I hate doing estimates. But without
them, I’d be out of work, so my goal
is to make them as easy and painless as
possible.
These days, we’re besieged with a
bewildering array of tools to help us
estimate: spreadsheets, estimating programs,
laptops, and palm pilots. But is
the high-tech route right for every
company? Will it necessarily make
your estimates faster, more accurate,
and more consistent?
For some, particularly larger companies,
the answer is an unqualified yes.
The rest of us need to consider the cost
of re-tooling and training time. Factor
in a half-dozen high-tech glitches, computer
crashes, and the need to regularly
update material and labor prices, and
then ask yourself: Will a
move to high tech