I've been working at a software house for three years, mostly focusing on frontend development, but I recently took on my second solo full-stack project. I initially estimated it would take around 400 hours, but I'm now realizing it might actually take closer to 550 hours as I dig deeper into the project (I'm currently at 300 hours). The tricky part is that the client was billed a fixed price for 400 hours. I want to know how companies typically handle situations like this. Do they eat the cost as a business risk? Are developers expected to work the extra hours for free? Is this seen as a learning opportunity with shared responsibility? Does it depend on whether the overrun was due to poor estimation or unforeseen complexities? I'm just trying to get a grasp on what's considered normal in the industry before discussing this with my project manager, and I want to make sure I'm setting the right expectations.
3 Answers
I think it's pretty tough to give an accurate estimate, especially for something like 400 hours. Honestly, even with 12 years of experience, I'd only narrow it down to a range like '300 to 600 hours.' If you’re falling behind, do keep your team in the loop early on. Use daily check-ins to update them and explain any delays honestly, but don't make it sound like you're making excuses. Also, think about presenting options: can you cut corners for a quick fix? Or do you prefer to take more time for a better outcome?
One important rule of thumb is to take your initial estimate and double it. That's often more realistic for software projects.
It really depends on your contract. If it's a fixed-price contract, then the company usually absorbs the extra costs. In my experience, most of our projects are billed that way based on the defined scope, so we just have to deal with it internally if we go over.
I’m more interested in how this gets handled between me and my employer, since I have a standard salary and am not paid by the hour.
Actually, my rule is to triple it! That way, when you finish early, you can impress everyone.