What it does
/estimate breaks work into discrete components, estimates each one across design, implementation, testing, and integration phases, applies complexity multipliers for unknowns, and produces estimates with explicit confidence levels and assumptions.
Estimates are informed guesses — not commitments. /estimate makes the assumptions and risks explicit so you can act on them.
When to use
Use/estimate before starting a feature to communicate scope, when planning a sprint, when comparing implementation approaches, or when stakeholders need rough timelines before committing to work.
Prerequisites
- A clear description of the work to estimate — vague inputs produce low-confidence estimates
- For high-confidence estimates: run
/researchfirst to resolve major unknowns
Conversation mode
Either mode works.What happens
Break work into discrete components
The feature or task is decomposed into concrete, estimable components. Vague work is broken down until each piece is independently estimable.
Estimate each component
For each component: design time, implementation time, testing time, and integration time are estimated separately.
Apply complexity multipliers
Unknowns, external dependencies, and architectural decisions that haven’t been made yet are identified. Complexity multipliers are applied based on the category: simple (hours), medium (days), complex (weeks).
State confidence and assumptions
Each estimate includes a confidence level (high/medium/low) and the key assumptions that must be true for the estimate to hold.
Apply buffer guidelines
Buffers are applied based on confidence: 20% for high confidence, 50% for medium, 100% for low. A low-confidence estimate is a signal to break the work down further before committing.
Skills invoked
No skills are invoked./estimate is a direct workflow.
Complexity categories
| Category | Timeframe | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Hours | Well-understood, existing patterns, clear scope |
| Medium | Days | Some unknowns, new patterns, multiple components |
| Complex | Weeks | Significant unknowns, architectural decisions, cross-cutting concerns |
Buffer guidelines
| Confidence | Buffer |
|---|---|
| High | 20% |
| Medium | 50% |
| Low | 100% (or break down further before estimating) |
Example
Related commands
/research
Resolve unknowns before estimating to increase confidence levels.
/brainstorm
Run /estimate after /brainstorm to size the approved design before committing.
/plan
/plan produces the task breakdown that makes estimates actionable.
/design
Architectural decisions from /design reduce unknowns and improve estimate confidence.