. Today we discuss how to estimate when team members work on several projects simultaneously. The post is based on a remarkable book written by Johanna Rothman, Manage It!
Estimation And Multitasking
The real-life project situation is that some team members are assigned to several projects simultaneously. Or a situation where a team member works on several tasks at the same time in the same project. Nothing wrong with this setup. But in that context, it is not possible to do an estimation. Here is why:
- your project will be late
- you will not know how much it will be late
- you are not in control what is going on in other projects
What Can You Do
The only option is to inform the project sponsor that you can not do estimation because you can not know will you have team members when you need them.
