Pessimistic time estimate

Question

I would like someone to share his opinion about pessimistic time estimates. Is following this strategy any good when scheduling the project? Wouldn't it cost more to finish the project, and wouldn't it create unnecessary buffers in the project schedule that may lead for the project team to adopt Parkinson's law (e.g. the work takes longer than it should because it expands to fill in the time allocated for it)?

Answer 1

The maximum time required for an activity under adverse conditions is the pessimistic time estimate.