[ppeetteerr]

Depends on what you mean by accuracy. There is no bullseye with estimates. It's a means to set expectations and to show that you've thoughtfully analyzed the work.

Part of your argument rests on reducing novelty. However, that's already covered by the myriad of manufacturing process improvement books. Programming is unique because every project is novel. Any migration, any integration, is going to be heavily dependent on company culture and environment.

Like it or not, estimates are necessary to weight A against B, to scope, to plan marketing releases, to compete, to sell, to budget, etc. You may not get value from it as a coder, but that doesn't mean that there is no value in it.