Docs/Metrics & Definitions/Allocation

Allocation

What is the Allocation Feature?

The Allocation dashboard provides an in-depth view of how a team’s time and efforts are distributed across various types of work over a given period. This tool helps teams achieve a balanced workflow by visualizing different work categories, allowing them to prioritize effectively, manage unforeseen tasks, and maintain focus on long-term goals.

Metrics: Understanding the Four Types of Work

It's important to balance the different types of work a team handles to maintain productivity and ensure alignment with strategic objectives. This dashboard categorizes work into four types to help visualize and manage this balance:

Roadmap Work

  • What: Roadmap work refers to tasks planned in advance that contribute to the product’s strategic goals, such as new feature development, enhancements, or other major initiatives.

  • Why it matters: Focusing on roadmap work ensures the team consistently works toward long-term milestones and objectives, staying aligned with the company's strategic vision.

  • How to use it: Regularly monitor the percentage of time dedicated to roadmap work. Ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to long-term goals without being overshadowed by unplanned tasks or maintenance.

  • User interface:

Unplanned Work/Opportunities

  • What: This category includes tasks that arise unexpectedly or are identified as opportunities, such as urgent customer requests or ad-hoc improvements.

  • Why it matters: While unplanned work can offer immediate value, an imbalance can disrupt planned activities, reducing the team's ability to focus on key goals.

  • How to use it: Track unplanned work carefully to prevent it from consuming too much time. Compare it against roadmap work to ensure unplanned tasks are not derailing strategic progress.

  • Example: The example highlights a significant rise in unplanned tasks and opportunities. While these tasks can add value, having 43% of work allocated to unplanned tasks is high and overshadows the team's focus on roadmap work.

Planned Maintenance

  • What: This category includes routine and scheduled activities necessary for maintaining the product's health, such as updates, refactoring, and cleanups.

  • Why it matters: Consistent, planned maintenance helps prevent technical debt, ensuring product stability and efficiency over time.

  • How to use it: Ensure that planned maintenance is allocated regularly to keep the system running smoothly. Monitor how much time is devoted to these tasks and compare it with other categories to maintain a balanced approach.

  • Example: The example shows a low amount of planned maintenance tasks followed by a sudden spike. Some teams prefer to schedule a dedicated "clean-up" or "maintenance" sprint every few weeks, while others integrate maintenance tasks into their regular bi-weekly sprint workload to avoid these sudden peaks in maintenance activity.

Unplanned Maintenance

  • What: Unplanned maintenance includes reactive tasks like emergency bug fixes or urgent repairs, which are unpredictable and necessary for maintaining product stability.

  • Why it matters: Frequent unplanned maintenance can indicate underlying system issues and, if not managed properly, may impact the team’s ability to focus on roadmap work.

  • How to use it: Monitor the frequency and volume of unplanned maintenance. If this category starts consuming too much time, it may indicate the need for improvements in system stability or proactive measures to reduce emergencies.

  • Example: This example shows a stable level of unplanned maintenance with no sudden spikes. Continue monitoring this metric regularly to quickly identify any unexpected increases that could impact your team's workload.

Allocation Dashboard

The Allocation Dashboard is designed to help teams maintain a healthy balance of all work types, providing insights that allow for proactive management of tasks and resources:

Filters

The Date Filter allows you to view data for specific time periods. You can filter for the last month, quarter, or 365 days. If you need more granular control, you can filter by a custom date range.

Use the Squad Filter to view the allocation for individual squads. If you want a broader overview of all teams, select the "All" filter to see the allocation across all squads at once.

Use the Players Filter to focus on individual team members or a specific group within your squad. You can select one member for a detailed view, a group of team members if they form a sub-squad, or all team members for an overview of the entire squad's allocation.

Explore Best Practices

How To Maintain Balance Across Allocation Types

Conclusion

The Allocation Dashboard provides a clear, actionable overview of how team efforts are distributed across different types of work. By conducting regular reviews and maintaining flexibility, teams can stay aligned with business objectives while adapting to changes in workload distribution. Leveraging this tool helps maintain a balanced workflow, focus on strategic goals, and enhance overall team effectiveness in delivering value.