Forecast supply against demand
Capacity planning software for confident staffing decisions
Answer “Can we take this on?” with dated supply, demand, skills, and confidence—not a single utilization percentage.
Sign in to inspect the sample App, then install it with sample data to test the records and review path.
What the software should do
Capacity planning software estimates usable supply over a future period, compares it with committed and probable demand, and exposes gaps early enough to change scope, dates, staffing, or hiring. The Jodoo example keeps the assumptions and resulting decisions inspectable.
- Supply and demand remain separate
- Availability changes affect usable hours
- Every gap has an owner and decision
Capacity model
Start with a denominator people can defend
A capacity number is only useful when readers know what was included.
| Input | Sample interpretation | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline capacity | Contracted or agreed working hours for the planning window | Treating every calendar hour as usable project time |
| Known availability changes | Leave, training, support coverage, holidays, or part-time patterns | Discovering absences after work is committed |
| Existing allocations | Confirmed and protected work that already consumes capacity | Counting tentative demand as both supply and commitment |
| New demand | Hours, dates, skills, certainty, and priority | Adding unrelated high-level estimates with no timing |
| Gap | Usable capacity minus committed and weighted forecast demand | Publishing a percentage without a decision threshold |
Scenario decisions
Use scenarios to change the plan, not decorate a dashboard
The model should make each lever and consequence clear.
Move the date
See whether a later start removes the conflict without breaking the customer or portfolio promise.
Change the staffing mix
Test an alternate person or role level while retaining skill and handoff risk.
Reduce or split scope
Separate must-have work from work that can wait, then show the capacity released.
Add contingent capacity
Record contractor or hiring assumptions separately from capacity already available.
Review cadence
Match the review rhythm to how fast assumptions change
One annual plan cannot steer weekly commitments.
Resolve active overload and unfilled demand
Review exceptions, near-term absence, and requests awaiting a decision.
Refresh the rolling capacity outlook
Revisit pipeline probability, start dates, skills, and teams with persistent gaps.
Change structural supply
Use repeated gaps and underuse to inform hiring, contracting, cross-training, or portfolio choices.
Decision evidence
Open the records behind every capacity signal
A red cell is not a diagnosis.
Who or what is constrained?
Link the signal to the affected person, team, role, skill, or work demand.
Which dates and hours are involved?
Show the overlap rather than an undated annual average.
What is protected?
Distinguish confirmed high-priority commitments from work that can move.
Who decides and by when?
Assign the scope, date, staffing, or sourcing decision before the gap becomes an incident.
Practical questions
Capacity planning questions to answer before forecasting
Agree on horizons, demand certainty, skill constraints, and who can change a capacity assumption.
Are hours enough for a reliable capacity forecast?
Hours are a practical denominator, but they are not sufficient by themselves. The example keeps skill, role level, time zone, availability, dates, priority, and delivery health beside the hours so that a mathematically available person is not mistaken for the right person. A forecast must also preserve the skill, timing, and certainty assumptions that could make the apparent supply unusable.
Can the capacity plan rebalance every gap automatically?
No. It surfaces capacity, skill, date, workload, and conflict evidence for a human decision. Automatic optimization can be valuable at larger scale, but it needs agreed constraints, priorities, and specialist capability. Jodoo is strongest when the operating rules and approval path need to be shaped by the business. Use automation only after the team agrees which work may move and which constraints are non-negotiable.
Can planners change horizons, thresholds, and scenarios without developers?
A trained Jodoo administrator can add fields, choices, views, routing, and dashboards without rebuilding a conventional application. Changes still need ownership, testing, and communication—especially when they affect approvals, access, or reported measures. Jodoo lets a trained administrator evolve those planning inputs as the forecasting cadence matures.
How far ahead should a capacity plan look?
Use more than one horizon. Near-term planning needs person-level dates and confirmed assignments; medium-term planning can use roles, skill pools, and weighted demand; long-range planning should stay explicit about uncertainty. Do not present an annual estimate with the precision of a weekly schedule.
Should pipeline work consume full capacity?
Usually not until it is committed. Keep pipeline probability or scenario weighting separate from confirmed work, and show both. The professional-services view in the example distinguishes forecast demand from committed delivery.
See the workflow in action
Inspect the populated resource planning App
Open the records and decision views, then adapt the fields, roles, and rules to the way your team plans work.