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I’ve long felt estimations are a negotiation. It’s not as much about how long it will take or how much it will cost, but what do you really need and what can you afford. Kinda like I’m helping someone buy a car based on their needs and budget, I’ll put together 3 “trim line” options:

1. Economy (bare functionality, prefer low cost and fast delivery over reliability and longevity)

2. Mid tier (good enough quality and reliable but no frills)

3. Luxury (all the bells and whistles)

The business will want all the bells and whistles of 3 but also the pragmatism of 2 but the budget and timeline of 1. So, they don’t actually pick themselves, I choose for them based on the circumstances and we negotiate the finer points.

Devs can gold plate the shit out of any project, but having a plan for #1 is helpful when shit hits the fan and the business needs you to pivot. More than that, it’s useful during the negotiation to illustrate the ramifications of shortcuts. It’s helped me more than a few times to avoid some really stupid decisions from panicking PMs and execs.