The art of building software solutions is comprised of many moving parts, observes Todd Schraml in the current e-edition of Database Trends and Applications. There are project managers coordinating tasks; business analysts gathering requirements; architects establishing standards and designs; developers assembling processes; DBAs building database structures; quality assurance staff testing components for compliance to requirements; and an array of supporting roles providing for functional environments, infrastructure, security, etc. But a common task that everyone must perform is estimating the effort necessary to deliver results. While simple and/or repetitive tasks pose no need for such time estimation, for creative tasks, such as designing new structures, or building new kinds of processes, there will be no previous documented events to refer to. And, faced with these circumstances, individuals usually are not allowed to shrug and say, "It will take as long as it takes," and be left alone.

Read the latest Database Elaborations column from Todd Schraml here.

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