The short answer
A weekly capacity check compares the work expected with the time, coverage and capability realistically available. Include existing commitments and dependencies before adding new work. The useful outcome is a decision about what will proceed, change or wait, with the person responsible for each trade-off clearly identified.
1. Start with a clear purpose
List committed work and the people needed to complete it. Separate fixed deadlines from work that can move.
2. Make the work and ownership visible
Ask where the plan depends on one person or an unresolved decision. Agree which work to delay, simplify or hand over.
3. Agree the next action
Close with clear priorities and named owners. Review what changed at the next check rather than rebuilding the whole plan each week.
Leave with a usable decision.
Write down the next action, who owns it and when you will check the result. Keep the decision where the people doing the work can find it.
A practical example
A team has five new requests but one colleague is away and another is supporting a critical handoff. Instead of allocating every request, the lead lists the committed work and identifies the tasks that depend on a specialist. Two requests are deferred, one is narrowed and a backup is assigned to the time-sensitive work. The decision is recorded for the next review.
A working template you can adapt
| Part of the work | What to record or ask |
|---|---|
| Demand | Which outcomes or deadlines are expected this week? |
| Availability | What time and coverage remain after existing commitments? |
| Dependencies | Which work depends on another person or team? |
| Decision | What will proceed, be reduced, be reassigned or wait? |
Questions to work through
Should capacity planning track every minute?
Use the level of detail needed to make the decision. A rough but explicit view of commitments, availability and dependencies can be more useful than a precise time sheet that does not explain the bottleneck.
What if every request is called urgent?
Ask the decision owner to identify the consequence and deadline for each request. Make the trade-off visible: agreeing new work means changing another commitment, increasing capacity or accepting a different outcome.
Connect this with the next decision
Keep moving.
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