No matter what you are working on, when you will complete it comes down to two definitions of duration.
- How long it will take to complete the work?
- How long will it take to deliver the work?
The work itself might not take very long, but if you have to have x number of meetings, wait for testing, work through problems that are out of your control (but you know you’ll have to work with), bang your head against the wall over and over again – the time it takes to complete becomes that much longer.
Actual – how long will it really take me to finish the work?
Elapsed – when will the work be delivered as a result of factors outside of my control?
