Recoverable capacity
Objective. Define recoverable capacity as an attributed, de-duplicated opportunity, and keep it strictly separate from cash and from verified recovery.
A dictionary entry. Recoverable capacity is the time or capacity a finding estimates could be released, after attribution to an owner and after removing overlap with other findings. It is an opportunity, not money and not a result.
What it is
Recoverable capacity is the portion of identified value leakage that is estimated to be genuinely recoverable - the time or capacity that could be released if a finding were acted on - expressed in capacity terms (hours, or capacity value) and attributed to an owner who can act. It is the front end of the Value Leakage recovery chain: a quantified opportunity awaiting action, deliberately held apart from cash recovered and from what has actually been verified.
How it is calculated
At app-logic level, a leakage finding's value is built from quantity, a unit cost or time basis, and a confidence factor; recoverable capacity is the recoverable share of that value after applying confidence and after removing overlap with other findings so the same time is not counted twice. Included: findings with an identified time basis, rate and owner. Excluded or adjusted: double-counted overlap between findings, and the non-recoverable share. The time basis, rates, recoverable-share assumptions and overlap handling are configurable and are exactly what a CSM validates - confirm with product. This is a capacity figure; it is not cash and must never be presented as cash.
How to read it and the common misread
Read recoverable capacity as a prioritised opportunity list: which findings, owned by whom, worth how much capacity if acted on. The useful target is unresolved high-value findings trending down as they move into recovery. The common misread is summing overlapping findings into one large savings number - overlapping friction findings cannot simply be added, and the de-duplication exists precisely to prevent this. The other central misread is treating recoverable capacity as money: it becomes financial value only through the recovery and verification steps (MET-21), and the recovery screen itself distinguishes recovered capacity from cash recovered.
Where it appears
In Value Leakage: the capacity, process, system, quality, AI and outcome leak categories, the attribution view and the top value leaks, feeding the recovery workflow. Demo figures (and the sample currency amounts shown) are seeded illustrations, not customer results.
Interpretation check
Recoverable capacity is a de-duplicated, attributed opportunity in capacity terms, not cash and not a verified result. Overlapping findings cannot be summed into one savings number.
Practical task
In the Value Leakage demo, pick one high-value finding and write down its recoverable capacity, the owner who could act, and one sentence on how you would make sure it is not overlapping with another finding before you add it to a value story.
Self-check
What does recoverable capacity represent?
The recoverable share of identified leakage - the time or capacity that could be released if a finding is acted on - after confidence and after removing overlap, attributed to an owner. It is an opportunity, not a result.
Why can overlapping findings not be added together?
They may describe the same released time from different angles. Summing them double-counts, which is why recoverable capacity is de-duplicated before it is reported.
Why is recoverable capacity not cash?
It is a capacity estimate. It becomes financial value only after the recovery action is taken and verified; the recovery screen explicitly separates recovered capacity from cash recovered.
What does a CSM validate before trusting a recoverable-capacity figure?
The time basis, the rates, the recoverable-share assumptions, the overlap handling and the owner - all configurable; confirm specifics with product.
Verified vs demo. The demo shows recoverable capacity on seeded findings with sample amounts. A customer's figure depends on their time basis, rates, recoverable share and overlap handling, which must be validated in their instance - and it remains capacity, not cash.