"We could probably start next month"
A good prospect asks when the studio could start. The owner thinks about the current projects: two in design, one waiting on content, one in build. She says next month. The prospect signs.
Next month, the project waiting on content suddenly gets its content and needs building. A design project has had its sign-off delayed by the client and now overlaps with the new one. The lead designer is working on three projects at once, and the developer is being asked to build two sites in the same weeks. Something has to slip, and it is usually the newest client, who was promised a start date.
Why start dates are guesses
- The schedule of current projects lives in the owner's head or a whiteboard.
- Projects waiting on clients can restart at any moment, taking capacity back.
- Capacity is by role, a designer and a developer are not interchangeable, but the guess is made for the whole team.
- The pipeline of likely deals is not considered, so several prospects are all told "next month".
- Maintenance and support work takes capacity every week but is not counted.
Studios are busiest when they are winning work, which is exactly when the gut-feel answer is most likely to be wrong.
What a wrong start date costs
Projects overlap and quality drops. Clients who were promised a start are kept waiting, which starts the relationship badly. The team works long hours to cover the gap. The owner turns down good work later, because it is unclear how full the studio really is.
The capacity view we build
- Each live project is broken into stages with estimated effort by role, taken from your estimator or proposal, and planned dates.
- Projects waiting on clients are shown with their likely restart date and the capacity they will need when they restart.
- Maintenance and support is included as a regular weekly allowance per role, based on recent tickets.
- Pipeline deals are included with their likelihood, so the view shows both committed work and probable work.
- The view shows, week by week, how much of each role is committed and how much is free.
- When a prospect asks, the owner can place the new project in the view and see the earliest start that does not overload any role.
- Stage dates update from your project tool as projects move, so the view stays current.
| Input | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Live projects and stages | Project tool and proposals |
| Effort by role | Estimator or proposal breakdown |
| Projects waiting on clients | Status in the project tool |
| Support load | Recent tickets from your support desk |
| Pipeline | CRM deals with likelihood |
The view shows likely capacity, not certainty. Client delays still happen, but the owner can see the risk and plan for it.
Answering the start-date question
The prospect asks when the studio could start. The owner places the project in the capacity view and sees that design has room soon, but development is committed for a while longer because two stalled projects are due to restart. She offers a design start now and a build start later, explains why, and the prospect appreciates the honesty. The project runs without overlapping the others.
Are start dates a guess at your studio?
- Start dates are promised from gut feel.
- Projects waiting on clients restart and overlap new ones.
- Designers or developers regularly juggle several projects in the same weeks.
- Several prospects have been told the same start date.
- Support work is not counted when planning projects.