Capacity decision record for owner-led agencies

Can we take this urgent client request without breaking another promise?

An urgent request can be reasonable and still need a visible trade. Put the real capacity facts in one place before you promise both outcomes.

First action: name the protected work

Before estimating the new request, identify the commitment that would lose protection if you accepted it at the requested speed. If you cannot name one, check whether you are borrowing from quality, margin, or someone's unrecorded time.

Build the capacity-swap decision

This does not decide scope, price, or staffing for you. It makes the operational choice visible: include the request, trade a named commitment, or defer the full request.

Capacity-swap decision record

Your entries stay in this browser. Count only capacity you have confirmed can deliver the right work at the required quality.

Urgent request name Hours needed before the requested timing Genuinely free capacity before that timing Confirmed extra capacity before that timing Possible extra capacity not yet confirmed Can the new request be narrowed? Named commitment that could move Hours released if that commitment moves Is that commitment's timing movable? Can the capacity counted actually deliver this request?

How to use the result

Include

Capacity is genuinely free

Accept the request only when the required hours fit without moving protected work. Confirm the requested outcome and timing, then record the allocation.

Trade

The client needs to choose a visible swap

Offer the real alternatives: move a named commitment, narrow the urgent request, or add confirmed capacity. Do not say yes first and discover the displaced outcome later.

Defer

No responsible full-request route exists

Keep the existing promise intact and offer the next viable planning conversation. A clear no to this timing is better than a hidden quality or delivery failure.

What belongs in the final record

The request, requested timing, and hours used for the decision.
The free and confirmed added capacity actually counted, plus why it is capable of this work.
The named protected commitment, if one would move.
The client choice or agency decision that made the plan responsible.
The one follow-up check that confirms the plan still holds.

Related Qubit guides and tools

Why this exists beside current guidance

Useful agency resources already cover request intake, scope changes, and capacity planning. This page focuses on one live decision: whether a request can enter this window without silently displacing a protected commitment.