What do you mean 'no commitment'?

When I read Ken H. Judy's post title—Stop calling it an estimate. Stop pretending it’s a commitment.—I launched Windows Live Writer ready to attack.

Reading on, I realized it was one of those tongue-in-cheek titles that trick us into reading blog posts.

Ken says...

"Setting an achievable target and owning that decision, communicating the rationale for your decision and having that rationale inform your priorities earns trust and rallies a team to deliver.

Don’t set arbitrary targets. Don’t burden yourself with unnecessary risk, demotivate your developers and thoughtlessly constrain the value built into your software.

Do set meaningful targets. Take calculated risks, manage costs, partner with your developers and know what and when you need to deliver to your customers.

It’s not an estimate. The developer cannot assume your risk.

It’s not a commitment. You’ve got to earn that."

Now, maybe you still see Ken's last statement above as controversial? If so, you have much to learn about truth, trust, and transparency.

Of course, no one in the Scrum trenches would disagree, but on the road to the statement above, Ken has much to say about estimating in general—an area that always prompts a debate or two and is well worth a read.