Estimation Patterns

Practical estimation techniques for software tasks — methods comparison, decomposition, complexity multipliers, buffer calculation, bias awareness, and communication strategies.

What's Inside

• Estimation methods comparison (T-shirt sizing, story points, time-based, three-point/PERT, reference comparison)
• Task decomposition (break to < 4 hours)
• Complexity multipliers (new tech, unclear requirements, legacy code, cross-team dependencies)
• Buffer calculation (known unknowns, unknown unknowns, focus ratio)
• Historical calibration and accuracy tracking
• Common estimation biases and mitigations
• Estimation ranges by task type
• Communication strategies (ranges, confidence levels, stakeholder rules)
• Anti-patterns

When to Use

• Estimating a feature, bug fix, or project timeline
• Breaking down work for sprint planning or roadmap forecasting
• Presenting estimates to stakeholders or product managers
• Reviewing historical accuracy to calibrate future estimates
• Noticing a pattern of missed deadlines or blown budgets

Installation

npx add https://github.com/wpank/ai/tree/main/skills/meta/estimation-patterns

OpenClaw / Moltbot / Clawbot

npx clawhub@latest install estimation-patterns

Manual Installation

Cursor (per-project)

From your project root:

mkdir -p .cursor/skills
cp -r ~/.ai-skills/skills/meta/estimation-patterns .cursor/skills/estimation-patterns

Cursor (global)

mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills
cp -r ~/.ai-skills/skills/meta/estimation-patterns ~/.cursor/skills/estimation-patterns

Claude Code (per-project)

From your project root:

mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r ~/.ai-skills/skills/meta/estimation-patterns .claude/skills/estimation-patterns

Claude Code (global)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r ~/.ai-skills/skills/meta/estimation-patterns ~/.claude/skills/estimation-patterns

Part of the Meta skill category.