Idle capacity
Also known as A blocked stage
Definition
Idle capacity is unused capacity under a stated boundary and time window. It can be valuable slack that absorbs variation, or it can signal missing demand, a dependency, or a policy that prevents safe pulling.
Idle capacity in practice
Idle capacity is unused capacity under a stated boundary and time window. It can be valuable slack that absorbs variation, or it can signal missing demand, a dependency, or a policy that prevents safe pulling.
A concrete example
An illustrative tester has no eligible work because all available changes are waiting for a product decision. The tester is not evidence of excess staffing; the system has a readiness constraint upstream.
How to use the signal
Compare this measure with cycle time, throughput, work in progress, and queue time. Define the start and finish events, inspect distributions instead of relying on one average, and record the policy behind any comparison. A useful measure should lead to a specific question about flow rather than a score for an individual.
Limitations
Capacity is difficult to infer from activity alone, especially for knowledge work. Do not turn idle-capacity estimates into individual utilization targets or ignore support, learning, and coordination work.
How this relates to Weave
Weave's engineering intelligence can help teams inspect delivery activity and timing around idle capacity. Use those signals to find patterns and test workflow improvements, while keeping the team's work system as the source of truth for product, operational, and dependency context.
Explore Engineering intelligence