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Effort Estimation

What is it

Effort Estimation is a value expressed in conditional work units that is assigned to a task during its creation or editing.

These units are most conveniently understood as ideal hours — a conventional measure of work volume.

In simple terms, it is an assessment of how large the task is and how much effort it will require under normal working conditions.

It is important to understand that effort estimation:

  • Is not a promise of an exact number of hours

  • Is not a calendar deadline

  • Does not account for distractions, meetings, or context switching between tasks

It is a conditional measure of work volume used by the system for calculations and planning.

What is it for

Effort Estimation is used by the Deepleex system to:

  • Calculate the expected duration of task completion

  • Correctly distribute tasks among performers

  • Build the team’s work plan

  • Forecast completion dates

Without effort estimation, the system cannot accurately calculate team workload or task durations.

How it works

Work volume assessment

When creating a task, the user specifies an effort value.

This value reflects the amount of work required to complete the task.

Effort

Accounting for team productivity

At the team level, an average productivity parameter is set.

It shows how quickly (on average) the team completes work units.

This means that with the same effort estimate:

  • One team may complete the task faster

  • Another team may take longer

The system takes this into account when calculating task duration.

Accounting for performer qualification

Additionally, Deepleex considers the characteristics of the specific assignee.

If a task requires a certain skill and has increased complexity, the system compares:

  • The required skill level

  • The performer’s actual qualification

If the qualification is lower → expected task duration increases.

If the qualification is higher → the task may be calculated as faster.

Overall principle used:

Effort estimate + team productivity + performer qualification → expected task duration

Practical recommendations for estimation

To make estimates helpful for planning, it is recommended to:

  • Estimate work volume, not calendar time

  • Use a consistent estimation approach within the team

  • Break overly large tasks into subtasks

  • Refine the estimate as requirements become clearer

What we get as a result

A correct assessment of work volume, based on which the Deepleex system can:

  • Calculate the expected duration of tasks

  • Distribute tasks among performers

  • Build a realistic work execution plan
Next: Task Linking
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