Just realized a client's 'simple' website update took me 12 hours instead of 2 because of a broken plugin. How do you guys estimate for hidden problems?

How big is that buffer usually?

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Ugh that's the worst feeling. I had a project last month where the client swore their e-commerce plugin was "totally standard" but it turned out to be some custom mess from 2015. I basically had to rebuild the cart from scratch. My quote was a joke by the end. Now I just add a big "unknown factor" buffer for any third party stuff, it's saved my sanity.

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lee_gibson4mo ago

Totally standard" is tech speak for "I have no idea what I'm talking about." And @evan_jenkins, the buffer's gotta be at least 50% on anything third party - that same rule applies to contractors fixing my leaky faucet too, they always find something worse behind the wall.

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