Reporting time

I don't have to do that. I just need to make/execute good programs as quickly as possible. So many variables dude.

CAD/No CAD
Part Families
Part Mixes
100% inspection/Partial/Critical Only
Scanning/Touch Probe
Offline programming
Proving out programs
Verifying results
Repeatable fixture set up
Purchasing probes
etc...

Absolutely +1000 on acgarcia 's point, there are too many variables that go into making a program for there to be an accurate judgement on how long it takes.
How much coffee you had that week, for example..

I've read somewhere that someone uses the scale of "1 hour, + 15 minutes/feature"...


EDIT:
And I don't know if you have something like this, but this is what I use for timing how long a program runs


Put VSTIME where you'd like to "start the timer" and put VETIME where you'd like to "end it".

yes I agree, I've just been writing down everything I do but I'm starting to feel irritated about it. I try not to be to vague since it is true that its always the little things that will eat up time.

If they're harping you about time, bring up hardware & software.
Do you have an up-to-date SMA?
Do you have a computer that exceeds the minimum spec for running it?
Do you have a late/great operating system?

How about calibration artifacts? Rotary table?

There are so many tools that can improve time more than telling you to hurry up

EDIT:
Do you have a Master's in Trigonometry?
Are they willing to pay for it?
Then it will take as long as it takes.

yes this is true.

So, building a timer to determine how long it take YOU to program a part is one thing, building a timer to determine how others of varying skill levels should take writing a program is another. I recommend utilizing Excel and being able to adapt it to base programming off:
#of features/patterned?
#hits per feature/patterned?
#of alignments/patterned?
#of datum features/patterned?
Complexity level 1-10 (time buffer options, if 10 then apply 3x normal scale, if 1 then .5x normal scale)

There's a host of variables here, if I recall, I had about 40 lines of information I utilized to complie a sketch/print and generate an estimated programming time. For myself I got it within about 10% on 15 or so projects before I gave up performing the 30-60min of review and just started writting programs as it was for my own bennefit and not something the company was asking me for.

For clarification, the timer I designated above was for program run time.
How long it takes the program to run might change, though probably very little, depending; I use it simply as a way to report it.
As stated above; there's no "one size fits all" determination for how long it would take someone to program, however you can evaluate how long it takes you to. If most of your parts are nearly identical, averaging out how long it takes for each one might give you results with a certain margin of error.

I'd recommend:

Say you write ten programs.
Each of them takes between 2 and 5 days to complete, however they have relatively the same complexity.

Give them a week, on average, per program.
Then most of your bases are covered, and you won't have mgmt barging in every 3 days to see "why is this time slower than last time?"

Be generous with how long it takes, because it will only make life easier for you, and I promise they will be able to work with whatever number you give them (as long as it's reasonable, obviously).
Plus, if you tell them a week per program, but at the end of the week you have 2 or 3, you look a little better

Now, what you can do to make your programming time faster is use a template with all your traceable comments in it like serial numbers, lot numbers, operator number etc.. and where to print. This way you don't have to add it for each program. You can also use clearance cube so you don't have to worry about move points too much. Use auto features.

Even though you can standardize most of this stuff, I feel that every program will always be the exception and differ slightly from one to the other.

A Load Board? Last Place I worked they were trying similar micromanaging bulls_h_i_t with me. I was working 10 hour days, I would turn in a sheet that said "10 hours on everything"
They told me if I don't start doing it, they would fire me. I leaned over and I said "go ahead, because I will not change" I'm sure they wanted to fire me, I'm sure they were looking to replace me, but they couldn't. I ended up quitting and getting this great job I'm at. The problem with this theory crap that they do is wrong. They actually waste money on a person who looks for corners to cut. Here's a suggestion, get rid of that person, you'll save some money, and a huge corner is cut. These are the same people who will say "oh this CNC machine here has a rpm gage that we can turn faster, or move faster" then tool breaks or machine screws up, then your down. Where's your corner cutter at now? He or she has gone to the next well oiled machine to see what can be cut there. Sorry I can be like Inspectorjester and offer you a similar timer for your program, after that it is not worth my time or effort.

The best offer I can make (it's not perfectly ideal) is to try and find a few known programs, time them on the workstation, then try getting the offline program to cycle at an equivalent pace. This will take lots of trial and error, your offline will not fully support the time it takes to load/unload probing (if you have a rack/manual), stops/starts/transitions and your machines speed all play pivotal factors. If you can get a comfortable set of offline settings that gives you an average within 10-20min I'd say you've got a GREAT starting block.

Good luck