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Home » The Productivity Key » 4F. Understanding Capacity
- 4F1. Capacity is a measure of the amount of work a resource (a person or a machine) can do. This section focuses on human capacity.
- 4F2. Capacity for a professional addresses the question, “Do I have the time to produce the deliverable or achieve the goal?”
- 4F3. The ability to determine capacity is based on two interrelated factors: total capacity and available capacity.
- 4F3i. Total capacity is the total amount of time that an individual works for the organization each week.
- 4F3ii. Available capacity is the amount of time that has not yet been committed to. (Total capacity minus time already committed.)
- 4F3iia. If an individual works 40 hours per week, and she has committed 25 hours to processes or projects, her available capacity is 15 hours per week.
- 4F3iii. Available capacity is a function of the number of commitments the individual has made as well as the effectiveness and efficiency the individual can apply to those commitments.
- 4F3iv. Efficiency from a time perspective is how quickly a person can create a deliverable or how quickly a process can produce a deliverable.
- 4F3iva. Efficiency is a function of how capable the individual is, because the more capable, the more quickly the deliverable can be produced.
- 4F3ivb. It is also how streamlined the process is that is utilized to get the job done.
- 4F3v. Effectiveness is the value that is being produced by an individual or a process.
- 4F3va. When there is not enough available time (capacity), effectiveness can suffer.
- 4F3vb. Effectiveness for a process is the measure of how well the product produced meets the customer’s needs.
- 4F3vi. Available capacity can be increased by working longer hours, eliminating tasks that don’t add value, increasing capability, or streamlining work processes.
- 4F3vii. Capacity can also be increased if the individual becomes more efficient by such means as expanding her resource network, asking more from others, streamlining personal work habits, learning, growing, and practicing.
- 4F4. Capacity for a resource leader addresses the question, “How much of the prioritized strategic plan can the area support?”
- 4F4i. Total capacity is the total amount of time the area has to devote to the strategy of the organization each month.
- 4F4ii. Available capacity is the amount of time not yet booked.
- 4F5. Individuals and areas should allocate less than 100% of their total capacity.
- 4F5i. Allocating less than 100% of total capacity mitigates the creation of bottlenecks.
- 4F5ia. Bottlenecks are limitations on a system. By having available capacity in the system, it is possible to pick up the slack when needed to avoid the bottleneck.
- 4F5ii. Bottlenecks reduce process efficiency.
- 4F6. In MM 2.0, capacity is managed from the bottom up and not the top down.
- 4F6i. In VM 1.0, capacity is managed from the top down because the resource leader makes the commitments for the individuals in the area.
- 4F6ii. In MM 2.0, individuals are making their own commitments (bottom up), which is why it’s important to have clear organizational priorities that everyone can follow.
