HKSM
Capacity Planning
Estimating the amount of work a team can realistically complete during a single iteration or program increment.
Key Points
- Uses team availability, skills, holidays, and existing commitments to forecast workable load.
- Informs iteration/PI scope so the team neither overcommits nor sits idle.
- Often expressed in story points, ideal hours, or average throughput based on historical data.
- Recalibrated each planning cycle to reflect changes in WIP, dependencies, and risks.
Example
Before PI planning, a team totals 60 person-days for the next iteration after accounting for vacations and support duties. Their recent average throughput is about 25 story points per iteration. They set a target of 24-26 story points, reserve a small buffer for unplanned work, and select backlog items to match that capacity.
PMP Example Question
During iteration planning, a Scrum team reviews member availability, recent velocity, and known support work to set a realistic commitment. What practice are they applying?
- Release burnup tracking
- Definition of Done
- Capacity planning
- Earned value analysis
Correct Answer: C — Capacity planning
Explanation: Capacity planning determines how much work the team can take on in the upcoming iteration or program increment based on availability and historical performance.
