Creating Team Workload Dashboards

Invisible workload imbalances lead to burnout, missed deadlines, and team dysfunction. Workload dashboards make capacity visible so managers can balance work proactively, team members can flag overload, and stakeholders can understand resource constraints.

Workload Visibility Goals

Dashboard Components

Team Workload Overview

TEAM WORKLOAD DASHBOARD
═══════════════════════

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Sprint 23 Workload Overview                           │
│  Mar 18-29 | Capacity: 55 pts | Assigned: 52 pts       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  TEAM MEMBER ALLOCATION                                 │
│                                                         │
│  @sarah    ████████████████████░ 12 pts (100%)    ✓   │
│  @mike     █████████████████████ 14 pts (116%)    ⚠   │
│  @lisa     ████████████████░░░░░ 10 pts (83%)     ✓   │
│  @tom      ██████████████████░░░ 11 pts (92%)     ✓   │
│  @alex     ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  5 pts (42%)     ▼   │
│                                                         │
│  LEGEND:                                                │
│  ✓ Healthy (70-100%) | ⚠ Over (>100%) | ▼ Under (<70%)│
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ALERTS                                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ⚠ @mike is overallocated by 2 points                 │
│  ℹ @alex has capacity for 7 more points               │
│  ⏰ 3 tasks due today                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Individual Workload View

INDIVIDUAL WORKLOAD VIEW
════════════════════════

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  @mike - Workload Details                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  CAPACITY:    12 points/sprint                         │
│  ASSIGNED:    14 points (116%) ⚠                       │
│  IN PROGRESS:  3 tasks (8 points)                      │
│  BLOCKED:      1 task (waiting on API)                 │
│                                                         │
│  CURRENT TASKS:                                         │
│  ├── ● Login API implementation     5 pts  In Progress│
│  ├── ● OAuth integration            3 pts  In Progress│
│  ├── ● Password reset               3 pts  In Progress│
│  ├── ○ Session management           3 pts  Todo       │
│  └── ⚠ API design review            -      Blocked    │
│                                                         │
│  WIP: 3 (Limit: 3) ⚠ At limit                         │
│                                                         │
│  HISTORICAL:                                            │
│  ├── Last sprint: 11 pts completed                     │
│  ├── Avg velocity: 10.5 pts                            │
│  └── Completion rate: 92%                              │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Workload Metrics

Key Indicators

WORKLOAD METRICS
════════════════

CAPACITY METRICS:
├── Story points capacity (based on velocity)
├── Available hours (minus meetings, PTO)
├── WIP limit compliance
└── Focus time available

ALLOCATION METRICS:
├── Points/hours assigned
├── Tasks assigned (count)
├── Assignments across projects
└── Upcoming due dates

EXECUTION METRICS:
├── Points in progress
├── Points completed
├── Blocked work
└── Overdue items

TREND METRICS:
├── Velocity over time
├── Capacity utilization trend
├── Burnout indicators
└── Balance across team

Healthy Ranges

WORKLOAD HEALTH INDICATORS
══════════════════════════

CAPACITY UTILIZATION:
├── < 70%:  Under-utilized
├── 70-85%: Healthy target
├── 85-100%: At capacity
└── > 100%: Overloaded ⚠

WIP COUNT:
├── 1 task:  Focused ✓
├── 2-3 tasks: Normal
├── 4+ tasks: Context switching ⚠

BLOCKED RATIO:
├── 0%:     Ideal
├── 1-10%:  Normal
├── 10-25%: Concerning
└── > 25%:  Process problem ⚠

OVERDUE RATIO:
├── 0%:     Ideal
├── < 5%:   Acceptable
├── 5-15%:  Needs attention
└── > 15%:  Planning problem ⚠

Dashboard Setup

Creating Workload Dashboard

GITSCRUM WORKLOAD DASHBOARD SETUP
═════════════════════════════════

STEP 1: Create Dashboard
─────────────────────────────────────
Dashboard → New Dashboard
Name: "Team Workload"
Type: Team Dashboard

STEP 2: Add Widgets
─────────────────────────────────────

WIDGET 1: Team Allocation Chart
├── Type: Bar chart
├── Data: Points by assignee
├── Show: Capacity line
└── Alert: > 100%

WIDGET 2: WIP by Person
├── Type: Table
├── Data: Tasks in progress by assignee
├── Show: WIP limit
└── Alert: At or over limit

WIDGET 3: Overdue Items
├── Type: List
├── Data: Tasks past due
├── Group by: Assignee
└── Sort: Most overdue first

WIDGET 4: Blocked Work
├── Type: List
├── Data: Tasks with blocked label
├── Show: Duration blocked
└── Group by: Blocker type

STEP 3: Configure Alerts
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Over capacity: Slack @manager
├── WIP exceeded: Slack @team-lead
├── Blocked > 24h: Slack assignee + lead
└── Overdue: Daily summary

Team View Configuration

TEAM VIEW CONFIGURATION
═══════════════════════

DISPLAY OPTIONS:
├── Group by: Assignee
├── Sort: By workload %
├── Show: Capacity bars
├── Include: Active sprints
└── Exclude: Done items

COLUMNS:
├── Name
├── Assigned points
├── Capacity %
├── WIP count
├── Blocked count
├── Overdue count
└── Status indicator

FILTERS:
├── Sprint: Current
├── Status: Not done
├── Project: [All / Select]
└── Team: [All / Select]

Balancing Workload

Identifying Imbalances

WORKLOAD IMBALANCE DETECTION
════════════════════════════

SIGNALS OF OVERLOAD:
├── Consistently > 100% allocation
├── WIP limit always maxed
├── Increasing blocked items
├── Declining velocity
├── Working extra hours
├── Stress indicators
└── Quality declining

SIGNALS OF UNDERLOAD:
├── Consistently < 70% allocation
├── Completing early
├── Asking for more work
├── Helping others frequently
└── Idle time visible

SYSTEMIC IMBALANCES:
├── One person always overloaded
├── Skill concentration
├── Single point of failure
├── Knowledge silos
└── Uneven task distribution

Rebalancing Actions

WORKLOAD REBALANCING
════════════════════

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
├── Move task to less loaded person
├── Pair overloaded with underloaded
├── Delay non-critical work
├── Get help on blockers
└── Communicate timeline impact

MEDIUM-TERM ACTIONS:
├── Cross-train for skill distribution
├── Adjust capacity estimates
├── Review estimation accuracy
├── Reduce context switching
└── Address chronic blockers

SYSTEMIC CHANGES:
├── Hire for skill gaps
├── Improve task distribution process
├── Set stricter WIP limits
├── Build redundancy in skills
└── Regular capacity planning

Best Practices

For Workload Dashboards

1. Update real-time — Stale data is useless
2. Make it visible — Team can see their load
3. Clear thresholds — When is overload?
4. Action-oriented — What to do when overloaded
5. Historical context — Trends matter more than snapshots

Anti-Patterns

WORKLOAD DASHBOARD MISTAKES:
✗ Only managers can see it
✗ Data is days old
✗ No alerts for problems
✗ Task count instead of effort
✗ Ignoring blocked work
✗ Not accounting for meetings
✗ Punitive use (blame)
✗ No action taken on imbalances

Related Solutions

• Preventing developer burnout
• Managing remote teams effectively
• Creating executive dashboards in GitScrum