Capacity Planner

Capacity Planner

Plan team and infrastructure capacity before it becomes a crisis.

What It Does

Takes your current workload data — team size, utilization rates, project pipeline, seasonal patterns — and builds a forward-looking capacity model. Flags bottlenecks 4-8 weeks before they hit.

When to Use

Sprint planning feels like guesswork

You're not sure if you can take on a new client/project

Hiring decisions need data, not gut feel

Infrastructure keeps getting slammed at predictable times

How to Use

Tell the agent about your situation:

"We have 8 engineers, 3 active projects, and a new client starting in March. Can we handle it?"

The agent will: 1. Audit current load — Map people to commitments, calculate true utilization (not the number in your head) 2. Model scenarios — What happens if the new project lands? What if two people quit? What if scope grows 30%? 3. Flag risks — Identify single points of failure, overloaded roles, deadline clusters 4. Recommend actions — Hire, redistribute, defer, or say no — with numbers behind each option

Capacity Framework

Utilization Bands

| Band | Rate | Meaning | |------|------|---------| | 🟢 Green | <70% | Healthy buffer for unplanned work | | 🟡 Yellow | 70-85% | Sustainable but tight | | 🔴 Red | >85% | Burnout zone — something will slip |

Key Metrics

Effective capacity = headcount × available hours × efficiency factor (typically 0.7-0.8)

Demand pipeline = committed hours + probable hours (weighted by likelihood)

Buffer ratio = (capacity - demand) / capacity — target 15-25%

Time to constraint = weeks until demand exceeds capacity at current trajectory

Scenario Template

For each scenario, output:

Headcount needed vs. available

Skill gaps (specific roles/capabilities missing)

Timeline risk (which deadlines move)

Cost impact (overtime, contractors, lost revenue from saying no)

Recommended action with confidence level

Output Format

CAPACITY SNAPSHOT — [Date]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Team: [size] | Utilization: [%] | Buffer: [%]
Status: 🟢/🟡/🔴
CURRENT COMMITMENTS
[Project A]: [X people, Y hours/week, end date]
[Project B]: ...
PIPELINE (next 8 weeks)
[Incoming work]: probability %, estimated load
...
RISKS
1. [Risk description + impact + timeframe]
2. ...
SCENARIOS
A) [Scenario]: [outcome summary]
B) [Scenario]: [outcome summary]
RECOMMENDATION
[Clear action with reasoning]

Tips

Refresh capacity snapshots weekly during planning

Track actual vs. predicted utilization to calibrate your efficiency factor

Include non-project work (meetings, support, admin) — it's usually 20-30% of capacity

Don't plan above 80% utilization. The remaining 20% isn't slack, it's where real work happens.

Go Deeper

Your capacity model is one piece of operational planning. For full business context packs covering finance, operations, and growth strategy across 10 industries:

→ AfrexAI Context Packs — $47 each, built by operators who've done the work.

→ AI Revenue Calculator — Find out where your business is leaking money (free tool).

→ Agent Setup Wizard — Get your AI agent configured for your specific business in 5 minutes.

Refresh capacity snapshots weekly during planning

Track actual vs. predicted utilization to calibrate your efficiency factor

Include non-project work (meetings, support, admin) — it's usually 20-30% of capacity

Don't plan above 80% utilization. The remaining 20% isn't slack, it's where real work happens.