Hidden Tasks Everyone Misses: The 70% Iceberg Problem

The Tip of the Iceberg ## Why Do We Keep Missing Them? ## 1. Developer's Optimistic Thinking ## 2. PM's Lack of Experience ## Top 10 Frequently Missed Hidden Tasks ## 1. Code Review (20-30% of coding time) ## 2. Test Writing (30-50% of coding time) ## 3. Bug Fixes (15-20% of total development) ## 4. Meeting Time ## 5. Documentation ## 6. Environment Setup ## 7. Data-Related Tasks ## 8. Security Tasks ## 9. Performance Optimization ## 10. Exception Handling ## Real Case: Payment System Build ## Initial Plan (Only Visible Tasks) ## Actual Work (Including Hidden Tasks) ## How to Find Hidden Tasks ## 1. Use Checklists ## 2. Analyze Past Projects ## 3. Ask Team Members ## Hidden Task Estimation Formula ## Practical Application Example ## Step 1: Define Feature ## Step 2: List Visible Tasks ## Step 3: Add Hidden Tasks ## How to Reduce Hidden Tasks ## Conclusion: Honest Planning is the Start of Success "Development is done, so why can't we launch yet?" The PM asks frustrated. The developer sighs and answers. "Oh, now we need to test, write documentation, prepare deployment, set up monitoring..." This is exactly the trap of hidden tasks. If you compare a project to an iceberg, the visible part is only 30%. The remaining 70% is hidden below the surface. Looking at actual project task distribution is shocking: Developers instinctively think only about coding time. "Login API? Half a day should be enough!" PMs may not know the details of the development process. When they say "login feature", they think of simple ID/PW check, but don't think of session management, security, logging, error handling. Results from analyzing 100+ projects: Writing PR, waiting for review, addressing feedback... All of this takes time. Thinking "I'll add tests later", but not deciding when that "later" is causes project delays. Think bugs won't happen? No such code exists in this world. 18% of 40 hours/week is meetings. These "later" and "if ~" statements ruin projects. Works fine locally but not on the server! Docker setup, CI/CD pipeline, environment variables... This alone takes a whole day. OWASP Top 10 check, vulnerability scan, SSL certificate... Discovering these right before launch is a disaster. "Why is it so slow?" Profiling, finding bottlenecks, adding caching, DB index tuning... It never ends. Only thought about Happy Path, but users use the system in ways you never imagined. A real story from a startup. "Should be done in a week!" Given the nature of payment systems, a lot of time went into security and stability, which no one thought of initially. Check this checklist whenever adding a new feature: Analyze actual time from previous projects. You'll see patterns. For example, our team's last 3 projects: Average 48% over. From now on, multiply expected time by 1.5. Ask specifically by role: You'll get surprisingly many tasks. A formula I created based on my experience: Rule of thumb: Estimate 2-2.5x visible tasks. "User Profile Edit Feature" Go through checklist and add one by one: It's 2.4x more than initial estimate (16 hours), but this is a realistic schedule. Can't eliminate completely but can reduce: If you don't want to hear "Development is done, so why can't we launch?", include all tasks in the plan from the start. Ignoring hidden tasks: Estimate 2x visible tasks. It'll feel excessive at first, but it'll turn out right. Don't forget: 70% of the project is below the surface. Want to systematically manage hidden tasks in your project? Check out Plexo. Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse CODE_BLOCK: Visible Tasks (30%) ├── Feature Implementation ├── UI Development └── API Development Hidden Tasks (70%) 😱 ├── Code Review ├── Test Writing ├── Bug Fixes ├── Documentation ├── Deployment Prep ├── Monitoring Setup ├── Performance Optimization ├── Security Check ├── Data Migration └── Team Meetings Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: Visible Tasks (30%) ├── Feature Implementation ├── UI Development └── API Development Hidden Tasks (70%) 😱 ├── Code Review ├── Test Writing ├── Bug Fixes ├── Documentation ├── Deployment Prep ├── Monitoring Setup ├── Performance Optimization ├── Security Check ├── Data Migration └── Team Meetings CODE_BLOCK: Visible Tasks (30%) ├── Feature Implementation ├── UI Development └── API Development Hidden Tasks (70%) 😱 ├── Code Review ├── Test Writing ├── Bug Fixes ├── Documentation ├── Deployment Prep ├── Monitoring Setup ├── Performance Optimization ├── Security Check ├── Data Migration └── Team Meetings COMMAND_BLOCK: # Developer's mind estimate = { "coding": 4 # hours } # Reality reality = { "coding": 4, "debugging": 2, "test writing": 2, "code review": 1, "documentation": 1, "deployment": 1, "bug fixes": 2 } print(f"Expected: {sum(estimate.values())} hours") print(f"Actual: {sum(reality.values())} hours") # Expected: 4 hours # Actual: 13 hours (3x more!) Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK: # Developer's mind estimate = { "coding": 4 # hours } # Reality reality = { "coding": 4, "debugging": 2, "test writing": 2, "code review": 1, "documentation": 1, "deployment": 1, "bug fixes": 2 } print(f"Expected: {sum(estimate.values())} hours") print(f"Actual: {sum(reality.values())} hours") # Expected: 4 hours # Actual: 13 hours (3x more!) COMMAND_BLOCK: # Developer's mind estimate = { "coding": 4 # hours } # Reality reality = { "coding": 4, "debugging": 2, "test writing": 2, "code review": 1, "documentation": 1, "deployment": 1, "bug fixes": 2 } print(f"Expected: {sum(estimate.values())} hours") print(f"Actual: {sum(reality.values())} hours") # Expected: 4 hours # Actual: 13 hours (3x more!) CODE_BLOCK: Weekly Meeting Overhead ├── Sprint Planning: 2 hours ├── Daily Standup: 15 min × 5 = 1.25 hours ├── Sprint Review: 1 hour ├── Retrospective: 1 hour └── Ad-hoc Meetings: 2 hours Total: 7.25 hours/week! Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: Weekly Meeting Overhead ├── Sprint Planning: 2 hours ├── Daily Standup: 15 min × 5 = 1.25 hours ├── Sprint Review: 1 hour ├── Retrospective: 1 hour └── Ad-hoc Meetings: 2 hours Total: 7.25 hours/week! CODE_BLOCK: Weekly Meeting Overhead ├── Sprint Planning: 2 hours ├── Daily Standup: 15 min × 5 = 1.25 hours ├── Sprint Review: 1 hour ├── Retrospective: 1 hour └── Ad-hoc Meetings: 2 hours Total: 7.25 hours/week! CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (40 hours) ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) └── PG Integration (8 hours) Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (40 hours) ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) └── PG Integration (8 hours) CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (40 hours) ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) └── PG Integration (8 hours) CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (96 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (40 hours) │ ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) │ ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) │ └── PG Integration (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (56 hours) 😱 ├── Security Review (8 hours) ├── PCI DSS Compliance (8 hours) ├── Test Scenario Writing (4 hours) ├── Integration Testing (8 hours) ├── Error Case Handling (6 hours) ├── Logging and Monitoring (4 hours) ├── Documentation (4 hours) ├── Code Review (6 hours) ├── Refund Process (4 hours) └── Admin Tools (4 hours) Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (96 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (40 hours) │ ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) │ ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) │ └── PG Integration (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (56 hours) 😱 ├── Security Review (8 hours) ├── PCI DSS Compliance (8 hours) ├── Test Scenario Writing (4 hours) ├── Integration Testing (8 hours) ├── Error Case Handling (6 hours) ├── Logging and Monitoring (4 hours) ├── Documentation (4 hours) ├── Code Review (6 hours) ├── Refund Process (4 hours) └── Admin Tools (4 hours) CODE_BLOCK: Payment System (96 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (40 hours) │ ├── Payment API Development (16 hours) │ ├── Payment UI Development (16 hours) │ └── PG Integration (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (56 hours) 😱 ├── Security Review (8 hours) ├── PCI DSS Compliance (8 hours) ├── Test Scenario Writing (4 hours) ├── Integration Testing (8 hours) ├── Error Case Handling (6 hours) ├── Logging and Monitoring (4 hours) ├── Documentation (4 hours) ├── Code Review (6 hours) ├── Refund Process (4 hours) └── Admin Tools (4 hours) COMMAND_BLOCK: ## Development Task Checklist ### Core Development - [ ] Feature Implementation - [ ] UI Development - [ ] API Development ### Quality Assurance - [ ] Unit Tests - [ ] Integration Tests - [ ] E2E Tests - [ ] Code Review ### Documentation - [ ] API Documentation - [ ] User Guide - [ ] Code Comments - [ ] README Update ### Deployment Prep - [ ] Environment Setup - [ ] CI/CD Pipeline - [ ] Monitoring Setup - [ ] Rollback Plan ### Security - [ ] Input Validation - [ ] Authentication/Authorization - [ ] Security Scan - [ ] OWASP Check ### Performance - [ ] Performance Testing - [ ] Optimization - [ ] Caching Strategy Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK: ## Development Task Checklist ### Core Development - [ ] Feature Implementation - [ ] UI Development - [ ] API Development ### Quality Assurance - [ ] Unit Tests - [ ] Integration Tests - [ ] E2E Tests - [ ] Code Review ### Documentation - [ ] API Documentation - [ ] User Guide - [ ] Code Comments - [ ] README Update ### Deployment Prep - [ ] Environment Setup - [ ] CI/CD Pipeline - [ ] Monitoring Setup - [ ] Rollback Plan ### Security - [ ] Input Validation - [ ] Authentication/Authorization - [ ] Security Scan - [ ] OWASP Check ### Performance - [ ] Performance Testing - [ ] Optimization - [ ] Caching Strategy COMMAND_BLOCK: ## Development Task Checklist ### Core Development - [ ] Feature Implementation - [ ] UI Development - [ ] API Development ### Quality Assurance - [ ] Unit Tests - [ ] Integration Tests - [ ] E2E Tests - [ ] Code Review ### Documentation - [ ] API Documentation - [ ] User Guide - [ ] Code Comments - [ ] README Update ### Deployment Prep - [ ] Environment Setup - [ ] CI/CD Pipeline - [ ] Monitoring Setup - [ ] Rollback Plan ### Security - [ ] Input Validation - [ ] Authentication/Authorization - [ ] Security Scan - [ ] OWASP Check ### Performance - [ ] Performance Testing - [ ] Optimization - [ ] Caching Strategy COMMAND_BLOCK: def estimate_total_time(visible_tasks): """ Total time = Visible tasks + Hidden tasks """ hidden_multipliers = { "code_review": 0.2, # 20% "testing": 0.3, # 30% "bug_fixes": 0.15, # 15% "documentation": 0.1, # 10% "meetings": 0.1, # 10% "deployment_prep": 0.05, # 5% "other": 0.1 # 10% } hidden_tasks = visible_tasks * sum(hidden_multipliers.values()) total = visible_tasks + hidden_tasks return { "visible": visible_tasks, "hidden": hidden_tasks, # 100% additional "total": total, # 2x "safe": total * 1.2 # 20% buffer added } # Example result = estimate_total_time(40) print(f"Visible tasks: {result['visible']} hours") print(f"Hidden tasks: {result['hidden']} hours") print(f"Total expected: {result['total']} hours") print(f"With safety buffer: {result['safe']} hours") # Output: # Visible tasks: 40 hours # Hidden tasks: 40 hours # Total expected: 80 hours # With safety buffer: 96 hours Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK: def estimate_total_time(visible_tasks): """ Total time = Visible tasks + Hidden tasks """ hidden_multipliers = { "code_review": 0.2, # 20% "testing": 0.3, # 30% "bug_fixes": 0.15, # 15% "documentation": 0.1, # 10% "meetings": 0.1, # 10% "deployment_prep": 0.05, # 5% "other": 0.1 # 10% } hidden_tasks = visible_tasks * sum(hidden_multipliers.values()) total = visible_tasks + hidden_tasks return { "visible": visible_tasks, "hidden": hidden_tasks, # 100% additional "total": total, # 2x "safe": total * 1.2 # 20% buffer added } # Example result = estimate_total_time(40) print(f"Visible tasks: {result['visible']} hours") print(f"Hidden tasks: {result['hidden']} hours") print(f"Total expected: {result['total']} hours") print(f"With safety buffer: {result['safe']} hours") # Output: # Visible tasks: 40 hours # Hidden tasks: 40 hours # Total expected: 80 hours # With safety buffer: 96 hours COMMAND_BLOCK: def estimate_total_time(visible_tasks): """ Total time = Visible tasks + Hidden tasks """ hidden_multipliers = { "code_review": 0.2, # 20% "testing": 0.3, # 30% "bug_fixes": 0.15, # 15% "documentation": 0.1, # 10% "meetings": 0.1, # 10% "deployment_prep": 0.05, # 5% "other": 0.1 # 10% } hidden_tasks = visible_tasks * sum(hidden_multipliers.values()) total = visible_tasks + hidden_tasks return { "visible": visible_tasks, "hidden": hidden_tasks, # 100% additional "total": total, # 2x "safe": total * 1.2 # 20% buffer added } # Example result = estimate_total_time(40) print(f"Visible tasks: {result['visible']} hours") print(f"Hidden tasks: {result['hidden']} hours") print(f"Total expected: {result['total']} hours") print(f"With safety buffer: {result['safe']} hours") # Output: # Visible tasks: 40 hours # Hidden tasks: 40 hours # Total expected: 80 hours # With safety buffer: 96 hours CODE_BLOCK: User Profile Edit (Total 38 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (16 hours) │ ├── API Development (8 hours) │ └── UI Development (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (22 hours) ├── DB Schema Modification (2 hours) ├── Image Upload Processing (3 hours) ├── Input Validation (2 hours) ├── Test Writing (4 hours) ├── Code Review (3 hours) ├── Bug Fixes (3 hours) ├── Documentation Update (1 hour) ├── Cache Invalidation (2 hours) └── Deployment and Monitoring (2 hours) Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK: User Profile Edit (Total 38 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (16 hours) │ ├── API Development (8 hours) │ └── UI Development (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (22 hours) ├── DB Schema Modification (2 hours) ├── Image Upload Processing (3 hours) ├── Input Validation (2 hours) ├── Test Writing (4 hours) ├── Code Review (3 hours) ├── Bug Fixes (3 hours) ├── Documentation Update (1 hour) ├── Cache Invalidation (2 hours) └── Deployment and Monitoring (2 hours) CODE_BLOCK: User Profile Edit (Total 38 hours) ├── Visible Tasks (16 hours) │ ├── API Development (8 hours) │ └── UI Development (8 hours) └── Hidden Tasks (22 hours) ├── DB Schema Modification (2 hours) ├── Image Upload Processing (3 hours) ├── Input Validation (2 hours) ├── Test Writing (4 hours) ├── Code Review (3 hours) ├── Bug Fixes (3 hours) ├── Documentation Update (1 hour) ├── Cache Invalidation (2 hours) └── Deployment and Monitoring (2 hours) - API docs: "I'll add Swagger later..." - README: "You can see from the code..." - Operations manual: "I'll deploy it myself..." - Test data generation: "Need dummy data like real data" - Migration: "Existing data to new schema..." - Backup setup: "Just in case..." - Project A: Planned 100 hours → Actual 145 hours (45% over) - Project B: Planned 200 hours → Actual 310 hours (55% over) - Project C: Planned 50 hours → Actual 72 hours (44% over) - Developer: "What else do you do besides coding?" - QA: "What's needed to prepare tests?" - DevOps: "What do you check when deploying?" - API Development: 8 hours - UI Development: 8 hours - Automation: CI/CD, automated tests, auto-generated docs - Templates: Code templates, document templates - Checklists: Standardize recurring tasks - Pair Programming: Reduce code review time - TDD: Test and development simultaneously - Projects will definitely be delayed - Team members suffer from overtime - Quality drops - You lose trust