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Support (/support/) Help Articles (/support/articles/) Estimating in Ranges
Estimating in Ranges
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Entering Estimates
Estimates are entered via the tasks Edit Panel (/support/articles/the-edit-panel ) under Remaining. To limit the hours
of availability allocated to the task per day, set a Daily Limit (/support/articles/daily-limit/).
(http://cdn.liquidplanner.com/wp-
content/uploads/Estimating-in-ranges-screenshot.jpg)
To enter or update an estimate simply enter your best-case and worst-case estimates for how many days or hours it
will take you to complete the task. The two values should represent a range of effort in which youre about 80%
condent that the actual effort to complete the task will be between.
You can enter both estimates and progress in any unit by adding the unit letter after the number like this:
2d (for 2 days)
2h (for 2 hours)
15m (for 15 minutes)
The number you enter will be displayed back in the workspace default unit. (Only your workspace owner can change
the workspace default unit.)
Remaining Effort
Note that effort is very different from number of calendar days until this task will be done. Task estimates in
LiquidPlanner represent the amount of work (specically the amount of remaining work) there is for a task. If a task is
estimated at 5-10 days that means one should expect to put in 5-10 full days of work before it is done. Thats different
than saying I will be done in 5-10 days. For instance, if my availability is set to half days, then LiquidPlanner will
schedule that same task to complete in 10-20 calendar days because thats how long it takes to get 5-10 days of work
done.
Why estimate in ranges?
The single-point estimates (i.e., 10 days) that most software programs use are usually padded guesses instead of
realistic estimates.
Ranged estimates capture the amount of uncertainty associated with each task. If the range is quite large, the amount
of uncertainty is high. If the range is small, the task duration is relatively certain.
LiquidPlanner sees each range as a bell curve and uses it to calculate an expected completion date.
The set of ranged estimates in your project provides the data LiquidPlanner uses to statistically determine all of the
possible schedule outcomes. This data appears on schedule bars in the Schedule tab.
Estimating in realistic ranges is one of the single best and easiest things you can do to improve your project
outcomes.
(http://cdn.liquidplanner.com/wp-content/uploads/basic-probability.png)
Ranged estimation will change your teams perspective on work and scheduling and move conversations from
uncomfortable negotiations to open and honest dialogue about requirements and ways to work together
constructively to get rid of uncertainty.
Estimating in ranges is a transformative shift forward in project management thinking and is an excellent method for
managing risk.
When you make ranged estimates, you should try to be at least 80% condent that the actual outcome will fall in the
range.
The easy way to think of this is as reasonable best-case and worst-case estimates.
LiquidPlanner translates these effort ranges into schedule ranges and does statistically correct rollups on the projects.
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Related Articles
Building a Best Case/Worst Case Schedule
(/support/articles/building-a-best-caseworst-case-schedule/)Breaking Down a Project: How Much Detail is Enough?
(/support/articles/breaking-down-a-project/)
(/support/articles/building-a-best-caseworst-case-schedule/)The Edit Panel
Setting a (/support/articles/the-edit-panel/)Daily Limit (/support/articles/daily-limit/)

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