guesstimators
Ballpark figure makers
Guesstimators are people who make guesstimates—rough calculations or estimates based on incomplete information combined with educated guessing.
The term blends "guess" and "estimators," carrying a slightly humorous or self-deprecating tone that acknowledges the imprecision involved.
The budget guesstimators came up with a figure somewhere between two and three million.
In technical or business contexts, guesstimators may actually be valued for their ability to produce quick, reasonable approximations when precise data isn't available.
Electronic computation devices
- forecastersThose who anticipate outcomes
- projectorsDevices casting images forward
- assessorsThose who evaluate worth
- evaluatorsThose who judge quality
number-crunchers · speculators · predictors · reckoners · interpolators · modelers · analysts · back-of-envelope
Tabular data documents
- calculatorsElectronic computation devices
- project-managersInitiative oversight leaders
- budgetersPeople who plan spending
- algorithmsFinite instruction sequences
Impromptu idea contributors
- off-the-cuffUnplanned, unrehearsed
- seat-of-pantsActing on instinct alone
- quick-and-dirtyHasty and crude
- imprecisionLack of exactness
calculators
Electronic computation devices
- forecastersThose who anticipate outcomes
- projectorsDevices casting images forward
- assessorsThose who evaluate worth
evaluators · number-crunchers · speculators · predictors · reckoners · interpolators · modelers · analysts · back-of-envelope · heuristics
spreadsheets
Tabular data documents
- calculatorsElectronic computation devices
- project-managersInitiative oversight leaders
- budgetersPeople who plan spending
spitballers
Impromptu idea contributors
- off-the-cuffUnplanned, unrehearsed
- seat-of-pantsActing on instinct alone
- quick-and-dirtyHasty and crude
guesstimatorsnumber crunchers
People who analyze numerical data
statisticians · actuaries · data analysts · precision instruments · quantifiers
guesstimatorsempiricists
Philosophers favoring sensory knowledge
methodologists · data scientists · researchers · experimentalists · forensic accountants