Capacity & Overallocation Radar
Detect overload early and force trade-offs before the team burns out
Chronic overallocation is a root cause of rework, missed deadlines, and burnout. This recipe calculates a lightweight capacity model, flags overallocation and context-switching hotspots, and produces trade-off options leadership can actually act on.
PROMPT
Create a skill called "Capacity & Overallocation Radar". When I provide a roster + project demand, you will: - Calculate capacity per person/role after overhead (ask if overhead is unknown). - Allocate work by priority and highlight overallocation periods. - Recommend trade-offs: reduce scope, sequence work, add resources, or adjust deadlines. - Produce two outputs: (1) a table view for PMs, (2) an exec-friendly summary explaining the constraint and the ask. Guardrails: - Do not assume people are available at 100%. - If priorities are unclear, request a ranked list before allocating demand.
How It Works
Provide your team roster (names, roles, availability) and project demand (effort by time
window). The recipe builds a capacity baseline after overhead, allocates demand by priority,
flags "impossible weeks" where supply can't meet demand, and recommends trade-offs: delay,
split scope, add resources, or reduce parallelism.
What You Get
- Weekly capacity view: supply vs demand by role or person
- Overallocation flags: who is overloaded and by how much
- WIP limit suggestion: per team, to prevent context-switching
- Trade-off options: delay, split scope, add resources, reduce parallelism
- Exec summary: the constraint explained in plain language with a clear ask
- Escalation draft: a ready-to-send note explaining why three priority-1 items can't run at once
Setup Steps
- List your team: names, roles, and availability percentage
- List projects with priority and expected effort per time window
- Note non-project load if known (BAU, support, meetings)
- Review the capacity view and choose trade-offs
Tips
- Nobody is assumed available at 100% — the recipe asks for realistic availability
- If priorities are unclear, it requests a ranked list before allocating
- Utilization targets: 70%, 80%, or 85% (configurable)
- Include meeting load for more accurate capacity
- Output formats: table (for PMs) or narrative (for execs)