# Day, hour, or minute estimates are banned in track artifacts

From `AGENTS.md` "Critical Anti-Patterns":
- **HARD BAN: Day estimates in track artifacts (Tier 1).** Do NOT include day / hour / minute estimates in spec.md, plan.md, metadata.json, or any other track artifact. Day estimates are inaccurate noise; Tier 2 capacity is bounded by attention, not time. Measure effort by **scope** (N files, M sites, N tasks). The user / Tier 2 agent decides the actual pacing. See `conductor/workflow.md` §"Tier 1 Track Initialization Rules" for the full rule, replacement patterns, and rationale. (Added 2026-06-16 per user feedback: "Day estimates are inaccurate. Tier-2s can only do so much in a single track and there is no way in hell its going to be 'DAYS'.")

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From `conductor/workflow.md` §"Tier 1 Track Initialization Rules" §1:
**HARD BAN.** Do NOT include day, hour, or minute estimates in
`spec.md`, `plan.md`, `metadata.json`, or any other track artifact.

**Why:** day estimates are inaccurate noise. Tier 2 capacity is bounded
by **attention**, not time. A track that "should take 2 days" can take
half a day (if the user is available and the Tier 2 is focused) or 3
days (if interruptions come up, the user is unavailable for review, or
the audit reveals scope growth). The Tier 1 cannot predict either
scenario. Estimates also anchor the user's expectations incorrectly;
"the spec said 2 days and it's been 3, what's wrong?".

**What to use instead:** measure effort by **scope** (N files, M sites,
N tasks). No sizing labels (T-shirt sizes, points, day estimates) are
allowed in track artifacts - they are all guesses. The user / Tier 2
agent decides the actual pacing.