Templates
Structure, not data.
Each template sets up rows, weeks and default hours, and nothing else. No names, no allocations, no pretend teams. You supply the facts.
Six structures
Pick a shape. Fill it with your own facts.
Rows start unnamed and every cell starts unset, which is deliberate. The row and hour counts below are starting shapes, not recommendations about how big your team should be. Change any of them in the planner once it opens.
-
Two-week commit
One iteration with a hard date. Short enough to read every cell in a minute.
- Rows
- 6, unnamed
- Weeks
- 2
- Hours / week
- 40 each, editable
- Demand row
- Optional, always available
- Use for
- A short sprint, a deadline fortnight, a release freeze.
-
Four-week month
A monthly view with a demand row, for teams whose work arrives in monthly batches.
- Rows
- 8, unnamed
- Weeks
- 4
- Hours / week
- 40 each, editable
- Demand row
- Included
- Use for
- Monthly planning, retainers, rolling support teams.
-
Thirteen-week quarter
The common quarterly horizon. Thirteen weeks, a demand row, and room to see a mid-quarter dip.
- Rows
- 8, unnamed
- Weeks
- 13
- Hours / week
- 40 each, editable
- Demand row
- Included
- Use for
- Quarterly planning, OKR cycles, programme reviews.
-
Half-year roadmap
Twenty-six weeks for longer commitments. Expect to zoom the page out or scroll; use it for shape, not detail.
- Rows
- 10, unnamed
- Weeks
- 26
- Hours / week
- 40 each, editable
- Demand row
- Included
- Use for
- Roadmaps, hiring plans, multi-phase projects.
-
Part-time bench
Defaults every row to twenty hours a week, for teams of part-timers or people split across two jobs.
- Rows
- 6, unnamed
- Weeks
- 12
- Hours / week
- 20 each, editable
- Demand row
- Optional, always available
- Use for
- Part-time staff, shared specialists, volunteer groups.
-
Pitch crunch
Six weeks, five rows, a demand row. Built for the plans that are expected to run hot so you can see exactly where.
- Rows
- 5, unnamed
- Weeks
- 6
- Hours / week
- 40 each, editable
- Demand row
- Included
- Use for
- Bids, launches, event build-ups, audit seasons.
Your own
Or specify the structure yourself.
Set the size you need. Open it straight in the planner, or download an empty CSV skeleton to fill in a spreadsheet first.
Choosing well
Three decisions before you open one.
Horizon
Choose the shortest window that covers the commitment you are testing. A longer window adds columns, and every extra column is a place where a number must be defended. If a commitment runs for six months but the real pressure is in the first six weeks, plan the first six weeks properly and extend later.
Person or team rows
Use a row per person wherever one person cannot stand in for another: a specialist, a sole approver, someone on a fixed contract. Use a team row only for interchangeable people, and set its hours to headcount times hours each. Team rows are quicker to fill but they average away the individual who is at 140%.
Demand row
The grid can tell you who is overbooked without it. It cannot tell you whether the team covers the work. If you can estimate the work in hours per week, enter it; the Gap row then does the subtraction for you. If you cannot, say so in the audit and treat the verdict as unproven.
What a template is not
It is not a benchmark and it makes no claim about how large a team should be. The shapes are conveniences. Change anything once the planner is open.