Ask HN: In a world with AI agents how has software task estimation changed?
If you are putting estimates for a project how do you estimate how long till completion? For managers, how have your expectations changed? How much of a time compression do you expect to see? Do you expect projects to slip anymore?
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Source record
Recorded metrics
points · 2 votes
2026-11-06 01:00:22.960Z
cumulative since publication
Research analysis
Reported problem
Source account: If you are putting estimates for a project how do you estimate how long till completion? For managers, how have your expectations changed? How much of a time compression do you expect to see? Do you expect projects to slip anymore?
Frequency & alternatives
Recorded author: yalogin. Source votes: 2 votes (Nov 6, 2026 UTC; cumulative since publication); previous same-scope observation: 2 (Nov 5, 2026 UTC). These observations do not establish demand growth. Recent records to compare: “Ask HN: Is anyone running multi/always-on agents that don't cost a fortune?” (Hacker News, Nov 6, 2026); “Ask HN: Engineers Focus Using AI” (Hacker News, Nov 6, 2026). Shared themes are navigation hints; they have not been verified as the same need or independent corroboration.
Demand hypothesis
Treat the reported task or obstacle as an interview lead. A feature request, complaint or search for alternatives does not by itself identify a budget owner or willingness to pay.
Commercial evidence gaps
Missing evidence: distinct affected users, repeated occasions, current workaround, measured time or money cost, purchasing authority and a response to a concrete offer.
Validation decision
Group original reports by the same task and deduplicate authors and reposts. Ask how the task is handled today and what it costs; test a defined offer before claiming paid demand.