[mr-wendel]

What a fine cut of beef this was! The very last sentence is what really gets me:

  > It requires buy in and input from the entire business stack.

In my experience, this makes or breaks everything. Unless you have external buy-in and external understanding of all the points steverb enumerated:

  - Inaccurate estimates don't matter: there is so much wack-a-mole going on that by the time you're done it just doesn't matter as everyone is 3+ focus hijacks removed from when you started.

  - Accurate estimates cause heartburn: they wanted it weeks ago and now you're showing up with a number far larger than anyone wants to hear, but they can't tell you where to cut scope.

Additionally, the point of estimates is planning, and planning really only matters when it aligns priorities for multiple teams... the more alignment needed the more important this becomes.

Everyone has to do the dance or it's just no fun.