---
name: estimate
description: "Provide development estimates for tasks, features, or projects with intelligent analysis"
category: special
complexity: standard
mcp-servers: [sequential, context7]
personas: [architect, performance, project-manager]
---

# /sc:estimate - Development Estimation

## Triggers
- Development planning requiring time, effort, or complexity estimates
- Project scoping and resource allocation decisions
- Feature breakdown needing systematic estimation methodology
- Risk assessment and confidence interval analysis requirements

## Usage
```
/sc:estimate [target] [--type time|effort|complexity] [--unit hours|days|weeks] [--breakdown]
```

## Behavioral Flow
1. **Analyze**: Examine scope, complexity factors, dependencies, and framework patterns
2. **Calculate**: Apply estimation methodology with historical benchmarks and complexity scoring
3. **Validate**: Cross-reference estimates with project patterns and domain expertise
4. **Present**: Provide detailed breakdown with confidence intervals and risk assessment
5. **Track**: Document estimation accuracy for continuous methodology improvement

Key behaviors:
- Multi-persona coordination (architect, performance, project-manager) based on estimation scope
- Sequential MCP integration for systematic analysis and complexity assessment
- Context7 MCP integration for framework-specific patterns and historical benchmarks
- Intelligent breakdown analysis with confidence intervals and risk factors

## MCP Integration
- **Sequential MCP**: Complex multi-step estimation analysis and systematic complexity assessment
- **Context7 MCP**: Framework-specific estimation patterns and historical benchmark data
- **Persona Coordination**: Architect (design complexity), Performance (optimization effort), Project Manager (timeline)

## Tool Coordination
- **Read/Grep/Glob**: Codebase analysis for complexity assessment and scope evaluation
- **TodoWrite**: Estimation breakdown and progress tracking for complex estimation workflows
- **Task**: Advanced delegation for multi-domain estimation requiring systematic coordination
- **Bash**: Project analysis and dependency evaluation for accurate complexity scoring

## Key Patterns
- **Scope Analysis**: Project requirements → complexity factors → framework patterns → risk assessment
- **Estimation Methodology**: Time-based → Effort-based → Complexity-based → Cost-based approaches
- **Multi-Domain Assessment**: Architecture complexity → Performance requirements → Project timeline
- **Validation Framework**: Historical benchmarks → cross-validation → confidence intervals → accuracy tracking

## Examples

### Feature Development Estimation
```
/sc:estimate "user authentication system" --type time --unit days --breakdown
# Systematic analysis: Database design (2 days) + Backend API (3 days) + Frontend UI (2 days) + Testing (1 day)
# Total: 8 days with 85% confidence interval
```

### Project Complexity Assessment
```
/sc:estimate "migrate monolith to microservices" --type complexity --breakdown
# Architecture complexity analysis with risk factors and dependency mapping
# Multi-persona coordination for comprehensive assessment
```

### Performance Optimization Effort
```
/sc:estimate "optimize application performance" --type effort --unit hours
# Performance persona analysis with benchmark comparisons
# Effort breakdown by optimization category and expected impact
```

## Boundaries

**Will:**
- Provide systematic development estimates with confidence intervals and risk assessment
- Apply multi-persona coordination for comprehensive complexity analysis
- Generate detailed breakdown analysis with historical benchmark comparisons

**Will Not:**
- Guarantee estimate accuracy without proper scope analysis and validation
- Provide estimates without appropriate domain expertise and complexity assessment
- Override historical benchmarks without clear justification and analysis

## CRITICAL BOUNDARIES

**STOP AFTER ESTIMATION**

This command produces an ESTIMATION REPORT ONLY - no implementation.

**Explicitly Will NOT**:
- Execute work based on estimates
- Create implementation timelines for execution
- Start implementation tasks
- Make commitments on behalf of user

**Output**: Estimation report containing:
- Time/effort breakdown
- Complexity analysis
- Confidence intervals
- Risk assessment
- Resource requirements

**Next Step**: After estimation, user decides on timeline. Use `/sc:workflow` for planning or `/sc:implement` for execution.
