Reasons why estimating project effort is difficult.
Regardless if you are a tech. comm. professional working for a large corporation serving internal clients, or you are an independent contractor/provider serving a variety of external clients, the one professional exercise that most agree is extremely difficult to perform with any accuracy is that of doing quotations.
Some of the main reasons may include:
1. Facts that are not readily apparent—or referred to as unknowns.
2. Variable conditions in the product environmental that can change over time, and therefore influence the original quotation.
3. Unknown circumstances which are not readily apparent, but can influence a quotation.
4. Product design is incomplete or in a state of change.
5. The client has not clearly defined basic requirements (e.g., purpose, audience, etc.).
6. The client may think they know what they want, but may have skewed perceptions and expectations.
7. The client has not made adequate preparations in order to outsource the project.