I have to laugh when I see these posts. So, software development is a special activity that should not be constrained by budgets or deadlines (or estimates)? Where do I sign up? There are so many strawmen here I can&#x27;t possibly address them all. If you can&#x27;t provide a credible estimate for a piece of work, you either a) aren&#x27;t very good, b) don&#x27;t properly understand the work to be done, or c) perceive some aspect of the job that is unknowable to you (through lack of experience or other novelty). Fixing each of these is up to you. &#x27;a&#x27; is obvious (you either work hard to get better or find something else to do). &#x27;b&#x27; means you need to ask more questions that allow you to sufficiently complete your understanding of the problem so an estimate is possible. &#x27;c&#x27; means you need to isolate the novelty and explain that this part of the problem is new to you and you are not qualified to provide an estimate. Perhaps someone else can provide that insight or you can define an initial activity designed to help you better understand the novel problem until you can estimate the remaining work. NO area of engineering is so cut and dried that estimation is easy.<p>What IS common is a combination of poorly defined projects and a profound lack of self-awareness. By all means, push back against poorly defined projects (&quot;I can&#x27;t estimate the work until you tell me what it is.&quot;). Lack of self-awareness is squarely in YOUR lap (&quot;I don&#x27;t understand why it always takes longer than I thought it would...&quot; Well, duh, maybe you should consider that reality for what it is and account for it next time).<p>Estimating work and committing to those estimates is what a professional does. Deal with it. If estimates are imposed on you that you do not agree with, that has nothing to do with the virtue of estimation. That&#x27;s a social problem, not a technical one.