Let’s face it—engineering isn’t a straight line. It’s a maze of builds, breakages, pull requests, reviews, waiting, rebuilding, and unpredictable blockers. Yet every engineer hears the same question, over and over:
“How long is this going to take?”
And the honest answer is often: “It depends.”
We get it. Project timelines are important. But traditional time-based estimates are riddled with ambiguity and misalignment. They ignore complexity, miss nuance, and create a false sense of certainty. What engineering really needs is a better way to frame effort—something more grounded, more consistent, and more actionable.
Enter: Level of Effort (LOE)—the one estimate engineers should actually care about.
What LOE Isn’t: Let’s Kill a Common Misconception
First, let’s clear up a myth: LOE is not a delivery estimate.
It doesn’t pretend to know who’s out on PTO next month, when someone will finally review your PR, or whether your team will get pulled into a surprise fire drill.
Instead, LOE answers a different—and far more valuable—question: How much raw engineering effort will this project require, regardless of calendar constraints?
It’s not “When will it ship?” It’s “How heavy is the lift?”
And that makes all the difference.
What LOE Actually Measures
LOE is a standardized estimate of engineering effort, calculated in developer-months or sprints, and broken down by role. For example:
- Frontend LOE = Full-time FE engineers × Sprints
- Backend LOE = Full-time BE engineers × Sprints
- SDK LOE = Full-time SDK engineers × Sprints
Add them all up, and you get your total LOE—a clean, consistent metric that lets teams across the org speak the same language. No more ambiguous “T-shirt sizes.” No more gut checks that vary from engineer to engineer. Just a math-based baseline that drives smarter planning.
Why LOE Actually Matters
Engineering time is one of the most expensive and finite resources in any company. So why would we ever invest a 10-LOE effort into something with marginal impact?
Here’s a simple way to frame it: A small house might cost $500K. A luxury smart home with marble floors and a bidet that says “hello” might cost $2M. You don’t need the final construction timeline to know which one is a bigger investment.
Same with engineering projects. LOE gives us the high-level cost estimate that helps answer: Do we want to build this house at all? And if yes—do we need all the marble floors?
The Cross-Organizational Benefits of LOE
LOE is how we prevent waste—and how we prioritize what really moves the needle.
- Engineers speak a shared language. LOE gives every engineer a standard way to describe the size of a project — no more guessing, no more T-shirt sizing that means different things to different teams.
- Engineering managers can plan more effectively. Managers can compare project sizes using the same unit of measure, making it easier to balance workloads and scope commitments realistically.
- Leadership can make smarter trade-offs. LOE helps leadership prioritize. When resources are tight (and they always are), LOE enables apples-to-apples comparisons — so the org can invest in what matters most.
Think of LOE as a budgeting tool. You wouldn’t spend $1M to save $10K. And you shouldn’t spend 12 LOE on a feature that won’t matter to your customers.
How LOE Fits into the Bigger Picture
While LOE gives us clarity on the size of a project, good planning also accounts for team capacity, delivery risk, and business urgency. We also need to think about:
- Capacity – How much time do we have?
- Complexity – Is this risky or straightforward?
- Time – Calendar time with all the real-world chaos baked in
- Yearly Planning: Are we choosing the right big bets?
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- Quarterly Planning: Does the team have enough capacity?
- Daily Trade-offs: Should we really take this on right now?
- Quarterly Planning: Does the team have enough capacity?
LOE lets us get past the “let’s just squeeze it in” instinct — and instead make smarter, sustainable choices. A high-LOE initiative might be worth it—if the impact justifies the effort. A low-LOE feature might be a no-brainer to knock out quickly.
- High LOE + Low Impact = 🚫 Bad investment
- Low LOE + High Impact = ✅ Engineering gold
The point is, LOE helps us have the right conversation. Instead of asking, “Can we squeeze this in?” we start asking, “Given the lift—should we do this now, or at all?”
What If You Don’t Know the LOE?
That’s totally normal—especially for ambiguous or early-stage projects. The key is to start with what you can estimate. Break the work down. Ask senior engineers. Flag what’s unclear and note your confidence level.
LOE doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be honest and helpful. Directional clarity beats vague optimism every time.
Key Takeaways
- LOE isn’t a timeline—it’s a measure of engineering effort. It answers “how big is the lift?” not “how long will it take?”
- LOE helps teams prioritize smarter. It enables apples-to-apples comparisons and reduces guesswork in planning.
- LOE works best in context. Combine it with complexity, team capacity, and strategic value to guide decision-making.
- You don’t need a perfect estimate to get started. Directional clarity is better than ambiguity or false precision.
- Smart organizations use LOE everywhere. From daily trade-offs to annual planning, LOE helps teams align on what matters most.
Frequently Added Questions About Level of Effort (LOE)
1. What is Level of Effort (LOE) in engineering?
Level of Effort (LOE) is a way to estimate how much engineering work a project requires, independent of time constraints. It’s measured in developer-months or sprints and helps teams compare project scope in a consistent, objective way.
2. How is LOE different from time estimates?
Time estimates answer, “When will it be done?”—but LOE answers, “How much effort will this take?” Time is impacted by team size, PTO, blockers, and other variables. LOE is a measure of raw lift, not schedule.
3. Why is LOE useful in project planning?
LOE enables more accurate scoping, better prioritization, and cross-team alignment. It provides a shared language for discussing engineering investment, avoiding vague sizing or subjective guesses.
4. How do you calculate LOE?
Start by estimating how many full-time engineers, across each role (e.g. frontend, backend, SDK), would be needed per sprint or month. Multiply that effort and add across roles. You don’t need to be exact—directionally accurate LOE is often enough to inform decisions.
5. What if I don’t know the LOE for a project?
That’s common! Break the project down, estimate what’s clear, and flag the rest. Use confidence levels to indicate uncertainty. LOE is meant to guide—not micromanage—your planning.
Final Thought: Let’s Build Smart
At its core, LOE isn’t about micromanaging engineers—it’s about respecting their time and talent.
It gives teams a consistent way to speak.
It gives leaders a smarter way to prioritize.
It gives orgs a clearer way to connect effort with impact.
So maybe it’s time to retire the question, “How long will this take?”
Instead, let’s ask “How big of a lift is this—and is it worth doing now?”
Thanks for reading. Let’s build smart.
