I am really surprised no one has mentioned that a whole book devoted to this topic has existed for 15 years: https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demysti

I am really surprised no one has mentioned that a whole book devoted to this topic has existed for 15 years: https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Developer-Practices/dp/0735605351 https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Deve... It's by Steve McConnell (also author of Code Complete) and largely covers what this author does (but more, and in more detail). I have found it consistently one of the more useful books in my library - particularly for its emphasis on error bounds and on how bad people are at estimating confidence intervals...