Expert Judgment
Expert Judgment is a decision-making technique that relies on the knowledge, experience, and intuition of subject matter experts to estimate, evaluate, or solve problems in situations with limited data or high uncertainty. It is commonly used in fields like project management, risk assessment, and software development to make informed decisions when quantitative methods are impractical or unavailable. This approach involves systematically gathering and synthesizing insights from qualified individuals to produce reliable outcomes.
Developers should use Expert Judgment when facing complex, novel, or ambiguous challenges where historical data is scarce, such as estimating project timelines for innovative technologies, assessing technical risks in early-stage development, or making architectural decisions with long-term implications. It is particularly valuable in agile environments for sprint planning, backlog refinement, and resolving technical debt, as it leverages collective expertise to navigate uncertainty and improve decision quality.