Capacity Planning: Work drivers
Objective. Read the drivers that generate workload - volume, mix, rework, backlog - and track how the mix, not just the total, changes required skills.
This screen answers: what actually generates the workload we are planning for? Drivers explain where demand comes from, and the mix of drivers decides which skills are needed.
See it in the demo
What this screen answers
The customer question is: what drives my demand - arriving volume, work-type mix, rework, carried backlog - and how does that shape the plan. A CSM validates the drivers; a rep uses them to show the plan is tied to real work, not a flat number.
The task
Review the drivers feeding demand and effort for the scope. Look past the total to the mix: which work types and which secondary drivers (rework, backlog) are contributing, and in what proportion.
How to read it
Drivers explain where demand comes from, and the mix matters more than the total for staffing. Changing the mix changes which skills are required, not just the headcount - a shift toward a complex work type needs a scarcer skill even if total volume is flat. The classic misread is reading total driver volume and ignoring the mix that dictates skills. Drivers are also projections, carrying the forecast's uncertainty.
Honest limits
Driver definitions and their data source must be confirmed with product. Drivers size the requirement; they do not execute anything. Rework and backlog as drivers depend on the customer's real process - confirm these reflect their operation rather than seeded assumptions.
Interpretation check
Work-driver mix, not just total volume, determines which skills are required; reading the total alone hides the skill demand the mix creates.
Practical task
Review the drivers for a scope, identify the work-type whose share most changes skill needs, and write one line linking the mix shift to a specific skill demand.
Self-check
Total driver volume is flat but the plan's skill needs changed. How?
The mix shifted. A move toward a more complex work type needs a scarcer skill even at the same total, so the mix drives skills independently of the total.
Why do rework and backlog count as drivers?
They add real workload beyond fresh arrivals, so excluding them understates demand. They must reflect the customer's real process, not a seeded figure.
Are drivers measured facts?
No - they are projected and carry forecast uncertainty, and their definitions must be confirmed with product.
Verified vs demo. Screen is live in the demo at /#/drivers; exact controls and figures are SME-validation-pending.