If you're writing your Nth application according to a familiar pattern, e.g., the Nth order-entry system, you can probably estimate the time-to-completion fairly well based on past experience.
Otherwise, there's only one approach that really makes sense: recognize that development time is limited and do the important stuff first. That is, begin by implementing the simplest possible version of the application that does something of value, and then add features one-by-one in order of importance. When the inevitable dead-line comes, you'll have a product that may not do everything you'd like, or do it in the flashiest way, but which will give as much value as possible to its users given your time constraints.
And if you have time to do this iteratively, so much the better, as you can get course corrections in midstream.
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If you're writing your Nth application according to a familiar pattern, e.g., the Nth order-entry system, you can probably estimate the time-to-completion fairly well based on past experience.
Otherwise, there's only one approach that really makes sense: recognize that development time is limited and do the important stuff first. That is, begin by implementing the simplest possible version of the application that does something of value, and then add features one-by-one in order of importance. When the inevitable dead-line comes, you'll have a product that may not do everything you'd like, or do it in the flashiest way, but which will give as much value as possible to its users given your time constraints.
And if you have time to do this iteratively, so much the better, as you can get course corrections in midstream.