Capacity Planning Workspace

By Summit53 Team

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Overview

Capacity Planning answers two operating questions a revenue leader has to defend in every plan review: can we hit the plan with the capacity we have? and what capacity would we need to hit it? It converts quota, ramp, forecast and pipeline data into a board-credible readout of the gap and the levers that close it.

The workspace renders inline on the Revenue Engine home, beneath the three-column forecast row. It is available to the CROand Sales Leader personas only; it does not appear for RevOps or Customer Success. It follows the same reporting period as the rest of the page.

The two planner modes

A mode switch at the top of the Scenario panel flips the whole workspace between two questions:

  • Can we hit plan? (Plan fit) — takes your target and existing capacity and tells you whether ramp-adjusted bookings cover it, and by how much.
  • What capacity do we need? (Capacity need) — works backwards from the target to the productive AE equivalents, ramp-aware hires and support roles required to support it.

Switching mode clears the scenario inputs back to defaults so the two questions never blur into each other.

Executive summary

The top-left panel is the one-line readout to lead a plan review with. A status pill shows confidence (ready / partial / limited), the headline reads either Bookings plan is short / covered or More productive capacity needed / Capacity supports target, and four tiles give you the vitals.

In Plan fit mode the tiles are Target, Attainable, Bookings gap and Pipeline gap.

In Capacity need mode they are Target, Required AEs, Productive AE gap and Pipeline gap.

Below the tiles, up to three plain-language readouts call out where the shortfall sits — for example, "You are $1.5M short of the period target" or which group needs more pipeline coverage.

Scenario controls

The Scenario panel on the right is where you model the plan. Adjust the inputs, then pressApply scenario to recompute, or Reset to return to the data-driven defaults. The refresh icon re-pulls the underlying planner.

  • Period — the planning window; this is shared with the rest of the home page.
  • Grouping — view the plan across All sellers, by Team, by Sales role or by Segment. Segment only appears when your data supports it.
  • Bookings target — override the quota-derived target.
  • Attainment — expected attainment rate, as a percentage.
  • Coverage target — required pipeline coverage ratio (for example 3x).

In Capacity need mode you also get Average AE quota,New-hire ramp (the productivity a ramping rep contributes, as a percentage), and the support ratios BDR:AE, SE:AE and Mgr:AE, each of which accepts either a decimal (0.50) or a ratio (1:2).

Planning groups table

The main table breaks the plan down by your chosen grouping, one row per group. Columns change with the mode.

Plan fit: Group, Target, Quota capacity, Ramp capacity, Attainable, Gap, Coverage and Pipeline gap. Gaps and pipeline shortfalls are colour-coded so the groups carrying the miss stand out.

Capacity need: Group, Target, Current productive AEs, Required AEs, AE gap, Ramp hires, Pipeline gap and Support roles (BDR / SE / Mgr).

Levers and assumptions

Beneath the table, two panels turn the diagnosis into decisions:

  • Levers — the recommended moves, ranked by dollar impact. Examples include Lift attainment, Build pipeline coverage, Pull ramp forward, Pull in best-case deals, Add productive capacity and Hire ahead for ramp. Each lever carries a short rationale and the number of planning groups it applies to.
  • Assumptions — the inputs behind the numbers: sellers included, planning groups, forecast coverage and pipeline target, followed by any warnings or caveats. A Method and limitations disclosure holds the full methodology so the readout stays board-safe.

Quick start

  1. Open the Revenue Engine home as a CRO or Sales Leader and scroll to Capacity Planning.
  2. Confirm the Period matches the plan you are reviewing.
  3. Start in Can we hit plan? and read the executive summary headline and Bookings gap.
  4. Switch Grouping to Team or Sales role to find which group carries the gap.
  5. Open the Levers panel and work the highest-impact lever first.
  6. If the answer is "not with current capacity", switch to What capacity do we need? to size the hiring and support requirement.

Empty and limited states

  • Insufficient data. If the planner cannot find usable quota capacity and assumptions for the period, it reports how many quota-carrying sellers it found and asks for the missing inputs rather than guessing.
  • No planning groups. If a scenario returns no groups, the table says so instead of rendering an empty grid.
  • Planner unavailable. If the endpoint fails, an inline error with a Retry button appears — press it once the issue clears.

Troubleshooting

  • I do not see Capacity Planning. It is limited to the CRO and Sales Leader personas. Confirm your role, or preview with ?persona=cro on the home URL.
  • The Segment grouping is missing. Segment grouping only shows when your data has a usable, executable segment breakdown; otherwise it is hidden.
  • Coverage defaults to 3x. When no reviewed coverage setting is found, the planner falls back to a 3.0x pipeline coverage target. Set your own in the Coverage target field.