Capacity
Unknown is not zero
17 September 2026 · 3 min read
Capacity plans fail when missing values quietly become zero or infinity. Show the gaps instead.
A spreadsheet that shows 0 hours of partner capacity looks precise. It is actually a guess — and usually a wrong one.
Make gaps visible
If you do not know a value, show it as unknown. People react to a visible gap; they ignore a confident zero.
Reserve room for the unplanned
Urgent work will come. Set aside a share of capacity for it, and record the consequence when an urgent item pushes something else back.