Weekly task capacity equals people multiplied by weekly hours per person, multiplied by the productive-time fraction, multiplied by 60, divided by minutes per task. Round down when only completed tasks count. This is an estimate of available effort for a uniform task, not a promise that every task can be scheduled.
whole tasks = floor(people * hours * (productive_percent / 100) * 60 / minutes_per_task)
In this guide, the percentage is entered as 75 for 75%, and duration is entered in minutes. The sample calculator in the calculator studio uses the same units.
A worked example: four people, 240 tasks
Suppose four people each have 40 hours available this week. You estimate that 75% of those hours can go toward the task, and each task requires 30 minutes.
- Total scheduled time: 4 people times 40 hours = 160 hours.
- Time available for the task: 160 times 0.75 = 120 hours.
- Convert to minutes: 120 times 60 = 7,200 minutes.
- Divide by task duration: 7,200 / 30 = 240 completed tasks.
The expected answer is 240. Enter that value as an independent example check before changing the formula. A passing result confirms this case, not every assumption behind it.
What belongs in productive time?
Use the share of scheduled hours actually available for the modeled task. Meetings, leave, administration, setup and other work can reduce that share. Use a percentage supported by your own observations; 75% here is an illustrative input, not an industry benchmark.
Avoid deducting the same time twice. If your hours input already excludes leave and meetings, do not subtract those hours again through the percentage. Write down whether weekly hours means contracted time, scheduled time or time already allocated to this particular task.
Compare three scenarios
Keep the same four people and 40 weekly hours, then change one assumption at a time:
- 75% productive time, 30 minutes per task: 240 tasks.
- 50% productive time, 30 minutes per task: 160 tasks. Less time is available even though headcount is unchanged.
- 75% productive time, 45 minutes per task: 160 tasks. The same available effort completes fewer longer tasks.
These are model scenarios, not measured improvements. Compare them with actual work before using the estimate in a client commitment.
Why round down?
If one person has eight hours, 75% is available and each task takes 50 minutes, capacity is 8 times 0.75 times 60 / 50 = 7.2 tasks. The model reports 7 whole tasks. Rounding up to eight would claim 400 minutes of work from only 360 available minutes.
Rounding is about the question being answered. A training-cohort model might round up because every learner needs a seat. A capacity model rounds down when unfinished tasks do not count. See the rounding and verification guide for the distinction.
When this formula is not enough
The simple model assumes interchangeable people, uniform task duration and time that can be pooled. It does not account for specialist skills, handoffs, equipment bottlenecks, simultaneous coverage, task dependencies or variation in incoming demand.
Pooling can overstate completed work. Two people with 60 available minutes each and a 40-minute task give floor(120 / 40) = 3 pooled tasks. If each task must be completed by one person during that period, each person can finish only one: two in total. Use a per-person or scheduling model when work cannot be split or carried over.
For mixed task types, estimate the effort required for the actual mix or model each work category with its own constraints. An average duration can hide a bottleneck. For a staffing or service commitment, check peak periods and delivery constraints separately.
Turn the estimate into a client tool
- Open the studio and choose Team capacity planner.
- Set the tool title, client-facing labels and brand.
- Document the time basis, task definition and exclusions.
- Check 240 for the worked case, 0 for zero available hours, and 7 for the rounding case.
- Save a version after all expected answers pass, then export the HTML calculator and validation report.
The local preview stores authoring history in the current browser. Keep exported copies with your handoff notes. The downloaded calculator has no account dependency and does not send the client's inputs to HTML Workflows.