How do I use the capacity planning?

Capacity planning allows you to plan the required capacity for a project and compare it with the available capacity. This way it is immediately clear whether the required capacity meets the requirements!

The capacity planning and the milestone planning use the same planning. A change in one is therefore also a change in the other. Is the milestonesplanning already filled in? Then skip the first steps.

1. Plan portfolio items by dragging them to the correct period. Click and drag the end of a planned portfolio item to make the planned period longer or shorter.
   • Note that the capacity planning and the milestone planning use the same planning and that changing the planning in one also changes the planning in the other.
2. Organize the planned items according to the Gantt principles; place the items that start first at the top and make sure the planned items form a line from top left to bottom right (EXAMPLE).
3. Add subitems to divide a portfolio item into various important elements. Sub-items can be used to include sub-processes in the planning, but also to display important milestones.
   • Click the + next to a portfolio item to add a sub-item to the portfolio item.
4. Add dependencies between portfolio items to indicate that a portfolio item can be started when another has ended. Adding dependencies creates clarity in the planning and creates overview.
   • Add a dependency by clicking in the end of a portfolio item, dragging the cursor with the dependency to the desired portfolio item and releasing the mouse.
   • When a dependency is red, the second item starts before the end of the first item. If a dependency is black, then the schedule is correct!
5. Add skills to the current portfolio by clicking on ADD SKILLS. These are the skills or roles that can be scheduled in the capacity planning.
6. Enter the availability of the skills to gain insight into the available capacity. Click on the calendar icon and enter the start and end date and the number of fte or hours.
   • Think carefully how you want to fill in the availability! You can choose to enter 1 FTE per line, so that the individual availability of a person with a skill can easily be taken into account. However, you can also choose to enter the total availability in one period on one line. (EXAMPLE)
7. Plan the skills by clicking on the skill-add icon next to a portfolio item and selecting the desired skill(s).
   • Change the number in the bar to adjust the required amount of skill.
   • Use shift + click to split a bar in two.
   • Use ctrl + click to delete a bar.
8. Optimize the planning by minimizing the moments where more skills are needed than are available. If the required skills are higher than the available skills, this will be indicated by a red bar in the skills overview. This bar indicates when the amount of skills required is too high, and how much more capacity is required to meet the demand.