| name | effort-estimator |
| description | Estimate engineering effort from scope, risk, unknowns, and verification cost. Use when sizing features, splitting work, planning sprints, comparing implementation options, or deciding whether a task is XS through XL; avoid for product value, requirements quality, or business-case analysis. |
Effort Estimator
Estimate work from scope, risk, and verification cost.
When to use
- User asks for effort, sizing, sprint planning, or approach comparison.
- Work has enough detail to estimate roughly.
- Scope may need splitting.
Goal
- Give useful size.
- State confidence.
- Expose risk.
- Recommend proceed or split.
Size bands
- XS:
<30 LOC, <=1h, high confidence.
- S:
30-100 LOC, 0.5d, high confidence.
- M:
100-200 LOC, <=1d, medium confidence.
- L:
200-400 LOC, 2-3d, low confidence, split recommended.
- XL:
>400 LOC, must split.
Modifiers
- New tech or pattern:
+50%.
- External dependency:
+30%.
- Unclear requirements:
+50%.
- Complex testing:
+30%.
Formula:
final = base x (1 + sum(modifiers))
Flow
- Define scope.
- Estimate changed files and LOC.
- Check reusable patterns.
- Apply modifiers.
- Identify verification cost.
- Split
L or XL.
Common splits
- Foundation.
- API layer.
- UI.
- Integration.
- Tests and hardening.
Output
## Effort Estimate
- Size: [XS/S/M/L/XL]
- Base: [time]
- Final: [adjusted time]
- Confidence: [high/medium/low]
## Why
- Scope: [summary]
- Files: [likely files]
- Modifiers: [applied]
- Verification: [checks/tests]
## Recommendation
- [Proceed or split]
