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skills/effort-estimator/SKILL.md

effort-estimator

Estimate development effort for tasks and features. Use when sizing work, planning sprints, or comparing approaches.

npx skills add https://github.com/flpbalada/fb-skills --skill effort-estimator
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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

  1. Define scope.
  2. Estimate changed files and LOC.
  3. Check reusable patterns.
  4. Apply modifiers.
  5. Identify verification cost.
  6. 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]