Demand forecasting

Demand forecasting in capacity planning is the practice of projecting how much staff effort a portfolio will need over a future window. Inputs typically include confirmed projects with their staffing plans, tentative projects weighted by likelihood and standing operational work. Outputs are usually expressed in hours or FTE per trade per period, so leadership can compare projected need against projected supply.

A common output is a per-trade table showing allocated, available, needed and gap for the next two to four quarters. When "needed" exceeds "available" for a trade, the forecast surfaces a hiring or contractor decision early enough to act on. When "available" exceeds "needed," the forecast surfaces a sales or pipeline decision instead. The horizon depends on the lead time of the underlying decisions.

Related: capacity planning, tentative project, executive horizon.