Have you ever been asked to provide an estimate for a programming task only to be proven horribly wrong? What were some of the consequences? Overtime, reduced quality, and poor coordination with other groups are just a few of the consequences of low quality estimates. This presentation will give you tools you can use to begin improving your estimates today. The quality of the estimates you give is, to a large degree, directly under control. This presentation starts with the basics of explaining what an estimate is and why estimating is hard, especially on software projects. It follows with specific tools you can use to improve the quality of estimates during each of the 3 phases of feature development: planning, execution and verification.