{"id":6346,"date":"2025-06-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getnave.com\/blog\/?p=6346"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:58:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:58:34","slug":"capacity-allocation-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getnave.com\/blog\/capacity-allocation-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Capacity Allocation 101: How Many Tickets Should We Replenish Next Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If your team is constantly overcommitting and underdelivering, chances are you have a capacity allocation problem.<\/p>\n

Now, I didn\u2019t say resource allocation, right? There is a difference there.<\/p>\n

Capacity allocation is a strategy used to manage and optimize the workload of a team, especially when dealing with unplanned or expedited work. It\u2019s all about knowing how much work your team can handle and making smart decisions based on that knowledge.<\/p>\n

Simply put, resource allocation is about assigning specific tasks to team members. Think of it as who is doing what. On the other hand, capacity analysis is about understanding how much work your team can realistically complete within a certain timeframe. It’s more about the “how much” rather than the “who.”<\/p>\n

Today, we’ll focus on capacity analysis. Why? Because knowing your team’s capacity is exactly what will resolve the overcommitment problem.<\/p>\n

The Foundation of Capacity Allocation<\/h2>\n

Before allocating capacity, it’s essential to perform a capability analysis. What this means is that you have to understand your team’s throughput and how many work items they can handle within a given time frame.<\/p>\n

The capacity of your team is measured by the rate at which they deliver work. And when I say “deliver,” I mean completed tasks<\/strong>, not tasks that are in progress or almost done. It\u2019s all about what\u2019s finished within a given sprint.<\/p>\n

To determine your capacity, you need to look into your past performance data. Evaluate how many items you have completed per sprint over the past 3 to 6 months. This historical data gives you insights into what your team can realistically achieve.<\/p>\n

This is where the Throughput Histogram comes into play.<\/p>\n

\"Throughput<\/a><\/p>\n

Agile teams use the Throughput Histogram by Nave<\/a> to visualize their past performance and set realistic expectations for future sprints.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Throughput Histogram shows the number of items you completed in a certain period. To track the number of tasks delivered per sprint, group your data by 2-week intervals, and make sure to set the start date of the dashboard to match the start of a sprint.<\/p>\n

Over the past 6 months, the team above had:<\/p>\n