---
title: Ambiguity in Construction Estimating
tags:
  - topic/ambiguity
  - topic/construction
  - topic/estimating
  - type/cross-topic
---
# Ambiguity in Construction Estimating

Cross-topic of [[ambiguity]] and [[construction-estimating]].

I hate to come off as pedantic,
but I care a lot about standardized terminology
because spending a few minutes to be more thoughtful in specification
can save hundreds of people cumulative hours of confusion.
And the problem with standardization, of course,
is that sometimes it works,
and undoing years of poor conditioning is... not easy.

## Naming Conventions (Use Case vs. Description)

Related topic: [[heuristics#Realism vs. Instrumentalism]]

Naming by use case is intuitive for those without estimating or field experience,
but has the side effect that those accustomed to the names
will inevitably _treat them as descriptive_,
leading to [[category-mistake]].

| Use Case            | Description   |
| ------------------- | ------------- |
| Hi-Hat              | Daisy-Chain   |
| Furnished By Others | Rough-In Only |
