Work Breakdown & Estimates
High-level work packages and effort estimates for CostEngine (MfgIQ).
Summary
| Phase |
Duration (Target) |
Effort (Person-Days) |
Team Size |
| Phase 1: Prototype |
1 Week |
7.5 days (60h) |
1-2 devs |
| Phase 2: MVP |
3-4 Weeks |
17.5 days (140h) |
2-3 devs |
| Full Platform |
3 Months |
235 Days |
~4 devs |
🚀 Phased Delivery: UC-001 (RFQ-to-Quote Flow)
This is the recommended iterative path to take the core concept from a founder-presentation-ready prototype to a production-grade MVP.
Phase 1: Interactive Prototype (60h)
Goal: A high-fidelity UI mock for presentation and feedback.
| Category |
Tasks |
Hours |
| Persona Login |
Personalized login/dashboards (Founder vs. Estimator) |
8h |
| UI Skeleton |
CRM layout, sidebar, premium theme setup |
8h |
| RFQ Intake |
Drawing upload portal mockup, AI animation |
8h |
| Cost Engine |
6-component dashboard, What-If sliders |
12h |
| Governance |
Override UI & Reason logic |
6h |
| Output |
HTML Quote preview, Versioning animation |
6h |
| Client Feedback |
Presentation & rapid iterations |
12h |
Phase 2: Functional MVP (140h)
Goal: Core functionality for estimator production use.
| Category |
Tasks |
Hours |
| Logic Core |
Integrated Math engine (8 logic modules), DB Schema |
40h |
| Workflows |
Version comparison, Master Data Mgmt, Excel Import |
40h |
| Outputs |
Server-side PDF & Excel generation |
24h |
| Security & Ops |
Auth/JWT, RBAC Views, Cloud Deployment (CI/CD) |
36h |
Phase 3: Scale (100h+)
Goal: Automation and ecosystem integration.
- AI/OCR: Automated drawing/RFQ text extraction.
- Connectors: Real-time Tally and Plane.so sync.
- Advanced Pricing: Multi-currency, tiered margins.
Work Packages
WP1: Excel Import & Data Pipeline
Related: UC-101, UC-801
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Excel template design |
3 days |
P0 |
None |
| Field mapping engine |
5 days |
P0 |
Template |
| Pandas/openpyxl integration |
3 days |
P0 |
None |
| Validation rules |
4 days |
P0 |
Field mapping |
| Error reporting UI |
2 days |
P0 |
Validation |
| Unit tests |
2 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
19 days |
|
|
WP2: Core Cost Calculation Engine
Related: UC-201, UC-202, UC-203
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Material cost module |
2 days |
P0 |
None |
| Operations cost module |
5 days |
P0 |
None |
| Semantic Metric Engine |
5 days |
P0 |
ADR-006 |
| Batch economics logic |
3 days |
P0 |
Operations |
| Scrap & yield calculator |
4 days |
P0 |
Material + Operations |
| Overhead application |
2 days |
P0 |
None |
| Cost aggregation |
2 days |
P0 |
All modules |
| Formula validation |
3 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Unit tests |
4 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
30 days |
|
|
WP3: Explainability & Traceability
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Cost breakdown data model |
3 days |
P0 |
Cost engine |
| Source traceability tracking |
5 days |
P0 |
Data model |
| Assumption logging |
3 days |
P0 |
Data model |
| Override mechanism |
5 days |
P0 |
Cost engine |
| Impact calculation |
3 days |
P0 |
Override |
| Drill-down UI |
4 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Historical Benchmarking (UC-303) |
5 days |
P1 |
Data model |
| What-If Simulation (UC-305) |
8 days |
P1 |
Cost engine |
| Risk Scoring Engine (UC-306) |
4 days |
P1 |
Cost engine |
| Post-Order Feedback Loop (UC-307) |
8 days |
P2 |
ERP Sync |
| Subtotal |
48 days |
|
|
WP4: Quote Output Generation
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Margin scenario engine |
3 days |
P0 |
Cost engine |
| Quote template design |
2 days |
P0 |
None |
| PDF generation (ReportLab) |
4 days |
P0 |
Template |
| Excel export |
2 days |
P0 |
Cost engine |
| Email integration |
2 days |
P1 |
PDF |
| Subtotal |
13 days |
|
|
WP5: Versioning & History
Related: UC-302, UC-802
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Version data model |
3 days |
P0 |
Database |
| Immutable snapshot logic |
4 days |
P0 |
Data model |
| Version comparison engine |
5 days |
P0 |
Snapshot |
| Change tracking |
3 days |
P0 |
Data model |
| Version UI (list, compare) |
4 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
19 days |
|
|
WP6: User Management & Security
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| User data model |
2 days |
P0 |
Database |
| JWT authentication |
3 days |
P0 |
User model |
| Role-based access control (UC-604) |
5 days |
P0 |
Auth core |
| Login/logout UI |
2 days |
P0 |
Auth |
| Password reset |
2 days |
P1 |
Auth |
| Audit logging |
2 days |
P1 |
User model |
| Subtotal |
16 days |
|
|
WP7: UI/UX Polish
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Responsive design |
5 days |
P0 |
All UI components |
| Loading states |
2 days |
P0 |
UI |
| Error handling UI |
3 days |
P0 |
UI |
| Keyboard shortcuts |
2 days |
P1 |
UI |
| Tutorial/onboarding |
4 days |
P1 |
All features |
| User testing & iteration |
5 days |
P0 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
21 days |
|
|
WP8: Customer Profiles & Intelligence
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Customer data model |
2 days |
P1 |
Database |
| Margin rules configuration |
3 days |
P1 |
Customer model |
| Payment terms logic |
2 days |
P1 |
Pricing |
| Freight calculators |
3 days |
P1 |
Customer model |
| Customer UI (CRUD) |
3 days |
P1 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
13 days |
|
|
WP9: Templates & Reuse
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Template library data model |
2 days |
P1 |
Database |
| Save as template feature |
2 days |
P1 |
Cost engine |
| Template search |
3 days |
P1 |
Template model |
| Copy/modify workflow |
3 days |
P1 |
Template model |
| Similar part finder (basic) |
4 days |
P2 |
Cost engine |
| Subtotal |
14 days |
|
|
WP10: API Layer
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| REST API design (OpenAPI spec) |
3 days |
P1 |
All features |
| API endpoints implementation |
5 days |
P1 |
Core features |
| API authentication |
2 days |
P1 |
User auth |
| API documentation |
2 days |
P1 |
Endpoints |
| Rate limiting |
2 days |
P2 |
API |
| Subtotal |
14 days |
|
|
WP11: Tally Integration
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Tally API research |
3 days |
P1 |
None |
| Connector architecture |
4 days |
P1 |
Research |
| Order sync implementation |
6 days |
P1 |
Connector |
| Material master sync |
4 days |
P1 |
Connector |
| Error handling & retry logic |
3 days |
P1 |
Sync |
| Integration testing |
4 days |
P1 |
All above |
| Subtotal |
24 days |
|
|
Related: UC-901, UC-903, UC-904
| Task |
Effort |
Priority |
Dependencies |
| Database indexing |
3 days |
P0 |
Data model |
| Redis caching layer |
4 days |
P1 |
Cost engine |
| Dockerization & CI/CD Pipelines |
4 days |
P1 |
None |
| Centralized Logging (Sentry) |
2 days |
P1 |
None |
| Load testing |
3 days |
P1 |
All features |
| Deployment automation (infra) |
4 days |
P1 |
Infrastructure |
| Subtotal |
20 days |
|
|
Effort Summary by Category
| Category |
Effort (Days) |
% of Total |
| Backend Logic |
100 |
43% |
| Frontend UI |
70 |
30% |
| Integration |
43 |
19% |
| Testing & QA |
22 |
8% |
| TOTAL (Estimated) |
235 days |
100% |
Team Scaling & Parallelization
The 235-day estimate represents the Total Effort (cumulative volume of work). Calendar duration reduces as more people are added, but efficiency per person drops slightly due to coordination overhead.
| Team Size |
Calendar Duration |
Efficiency |
Parallelization Strategy |
| 1 Person |
~12 Months |
100% |
Linear development. High technical consistency. |
| 2 People |
~6-7 Months |
~90% |
Split between Backend/Logic and Frontend/UX. |
| 4 People |
3 Months |
~70% |
Aggressive Sprint. Ingestion, Logic, UI, and Ops in parallel. |
Assumptions
- Team Composition:
- 2 full-stack developers (Python + React)
- 1 UI/UX designer (part-time)
-
Access to MSME domain expert for validation
-
Technology Stack:
- Backend: Python (FastAPI)
- Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS
- Database: PostgreSQL
- Caching: Redis
-
Deployment: Cloudflare Pages + Docker
-
Scope Boundaries:
- No CAD integration in MVP
- No multi-plant support initially
- No advanced ML/AI features
-
Tally integration is basic (order sync only)
-
Risks Buffered:
- 20% buffer included in each estimate
- Complex integrations have higher uncertainty
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