Simple: it's the job of a good line manager to embed and ingratiate themselves well enough with those doing the engineering work, that at any point they can give a reasonable estimate for how long a certain thing is going to take when asked middle or upper management. That is, WITHOUT adding extra process.

> I quoted the First Law of Mentat at her: ‘A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.’