How to plan capacity in Jira
You can build a working capacity plan in Jira in a few minutes: open the Capacity tab, add people, assign work, and set weekly allocations.
Before you start
The Capacity view is available to Premium and Enterprise customers, and it’s a view you add to your Jira spaces. You do not need to configure anything to turn it on.
Open any space in Jira and look for the Capacity tab in the navigation. If you do not see it, click the plus, located on the right side of your space navigation, to add it. Admins do not need to enable anything: the tab appears in the space navigation on its own.
Capacity plans use a fixed 40-hour work week as a baseline. If your admin has changed the default time settings, Jira flags the difference so you know the plan may not match.
How to build your first capacity plan
Start from the people side or the work side, whichever matches how you plan. The steps are the same either way.
Open the Capacity tab in your space.
Add the team members you want to plan for, or add the work items you need staffed.
Assign work by linking people to work items, epic and above.
Set an allocation for each week by entering a percentage, a number of days, or hours in the cell.
Adjust as you go. Copy, paste, and drag across cells to fill a plan quickly.
How to account for leave and non-project work
A plan that only counts project work is fiction. On-call rotations, training, maintenance, and the general work of running the business all consume real capacity.
Add these as allocations the same way you add project work. When you mark two weeks of leave for someone, their available capacity adjusts automatically, so the rest of the plan reflects who is actually around.
How to spot and fix overallocation
As you assign work and set allocations, a capacity bar updates in real time for each person. When someone's total for a week exceeds 100 percent, the bar turns red.
That red bar is your cue to rebalance before the week starts, not after it goes wrong. Move work to someone with room, shift it to a later week, or reset expectations while there is still time to act.
How to import a capacity plan from a spreadsheet
If your capacity plan already lives in a spreadsheet, you do not have to rebuild it by hand. Import the CSV directly into Jira, and it maps your data to Jira work items and team members for you.
Choose the import option in the Capacity view.
Upload your CSV.
Review the suggested mapping to work items and people.
Accept or dismiss each suggestion, in bulk or one at a time.
Adjust the plan once it loads.
Most teams go from spreadsheet to a working capacity view in a few minutes.
How to update your plan with Rovo
You can update a capacity plan by chatting with Rovo. Instead of clicking through cells, describe the change you need and let Rovo apply it to the plan.
Best practices for capacity planning in Jira
Plan at the right altitude. Use Plans for team throughput and the Capacity view for individual weeks. Do not force one to do the other's job.
Count all the work. Add leave, on-call, and maintenance from the start, or your plan will overstate how much room people have.
Act on the red bar. Overallocation is only useful if you rebalance when you see it. Treat a red week as a decision, not a warning to ignore.
Start from your spreadsheet. Import what you already have rather than starting from a blank plan, then refine inside Jira.
Keep the plan current. A capacity plan is only as good as its last update. Because it lives with the work, keeping it current takes minutes, not a meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start capacity planning in Jira?
Open a business project, find the Capacity tab in the navigation, and add it with the plus if it is not visible. Then add people, assign work, and set weekly allocations.
Do I need admin access to use the Capacity view?
No. The Capacity tab appears in the space navigation without configuration. Capacity planning is available to Premium and Enterprise customers.
Can I import an existing capacity spreadsheet?
Yes. Import your CSV and Jira maps the data to work items and team members. You review each suggestion, accept or dismiss it, and adjust the plan once it loads.
How does Jira show that someone is overallocated?
Each person has a capacity bar that updates as you plan. When their total for a week goes over 100 percent, the bar turns red so you can rebalance before the week begins.
Can I plan capacity by hours instead of percentages?
Yes. You can allocate capacity by percentage, days, or hours, whichever fits your team. Plans use a fixed 40-hour work week as the baseline, so enter your value against that.
How do I update a capacity plan quickly?
You can edit cells directly like a spreadsheet, or update the plan by talking to Rovo in chat. Both keep the plan connected to your real Jira work items and people.