Near term
Use people and weekly detail to resolve immediate conflicts and assignments.
Capacity planning guide
A practical guide to capacity planning.
Calculate usable capacity, compare it with dated demand, and resolve future gaps before teams become overcommitted.
Capacity is usable time in a defined period.
Headcount and contracted hours are only starting points. A credible capacity view accounts for working patterns, leave, holidays, internal responsibilities, and existing commitments.
- ✓Gross capacity = scheduled people hours.
- ✓Usable capacity = gross capacity minus known unavailable and internal time.
- ✓Remaining capacity = usable capacity minus confirmed allocation.
- ✓Capacity gap = remaining capacity minus dated demand.
Match the planning level to the decision.
Medium term
Use roles, skills, and monthly ranges to test likely delivery demand.
Long term
Use scenarios and confidence bands for hiring, contractor, portfolio, and sales decisions.
Use the same sequence for each period.
- 1Choose the planning horizon and unit.
- 2Apply each person or role group working schedule.
- 3Subtract leave, holidays, and protected internal time.
- 4Subtract confirmed project allocations to calculate remaining capacity.
- 5Compare remaining capacity with likely demand in a separate scenario.
- 6Identify gaps by role, skill, and period.
- 7Choose and record a response.
Do not treat a percentage as certainty.
Capacity estimates depend on current scope, dates, estimates, and availability. Preserve assumptions, show uncertainty, and refresh the outlook when material inputs change.