Body of Knowledge · Glossary
Capacity allocation
A stated share of a team's capacity for platform, reliability and debt, held under pressure, so that foundational work is a decision rather than whatever is left over. Zero is also a decision, and it comes with a date on which it fails.
Where the standard develops it
- SV-3RoadmappingBalancing product delivery against platform and quality investment.
Related terms
- Admission criteria
- The written statement of how an initiative gets onto a department roadmap (expected contribution to stated outcomes, cost, risk, dependencies), so that a request is answered with the criteria rather than with a no.
- Horizon mix
- The explicit split of an organisation's capacity between serving the current business, building the platform the strategy will need in a few years, and exploring what might disrupt everything.
- Sunk cost
- What has already been spent, which argues for nothing in a decision about the future.
Cite this definition
Chicago, BibTeX and licence →Engineering Management Academy. (2026). Capacity allocation. In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.1, GLO.capacity-allocation). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/glossary/capacity-allocation