Hello all,
I was wondering on which basis you usually estimate total days needed for a dev
For example, how would you proceed to estimate days needed for two SAP extractions (2 screens for each only - regular transaction details and csv download) and upload on Sharepoint?
I know it depends on the number of clicks etc but I am interested in the macro idea
Thanks a lot
Hi @adext01 ,
For effort estimation, I usually break the automation into major components rather than counting every click:
For your example of 2 SAP transactions/screens with CSV downloads and SharePoint upload, assuming the process is straightforward and selectors are stable, I would estimate roughly:
Total estimate: around 2.5 to 4.5 days.
As a rule of thumb, estimate based on complexity, number of applications involved, exception scenarios, and data volume, then add a small buffer (15-25%) for unexpected issues. This usually gives a more realistic estimate than counting clicks alone.
Thanks
For a rough estimate, I would not base the effort only on the number of clicks. I would estimate by application, transaction, integration, exception handling, and testing effort.
For the example described two SAP extractions, two screens per extraction, regular transaction details plus CSV download, followed by a SharePoint upload reasonable initial estimate would be:
Hi @adext01
Thanks for bringing up this in forum,
For the example in the screenshot — 2 SAP extractions (2 screens each), CSV download, then upload to SharePoint — I wouldn’t estimate purely by number of clicks. Estimate by workflow complexity + reusable components + exception handling + testing.
For a reasonably experienced UiPath developer, I’d initially estimate around 5–7 working days:
Work
Estimate
Process understanding + PDD/technical analysis
0.5 day
SAP login/navigation reusable component
0.5 day
SAP Extraction 1
0.75 day
SAP Extraction 2
0.75 day
CSV validation/file handling
0.5 day
SharePoint upload
0.5 day
Business + system exception handling, logging
0.75 day
Unit/integration testing
0.75 day
Fixes + buffer
1 day
Total
~6 days
If you’re giving an estimate to a manager/client before seeing the SAP screens, I’d say 5–7 developer days, subject to SAP/SharePoint access and application stability.
For a production-grade UiPath solution, I would also separately account for UAT, deployment, documentation and hypercare. That can make the complete delivery timeline closer to 8–10 working days, even though actual development is ~5–7 days.
Let me know if this works for you and hit the solution if you like my estimation data.
Thanks & cheers!
The dev estimation is tricky thing to be perfect at first time.
You will have to consider your developer’s skills and experience as well while estimating. For example - For junior it would be 6 hours for senior it would be 3 hours and so on.
Make sure you are allocating minimum 20% additional buffer time on top of total estimation for all unforseen blockers and delayed.
Worth adding, this is something that is in high flux right now. Coding agents are dramatically changing where the effort might be.
On very simple processes like this the time savings might not be crazy vs manual stuff, but on longer ones, where the estimation also gets harder, the variance there can be high.
Estimates have always been hard.
Hi @adext01
I usually estimate based on the complexity and number of steps, not just clicks.
For example:
For your example, I would first do a quick feasibility check, then estimate each component separately and add a small buffer.
The main factors are SAP complexity, data volume, exception handling, reusability, and testing effort.
Hi @adext01,
I would recommend starting with the Automation Business Analysis Fundamentals training. It will give you a basic idea of how to plan and estimate automation efforts.
Once you work on a few automations, you will get better at estimating the effort based on your experience. The same automation can take 5 days for one developer and 3 days for another, depending on their experience.
Thanks!
