On Estimations in Software Engineering

Estimations are hard

You will barely ever estimate a PBI in the right way and I am sure everyone ran into a situation where they either over- or underestimated the effort it takes to finish a task.
If you overestimate, it takes you less time to finish the task. Similarly, if you underestimate, it takes you more time to finish the task.
What happens then is totally dependent on the individual, how far along in their career they are and what they want to accomplish.
You can get by with doing the bare minimum, but is that what you want? Why not push further?
Estimations are also about trust. If you consistently overestimate and finish sooner, then business stakeholders might think that you do that for a reason. If you underestimate and it takes you longer you are facing issues when it comes to meeting deadlines.

How can we improve our estimations

• Benefit from giving a range when it comes to estimations
• Break tasks into smaller pieces to become better at estimating

Why even estimate?

Why not give all tickets a 3 and move on? If it's done it's done.