Annual or quarterly planning cycles
Allocating people to projects
Adjusting team size
Planning for holidays and absences
Forecasting resource needs
Balancing multiple projects
Identifying bottlenecks

Quick Start

Minimal working example:

# Team capacity calculation and planning

class CapacityPlanner:
    # Standard work hours per week
    STANDARD_WEEK_HOURS = 40

    # Activities that reduce available capacity
    OVERHEAD_HOURS = {
        'meetings': 5,           # standups, 1-on-1s, planning
        'training': 2,           # learning new tech
        'administrative': 2,     # emails, approvals
        'support': 2,            # helping teammates
        'contingency': 2         # interruptions, emergencies
    }

    def __init__(self, team_size, sprint_duration_weeks=2):
        self.team_size = team_size
        self.sprint_duration_weeks = sprint_duration_weeks
        self.members = []

    def calculate_team_capacity(self):
        """Calculate available capacity hours"""
        # Base capacity
        base_hours = self.team_size * self.STANDARD_WEEK_HOURS * self.sprint_duration_weeks

// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)

Reference Guides

Detailed implementations in the references/ directory:

Guide	Contents
Capacity Assessment	Capacity Assessment
Capacity Planning Template	Capacity Planning Template
Resource Leveling	Resource Leveling
Capacity Forecasting	Capacity Forecasting

Best Practices

✅ DO

Plan capacity at 85% utilization (15% buffer)
Account for meetings, training, and overhead
Include known absences (vacation, holidays)
Identify skill bottlenecks early
Balance workload fairly across team
Review capacity monthly
Adjust plans based on actual velocity
Cross-train on critical skills
Communicate realistic commitments to stakeholders
Build contingency for emergencies

❌ DON'T

Plan at 100% utilization
Ignore meetings and overhead
Assign work without checking skills
Create overload with continuous surprises
Forget about learning/training time
Leave capacity planning to last minute
Overcommit team consistently
Burn out key people
Ignore team feedback on workload
Plan without considering absences

capacity-planning

Capacity Planning

Table of Contents

Overview

When to Use