# Planning and staffing with AI (https://docs.akollo.com/en/ai/planning)



## Ask about people and capacity [#ask-about-people-and-capacity]

In the assistant, a manager can ask planning questions in plain language, for example "who on my team is free next week?" or "who is a good fit for this task?". The assistant answers with facts it reads for you, the same way the screens show them:

| Fact               | What the assistant reads                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Skill profile**  | A person's current skills and levels, and whether each is validated or certified                                                                                |
| **Eligibility**    | Whether people can take a work item, and why not: missing skill, below the required level, an expiring certificate, no capacity, or a separation-of-duties rule |
| **Free hours**     | Planned versus available hours over a range of up to a month                                                                                                    |
| **Top candidates** | The best-ranked people from your latest staffing recommendation for an item                                                                                     |
| **Who's free**     | Your team's free hours for a range, and whether someone has leave in it                                                                                         |

What you see is exactly what you could see on the pages. Managers see the people in their own teams. Everyone else sees only themselves. People outside your scope are left out of the answer. Leave shows only as "on leave", never the type or reason, and pay is never used. When a source cannot answer, the assistant says "unknown" instead of guessing.

## Assigning several items at once [#assigning-several-items-at-once]

When a manager staffs several work items together, Akollo proposes one person per item so the overall fit is as high as possible. It respects the rules:

* only people who are eligible for the item,
* nobody on leave,
* nobody beyond their free hours or the allocation limit,
* no one person loaded with more than a fair share of the items.

If an item has nobody who fits, it stays unassigned rather than going to someone who does not. The same facts always give the same proposal, and a manager still confirms every assignment.

## Staffing suggestions [#staffing-suggestions]

Ask the assistant "who should take this?" on one or more work items. For each item, you get a card with up to three best-fitting people from your own teams and one growth pick. A growth pick is someone who meets the rules but has less proven experience, so the work can help them grow. Each person shows how they fit on skill, availability, familiarity with the project and current workload. Akollo calculates the ranking and the numbers. The assistant may add a short explanation, but it never changes the order. When you staff several items together, Akollo also marks the person it proposes for each item so nobody is overloaded.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Ask for suggestions [#ask-for-suggestions]

    On one or more work items, ask the assistant "who should take this?" or use **/staff**.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Compare the people [#compare-the-people]

    Read the card: up to three best-fitting people and one growth pick, each with their fit on skill, availability, familiarity with the project and current workload.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Assign [#assign]

    Press **Assign**. Choosing the first person needs no reason. Choosing anyone else asks you for a reason, which is recorded with your decision.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Nothing is assigned until you press **Assign**. People who break a rule (for example, separation of duties) are never offered. Pay is never used.

## Draft a project plan [#draft-a-project-plan]

Describe what you want to achieve in a few sentences, pick the project it belongs to and, if you like, a starting outline (software delivery, campaign or process improvement). The assistant drafts a plan of epics, stories and tasks with estimate ranges and dependencies. It shows a preview with the number of items and the total estimate. Nothing is created yet: you can edit the draft like any other breakdown.

When you choose **Create**, the items are added to the project with your permissions. A large plan needs a second pair of eyes. When a plan, together with the plans its author created in the same project during the last day, has more than 20 items, someone with plan-approval rights other than its author must approve it first. Akollo sends the approval request when you try to create the items. Once it is approved, the items can be created. If the plan is edited, it needs a new approval. Your goal text is treated as information only, never as instructions to the assistant.

<Mermaid
  title="When a plan needs a second approval"
  chart="`flowchart LR
A[You choose Create] --> B{&#x22;More than 20 items in the last day?&#x22;}
B -->|No| C[Items are added to the project]
B -->|Yes| D[&#x22;Approval request to someone other than the author&#x22;]
D -->|Approved| C
D -->|Plan edited| E[New approval needed]
E --> D`"
/>

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Describe the goal [#describe-the-goal]

    Write what you want to achieve in a few sentences, or start with **/plan** in the assistant.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Choose the project and an outline [#choose-the-project-and-an-outline]

    Pick the project the plan belongs to and, if you like, a starting outline: software delivery, campaign or process improvement.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Review the draft [#review-the-draft]

    Check the preview with the number of items and the total estimate. Edit the draft like any other breakdown.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Create the items [#create-the-items]

    Choose **Create**. If the plan has more than 20 items, it waits for a second person's approval first.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Break down a work item [#break-down-a-work-item]

On a work item, choose **Break down**. The assistant drafts child items for it from its title and description, with estimate ranges, and opens the draft so you can review and edit it. Only item types that can sit under the item are used (for example, stories, tasks and bugs under an epic). When you create the items, they are added as children of the original item. If the draft cannot be made right away, the draft page still opens so you can try again or write the breakdown yourself. The button is shown to people who can create breakdowns, on items and projects that are still open.

<Callout type="info" title="Note">
  If you do not see **Break down**, either you cannot create breakdowns or the item or project is no longer open.
</Callout>

## FAQ [#faq]

<Accordions type="single">
  <Accordion title="Does the assistant assign people by itself?">
    No. Nothing is assigned until a manager presses **Assign**, and a manager confirms every assignment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is pay used to rank people?">
    No. Pay is never used in staffing suggestions or capacity answers.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why must I give a reason for my choice?">
    Choosing the first person needs no reason. If you choose anyone else, you are asked for a reason, which is recorded with your decision.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does my plan need someone else’s approval?">
    When a plan, together with the plans you created in the same project during the last day, has more than 20 items, someone with plan-approval rights other than you must approve it first.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does the assistant show about someone’s leave?">
    Only "on leave". The type and the reason are never shown.
  </Accordion>
</Accordions>

## Related pages [#related-pages]

* [AI assistant](/en/ai/assistant)
* [Skill signals](/en/ai/skill-signals)
* [Capacity](/en/product-guide/capacity)
* [Planning](/en/product-guide/planning)