Capacity Planning
OfficialFreeOptimize team resources for effective project management.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Capacity Planning does
The Capacity Planning skill is designed to help teams analyze their resource allocation and forecast workload effectively. By providing a structured approach to understanding team capacity, this skill assists in making informed decisions during quarterly planning sessions. It is particularly useful when teams feel overallocated and need to assess whether they should hire additional personnel or deprioritize certain projects. The skill leverages detailed inputs about team size, current workload, upcoming projects, and various constraints to generate a comprehensive capacity plan.
Users can input essential information such as the number of team members, their roles, ongoing projects, and any budgetary constraints. The skill then analyzes this data across several dimensions, including personnel availability, budget allocation, and project timelines. This thorough analysis helps identify potential bottlenecks and provides actionable recommendations, such as hiring new staff or adjusting project priorities. The output is a clear markdown report that summarizes current utilization, upcoming demand, and recommendations for resource management.
The Capacity Planning skill is ideal for project managers, team leads, and organizational planners who need to ensure that resources are allocated effectively and that teams are not overburdened. By using this skill, teams can better prepare for future workloads and make strategic decisions that align with their operational goals. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining buffer time for unexpected challenges and encourages regular updates to capacity plans to keep them relevant and accurate.
When to use it
Use this skill during quarterly planning or when assessing team workload and capacity.
When not to use it
This skill is not suitable for ad-hoc project assessments or when immediate resource adjustments are needed without detailed analysis.
What you can build with it
Quarterly Planning
Use this skill to prepare for quarterly planning sessions by analyzing current team workloads and future project demands.
Resource Allocation Decisions
When considering hiring new staff or reallocating existing resources, this skill provides the necessary analysis to guide your decision.
Identifying Bottlenecks
Utilize this skill to pinpoint areas where team members may be overallocated, allowing for proactive management of workloads.
How to install Capacity Planning
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/capacity-plan --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by anthropics/capacity-plan
If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.
Analyze team capacity and plan resource allocation.
Usage
/capacity-plan $ARGUMENTS
What I Need From You
- Team size and roles: Who do you have?
- Current workload: What are they working on? (Upload from project tracker or describe)
- Upcoming work: What's coming next quarter?
- Constraints: Budget, hiring timeline, skill requirements
Planning Dimensions
People
- Available headcount and skills
- Current allocation and utilization
- Planned hires and timeline
- Contractor and vendor capacity
Budget
- Operating budget by category
- Project-specific budgets
- Variance tracking
- Forecast vs. actual
Time
- Project timelines and dependencies
- Critical path analysis
- Buffer and contingency planning
- Deadline management
Utilization Targets
| Role Type | Target Utilization | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IC / Specialist | 75-80% | Leave room for reactive work and growth |
| Manager | 60-70% | Management overhead, meetings, 1:1s |
| On-call / Support | 50-60% | Interrupt-driven work is unpredictable |
Common Pitfalls
- Planning to 100% utilization (no buffer for surprises)
- Ignoring meeting load and context-switching costs
- Not accounting for vacation, holidays, and sick time
- Treating all hours as equal (creative work ≠ admin work)
Output
## Capacity Plan: [Team/Project]
**Period:** [Date range] | **Team Size:** [X]
### Current Utilization
| Person/Role | Capacity | Allocated | Available | Utilization |
|-------------|----------|-----------|-----------|-------------|
| [Name/Role] | [hrs/wk] | [hrs/wk] | [hrs/wk] | [X]% |
### Capacity Summary
- **Total capacity**: [X] hours/week
- **Currently allocated**: [X] hours/week ([X]%)
- **Available**: [X] hours/week ([X]%)
- **Overallocated**: [X people above 100%]
### Upcoming Demand
| Project/Initiative | Start | End | Resources Needed | Gap |
|--------------------|-------|-----|-----------------|-----|
| [Project] | [Date] | [Date] | [X FTEs] | [Covered/Gap] |
### Bottlenecks
- [Skill or role that's oversubscribed]
- [Time period with a crunch]
### Recommendations
1. [Hire / Contract / Reprioritize / Delay]
2. [Specific action]
### Scenarios
| Scenario | Outcome |
|----------|---------|
| Do nothing | [What happens] |
| Hire [X] | [What changes] |
| Deprioritize [Y] | [What frees up] |
If Connectors Available
If ~~project tracker is connected:
- Pull current workload and ticket assignments automatically
- Show upcoming sprint or quarter commitments per person
If ~~calendar is connected:
- Factor in PTO, holidays, and recurring meeting load
- Calculate actual available hours per person
Tips
- Include all work — BAU, projects, support, meetings. People aren't 100% available for project work.
- Plan for buffer — Target 80% utilization. 100% means no room for surprises.
- Update regularly — Capacity plans go stale fast. Review monthly.
Frequently asked questions about Capacity Planning
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