Project Toolkitby Maxime Lab
Team and Resources · tool 4 of 5

Team and Resources · tool 4 of 5

Capacity Planning

Capacity Planning: compares the work you’ve promised with the time you really have.

Best for: Before committing to dates · Time: 1 hour
Domain: Resources · Focus area: Planning

How it works

Capacity is the hours or points people can really give, after holidays, meetings, support and other projects. Comparing it with demand shows whether a plan can happen.

  • Count real availability, not contract hours.
  • Account for other projects.
  • Don’t plan above about 80%.

How to apply it

  1. List people and availability by week.
  2. Subtract leave and regular duties.
  3. Compare with planned work.
  4. Cut scope, move dates or get help.
In practice

A team of five has 200 hours on paper, but 130 in practice. The plan asks for 180.

Pro tip

Say “we can do this or that”, not “we’ll try”.

Use it

Quick check

What should capacity account for?

Sources

  • PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition, and The Standard for Project Management (PMI, 2025)

Last reviewed 2026-11-02 against the PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition · Practitioner review pending · How this guide is made