Calculator Inputs
Use the fields below to estimate workable hours, realistic focus time, and safer sprint commitment based on historical velocity.
Plotly Capacity Graph
The chart compares gross time, availability-adjusted time, net workable time, and final focus-adjusted delivery hours.
Example Data Table
| Scenario | Team Size | Sprint Days | Hours/Day | Availability % | Meetings/Day | Support/Day | Leave Days | Holidays | Focus % | Velocity | Safe Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced Feature Sprint | 7 | 10 | 8 | 95 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3 | 1 | 85 | 42 | 20.25 |
| Support Heavy Sprint | 6 | 10 | 8 | 90 | 1.5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 78 | 36 | 14.74 |
| Low Interruption Sprint | 8 | 10 | 8 | 97 | 0.8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 48 | 31.67 |
Formula Used
1. Gross Hours
Gross Hours = Team Size × Sprint Days × Work Hours Per Day
2. Availability-Adjusted Hours
Availability-Adjusted Hours = Gross Hours × (Availability Percentage ÷ 100)
3. Net Hours Before Focus
Net Hours = Availability-Adjusted Hours − Meeting Hours − Support Hours − Leave Hours − Holiday Hours
4. Effective Capacity Hours
Effective Capacity Hours = Net Hours × (Focus Factor ÷ 100)
5. Safe Story Point Commitment
Safe Story Points = Historical Velocity × (Effective Hours ÷ Gross Hours) × (1 − Risk Buffer)
This approach turns a raw staffing picture into a practical delivery target. It is useful when a team needs realistic commitment guidance instead of optimistic planning.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the number of people actively contributing during the sprint.
- Set sprint length and expected working hours per person each day.
- Adjust availability if team members are partially allocated elsewhere.
- Add planned meetings, support work, leave days, and public holidays.
- Use focus factor to reflect interruptions, switching cost, and real coding time.
- Enter historical velocity and a risk buffer for safer commitment guidance.
- Submit the form to view hours, person-days, scope range, and the chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does sprint capacity mean?
Sprint capacity is the realistic amount of work time your team can spend during a sprint after meetings, leave, holidays, support duties, and interruptions are considered.
2. Why is historical velocity included?
Historical velocity helps convert hours into a more practical story point target. It keeps your planning grounded in actual team delivery patterns rather than guesses.
3. What is the focus factor?
Focus factor estimates how much of the remaining planned time becomes productive delivery time. It captures interruptions, switching cost, review delays, and communication overhead.
4. Should support work be entered daily?
Yes. This calculator treats support hours as total team support time per day. It works well for planned incident response, ticket triage, and stakeholder requests.
5. Why add a risk buffer?
A risk buffer lowers the commitment target to account for uncertainty. It helps teams avoid overpromising when requirements, dependencies, or production work may change.
6. Can this calculator replace sprint planning?
No. It supports planning decisions, but backlog readiness, skill mix, dependencies, and urgency still need discussion during planning and refinement sessions.
7. Why can safe points be much lower than velocity?
Safe points drop when capacity shrinks through leave, meetings, holidays, support work, or lower focus time. The calculator reduces scope to reflect those constraints.
8. What is the best way to improve sprint capacity?
Reduce unnecessary meetings, protect maker time, clarify backlog items earlier, smooth support load, and plan leave transparently. Small operational changes usually improve delivery reliability.