01
Translate the opportunity
Define roles, skills, effort and timing with delivery input. Record start-date confidence separately from confidence in winning.
Accountable team: Sales and delivery
USE-CASE PLAYBOOK
Forecast delivery capacity
Prepare for likely work without treating every opportunity as a commitment.
Explore the workflow
THE OPERATING QUESTION
When the next decision cannot wait.
Several opportunities need similar specialist skills within overlapping start windows.
Revenue pipeline alone cannot reveal which people will be needed. Translate opportunities into roles, hours and dates. Review the committed scenario separately from potential upside so tentative work does not silently consume capacity required for signed engagements.
For Sales leaders, resource managers and practice heads.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Put the decision in context.
Illustrative scenario: two possible projects each need the same specialist full time. A probability-weighted forecast can suggest that one person is sufficient, while winning both creates a simultaneous shortfall. Review that scenario before either start date is promised.
A PRACTICAL WAY FORWARD
Four steps. An owner at every handoff.
02
Build the supply view
Include confirmed assignments, planned leave, expected releases and realistic joining readiness. Identify uncertain inputs.
Accountable team: Resource manager
03
Compare scenarios
Assess committed work, likely demand and overlapping wins. Make shortfalls visible by skill and week.
Accountable team: Practice leader
04
Agree a trigger for action
Set the event that confirms a reservation, initiates hiring or secures partner capacity. Review it as the opportunity changes.
Accountable team: Commercial owner
HANDLE THE EXCEPTION
The path is rarely a straight line.
When the customer date changes, review both the held capacity and the projects depending on its release. Do not update the revenue forecast without checking the staffing effect.
WHAT SHOULD CHANGE
A decision people can act on.
A dated capacity forecast with explicit confidence and decision triggers. The plan shows trade-offs before they become customer commitments.
Explore the Clousys capabilities →EVIDENCE, NOT ACTIVITY
Know what you will measure.
Forecast start variance
Difference between the assumed and actual start date, with cause.
Role coverage
Confirmed requirements with validated capacity in the required period.
Late staffing changes
Assignments or sourcing decisions made after the agreed planning cut-off.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Make the next operating review more useful.
Take the framework to your team. Bring one live workflow, its owners and the evidence behind the next decision.
