An engineer learns why software development delays happen from installing a washing machine
Chris Horsley, co-founder and chief technology officer of security company Cosive, examines why delays occur in software development, based on his experience of installing a washing machine in a new house taking significantly longer than estimated.
My Washing Machine Refreshed My Thinking on Software Effort Estimation — Cosive
https://www.cosive.com/blog/my-washing-machine-refreshed-my-thinking-on-software-effort-estimation
Mr. Horsley moved into his newly built house. He had moved eight times before, and this was his ninth time, and the move went smoothly. He also thought that the installation of the washing machine, which is necessary every time he moves, would take about 10 minutes.
The washing machine that Mr. Horsley installed this time was the following. It was something he was familiar with and had used in his previous home, so he had no particular concerns. However, it ended up taking four hours to install the washing machine. Mr. Horsley explains the reason for the large excess over the estimated time as follows:
1: There was no hole for the power supply
There was a partition between the washing machine and the outlet, and a hole was supposed to be drilled, but the builder forgot to do so. Horsley searched the Internet and found that he could drill a hole by attaching a circular saw called a hole saw to a drill, so he went to a hardware store and bought one.
2: The hole saw wouldn't attach to the drill
However, the hole saw he purchased could not be attached to a regular household drill. Horsley went back to the hardware store and, after consulting with the salesperson, was able to borrow a commercial drill for $10 (about 1,500 yen). This allowed him to successfully drill the hole for the wiring.
3. The hose was too short
Although the contractor had made holes for the water supply and drain hoses, the hoses Horsley had been using at his previous location were too short to fit. Horsley went to a large hardware store to buy new hoses, but found that they were selling flexible extension hoses with bellows structures. Horsley bought the extension hose because it was cheaper than buying a new hose.
4. The extension hose didn't work
The extension hose looked like it had a bellows structure, but in reality it only looked like a bellows structure and could not be bent or extended. Mr. Horsley went to the hardware store again and purchased a new hose.
5. I couldn’t remove the water tap cap
When Horsley tried to attach the water supply hose to the faucet, he discovered that the faucet had a cap attached. It was too tight to remove by hand, and he needed a 35mm wrench, which Horsley didn't have. Horsley went to the hardware store again and bought a wrench.
The drain hose was supposed to be attached to the top of the U-shaped pipe under the sink. The grey hose in the image below is the drain hose. Horsley commented, 'I've never seen such a structure before.' This completes the installation process.
6. 'Clogged drain' error appears
When Horsley tried to turn on the washing machine, he got an error message saying the drain was clogged. When Horsley checked the connection between the U-tube and the drain hose, he found that there was no hole at all and the drain was not flowing into the U-tube. Horsley didn't have a drill of the right size, so he chose the largest drill he had and forced a hole in it.
When he tried to start the machine again, it completed the task normally. Four hours had passed since Horsley started the job, 24 times longer than his original estimate of how long it would take to complete the task.
When asked why the estimated time differed from the actual work time, Horsley said, 'I gave an optimistic estimate because I have a lot of experience installing washing machines, but when I thought about it, this was my first time installing one in a newly built home.' 'I faced one problem after another that I didn't know about before I started.'
Even software development projects may look similar to past projects but actually have significant differences. In order to avoid unexpected problems arising one after another after the project actually begins, it is important to gather information in advance and thoroughly confirm the requirements, Horsley said.
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