How do you build an IT team workload plan?
An IT team workload plan crosses net capacity (after leave, run, training) with project demand. Centralize allocations, cap at 100%, detect multi-project conflicts, and arbitrate in committee. Workload replaces the shared spreadsheet: net capacity, overload alerts, linked timesheet — for IT orgs of 20–500, from $59/month.
IT team workload plan
without a shared spreadsheet
The IT workload plan is no longer a frozen spreadsheet: net capacity, visible conflicts, and PMO arbitration in one tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an IT team workload plan?+
It is the view that crosses who is available (net capacity) with committed work (projects, run, leave). CIOs and PMOs use it to decide go / defer without overloading teams.
How is it different from IT capacity planning?+
Capacity planning answers “can we take this portfolio?”. The workload plan operationalizes that answer week by week (allocations, conflicts, committee). Workload covers both — see IT capacity planning.
Can Excel hold an IT workload plan?+
Up to ~15 people and few projects, yes. Beyond that, version conflicts and manual consolidation explode. See Excel capacity plan alternative.
How does the PMO use the workload plan?+
To allocate Hard/Soft/Tentative, prepare the capacity committee, and justify hiring. See PMO resource allocation tool.
Should the workload plan link to timesheets?+
Yes, to compare plan vs actual. Workload syncs Jira Tempo, Azure DevOps, Toggl, or Clockify depending on plan.
Where to start if we only have Excel today?+
Import CSV (teams, projects, allocations), see who is over 100%, then run a 30-minute committee. 14-day trial, no credit card.
Does the plan cover run and build?+
Yes. Splitting run/build avoids believing project capacity remains when support consumes 60–70% of time.
What ROI when leaving an Excel capacity plan?+
For an 80-person IT org, year-1 TCO gap vs a dedicated tool often exceeds $50k. Model your case on the ROI calculator.