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Subject:Re: Where are the experts on job estimating? From:Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 6 May 1998 10:40:04 -0700
Richard -
The short answer is that they're writing books the rest of us buy when
we have a question like yours. <g> The long answer is that there are
so many variations in a job that no single rule of thumb works best.
One of the most-often cited rules of thumb is on p. 170 of Dr. JoAnn
Hackos' book "Managing Your Documentation Project." She gives the
following estimates:
user guide 5 hrs/page
software app ref man 4 hrs/page
hardware maint/troubleshooting 8 hrs/page
classroom training 40 hrs/deliverable hour of training
context-sensitive help 4 hrs/topic of help information
comprehensive help 4 hrs/topic including hypertext links
videotaped instruction 30 hrs/finished minute of production time
CBT 60 hrs/finished hour of training
Unfortunately, these rules of thumb don't take into account things like
availability of source material, stability of the underlying program or
project, project or company politics, review turnaround, etc.
