"Who has capacity next week?" - a question that leads to hectic spreadsheet opening in many service provider teams. Capacity planning doesn't have to be complicated. But it needs clear data and a simple process.
What Capacity Planning Must Accomplish
Good capacity planning answers three questions:
- Who is available? (Not on vacation, not at capacity)
- When will it get tight? (Look ahead 2-4 weeks)
- Does the new project fit? (Realistic assessment before commitment)
That's all you need. Anything beyond is nice-to-have.
The Data Foundation
Capacity planning only works with reliable inputs:
Available Capacity Per Person
- Weekly hours minus vacation, sick leave, internal work
- Realistic: 60-70% of work time is plannable, the rest is buffer
Planned Work
- Running projects with estimated remaining effort
- Fixed appointments (meetings, workshops, deadlines)
Pipeline
- Probable projects (weighted capacity)
- Definite commitments
Simple Capacity Model
For teams up to 15 people, a simple model often suffices:
| Person | Capacity/Week | Blocked | Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | 32h | 28h | 4h |
| Ben | 40h | 20h | 20h |
| Clara | 32h | 32h | 0h |
Update rhythm: Weekly, 15 minutes in team meeting.
Automating Capacity Planning
This data can be automatically aggregated:
- Calendar sync: Blocked appointments = not available
- PM tool integration: Assigned tasks = planned work
- Absence tool: Vacation, sick leave automatically considered
An n8n workflow can daily aggregate availability and write to a dashboard (Notion, Google Sheet, Airtable).
Recognizing Bottlenecks
Critical signals:
- Utilization > 85%: No buffer for unexpected
- Skill concentration: Only one person can do task X - risk if absent
- Pipeline backup: More commitments than capacity in next 4 weeks
Early detection enables timely response: Bring in freelancers, shift deadlines, decline project.
Common Mistakes
Too optimistic planning: 40h capacity doesn't mean 40h plannable work. Realistic planning calculates with 70%.
No look-ahead: Those who only see the current week are surprised by the next. Minimum: 4 weeks look-ahead.
Static planning: Capacity changes. Weekly update is mandatory.
Tools and Setups
For small teams (5-10 people):
- Google Sheet or Notion database
- Manual update, weekly
For medium teams (10-25 people):
- Specialized tool (Forecast, Float, Resource Guru)
- Integration with PM tool and calendar
Tool choice is secondary - the process is more important.
Starting Capacity Planning
- Capture baseline: How much capacity does each person have? (Be honest)
- Measure current utilization: What's already planned?
- Introduce weekly rhythm: 15 minutes review is enough
- Establish look-ahead: At least 4 weeks
If you want to systematize your capacity planning, we can check together which data sources and automations make sense for you. Schedule conversation
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