The Association of System

Performance Professionals

The Computer Measurement Group, commonly called CMG, is a not for profit, worldwide organization of data processing professionals committed to the
measurement and management of computer systems. CMG members are primarily concerned with performance evaluation of existing systems to maximize
performance (eg. response time, throughput, etc.) and with capacity management where planned enhancements to existing systems or the design of new
systems are evaluated to find the necessary resources required to provide adequate performance at a reasonable cost.

This paper was originally published in the Proceedings of the Computer Measurement Group’s 1987 International Conference.

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CAPACITY PLANNING AS A BUSINESS PROCESS

Jerry L. Rosenberg
SRM Associates, Ltd.

ARSTRACT

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It is becoming more apparent to capacity planners that they can no longer accomplish their jobs from the
relative safety of the Data Processing com.unity. Granted, it Is less threatening to deal in jargon that we
know. with people to whom we can easily relate, and in concepts with which we are readily conversant. That
is exactly what we have historically done. But while we have been gathering data on I/O's per second and
paging rates. data processing has grown into a major component of our enterprise. In fact, if management
Is totally honest, they will admit that the corporation can no longer function without data processing
support. Because of this, corporate management is very concerned with understanding how they can best
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utilize "computing" to meet their goals and needs. Capacity planning should be the process that supplies
these insights. This can only be accompli&hed i f capacity planning is structured as a business process and
not just a data processing functio~

This paper will highlight the steps that should be taken to convert capacity planning into a viable
corporate process. To accom.plish this, we will be concerned with a method of defining the reasonable goals
and expectations that the corporation should have for capacity planning. And just to be fair, we will
review those goals and expectations that capacity planners should have of the corporation. These will
include data requirements, time frames, support structures, and reporting needs. Of major impact will be
the ever-present underlying requirement to understand and relate to the corporate "bottom linell•

IDtcoducti01l analysis of the potential market to gauge the needs and

interests of the customers. This concept of "market
Most Capacity Planners have accepted the fact that the research". and its application to capacity planning,
process that they are engaged in must evolve into a could help to supply us with some insights into the
business based function. This has been evidenced by creation of a meth<:ldo!l.ogy that is more responsive to the
discussions over the past several years concerning such needs of the c:orpcration.
items as Natural Forecasting Units (NFU) and Key Volume
Indicators (KVl). It should be safe then to make the
assumption that we are committed to posturing capacity Define The Product
management as a viable contributing component of the
overall corporate entity. The author believes that any Any good market analysis must begin by establishing a
capacity planner that does not follow this path will concrete understan.ling of the product being offered. In
find it increasingly more difficult to function our case, the service that is supplied by capacity
effectively over the next few years. Given this first planning is typically defined as:
premise, it safe to also assume that we accept the
requirement of understanding the rudiments of the The process requirE!d to ensure an environment with
industry in which our individual corporations are sufficient resourCI!S to deliver satisfactory service in
engaged. This knowledge should help us to identify a cost-effective manner.
those business elements of .the industry that can effect
the utilization of data processing resources. There have been numerous volumes written on the
expansion of this definition and the enumeration of all
These two issues: incorporating business concepts into the component taskEi that must be addressed, from
capacity planning; and making capacity planning more workload characterization to management reporting.
responsive and useful to the corporation through the These issues are very important but are not the subject
development of KVI's and NFU's, have been discussed over of this investigation. We are going to delve into this
the past decade. The problem is that many of us are no definition from tht~ standpoint of what it can tell us
closer to implementing them than we were ten years ag~ about our potential market.

Since we have opened the door just a crack and let in

some non-technical. non-data processing thoughts,
perhaps it will not be considered too radical to suggest
that we actually take a lesson from the business side of
the company in structuring the foundation of a better In reViewing the definition, we can extract at least
capacity management process. In the strictest sense. t"hree specific areas of concern. "Sufficient resources"
data processing can be viewed as a business with a suggests CPU's. I/O deVices, channels, network
customer base and a deliverable product and/or service. components, memory, etc. These are all within the
This is equally true for the sub-component of data province of the data processing departments of the
processing that we call capacity management. The company. "Satisfactory service" implies response times,
establishment or advancement of this process should transactions per ho~r, claims per day, accounts
therefore be enhanced by the application of proven processed, customers serviced, etc. and relate to the
techniques from the general business community. end users of DP services. These are generally the
operating departments that perform the actual functions
of the company. "el)st-effective" is measured by return
A Business Approach on investment, budget. fiscal strategy, etc. and are
usually the concerns of the "executive branch" of the
In the sectors of the company that deal with the organization.
delivery of products to our ultimate customer base,
there are definite guidelines for approaching the By reviewing the de::inition of the "product" that we are
introduction of a new product or the major modification contemplating, we have identified three distinct
of an existing one. The first step is most often an customer types that we must satisfy. Each has a

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different requirement from the process that we are
developing. Graphically, we Can consider this situation
as follows: As stated above, we must identify those groups in the
corporation that require the services of capacity
management. In the example. we will be considering the
simplified case of a three segment environment - users,
DP, and execut i ves,

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+ USERS
Th~re the people who depend on DP to provide them
User Tlchn1cal with services in support of their own corporate
0. View functions. They generally include a wide variety of
~
business functions from payroll to engineering design.
They all share somE~ common requirements from data
processing: accurate results that are available in a
timely, reliable, (:ost-effective manner. They all
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desire as much service and functionality as possible.

~ DATA PROCESSING
This is the communlty that must establish and maintain
the environment that supports the users in the manner
WI... that they require. In many instances, the "requirement"
Price per Function is actually different from the level "desired" by the
Return on Investment users. As a result, one of the functions of the process
Budpt will have to be the reconciliation of user desire to DP
capability. In order to meet as many requests as
possible, OP wants as much state-of-the-art hardware and
software as it can get.

+ EXECUTIVES
FIGURE 1 This group is concerned with the overall goals of the
corporation. They are faced with balancing the need for
expanded capabilty and functionality against the
As seen. this illustration highlights three different budgetary bottom-line. They need to be convinced that
views of capacity management; each with different needs expenditures will have a long-term return on investment.
expectations, goals and resources. These are in fact '
the three major II customer types" for the capacity
" These are the thre~ segments that we will be addressing
management process. In order to perform a market in our example. The danger in this approach of
survey, we need to analyze each of these market segregating customers is in falling prey to the belief
segments. understand it in relation to the process and that an adversary relationship needs to exist between
define the best approach to meet their singular and these groups. Thts need not be the case.
collective requirements. Unfortunately, it has become the status quo in many
organizations. Our goal is to enhance the activities of
Keep in mind that this is a very simplified view of the entire enterpt"ise. Capacity management must be
reality. There are undoubtedly, in each corporation, approached as a vehicle for helping each component work
many more subdivisions than these. For example. within best in the commmL interest.
the user community, there are executives as well who
have different needs than line users. Also, within the
data processing area we have executives and users in the ~ Develop ~ ConcE~ Inventory
form of TSO and CMS applications developers who need
service to perform their jobs. Each list of "customers" This task require~l the itemization of those detailed
will be slighty different. It should represent the points that need to be researched within each customer
clusters of homogeneous users who require capacity segment to insure a sound process. While there may be
management support. For the sake of illustrating the some additions fo:~ specific environments, a reasonable
process, we will work with these three broad catagories. starting point wo~ld include:

.:!. Expectations
'lbe ADalYB18 What does each cUI:;tomer think he should be getting from
the capacity management function1 In a market survey
The "market research" activity should be viewed as an for a new product, this activity would require the use
orderly progression that helps us to build a capacity of questionnaires and interviews. This ssme methodology
management process that is useful to the organization should be utilized to obtain all of the information
by being beneficial to the segments that make up the needed. It is im?ossible to develop a product to meet
corporation. In order to accomplish this task, we need the needs of the community at large unless you find out
only follow some simple steps: what they really want.

1. Define the customer segments For each segment, list those items that are critical to
the performance c,f their respective functions. This
2. Develop a "Concerns Inventory" task should yield some insight into the groups lImeasure
of success". In ,short, how does this group know that it
3. Expand these into a ''Reduc tion Matrix" is doing well. This can be measured quantifiably in
number of claims processed or items delivered or it can
4. Prioritize the resulting tasks be more SUbjective, such as "met budgetary goals". In
any case, it will help us to detennine the IIbottom line"
5. Proceed with the tasks for each user community and help us to develop a process
that best serves these needs.
Since I am sure that this is not crystal clear at this
point, let's explain each step.

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.:t Inputs 12. .!!!! Process It is often of interest fot the analyst to anticipate
Itemize the specific input sources needed in the the contents of the matrix before beginning the data
capacity management process that are available from each acquisition phase. Co.paring the initial guesses with
segment. The information in this area sho~ld include the the final results can be used as a measure of how well
specific source, the type of data, its use in capacity the capacity planner understands the business and the
planning, the storage medium (hardcopy, DASD, tape. word user community. Of course it is important not to allow
of mouth, etc.), and the time frames associated with our initial belief to cloud the objectivity required in
data availability and updates. the interview prol~ess.

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+ Committments/Com.unications
The key personnel in each group should be identified and
the level of com_ittment required to insure cooperation
from all parties must be clearly delineated. Without Given the results l)f a reasonable interview process, we
committment and cooperation, the capacity management can now use the matrix to reduce the data into summary
effort is doomed to failure. Since the process is very format. At that p<l!nt, we will be able to summarize
dependent on a strong degree of inter-departmental each row and column to obtain a list of tasks.
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cooperation, each segment must be Olin step" during the

establishment and maintenence of the process. In our particular example, the matrix will appear as
follows:
In order to insure the on-going Viability of the
methodology, the lines of co••unications should be
clearly defined. An aid to understanding the "channels" USERS UP EXECS SUMMARY
is to obtain an up-to-date organizational chart.
Expectations
~ Benefits/Opportunities
Reaembering that we are conducting a business-like Inputs
market study. let's continue the analogy to its likely
conclusion. Eventually, we are going to have to sell Commitment
our product. In order to ensure that we can accomplish
this goal, it is highly advisable to list all of the Benefits
potential benefits to be derived by our customers. The
primary advantage is that we can eventually use this
information to convince reluctant customer. to subscribe
to our process. It is often helpful to make people feel
that they are active contributors to the development of Deliverables
the process. As a secondary dividend, in listing the
benefits to users we might uncover some additional Limitations
report or service thet we can prOVide that enhances that
value of the function. Even if we cannot easily include
these capabilities now. they can be considered for later
enhancements or additions.
As previously mentioned. this matrix is not all
+ Timeframes inclusive and should be used as a framework for
For any issues that have a time dependency, notations ~ustomizing a set of concerns for each specific
must be _ade and related to the process. Late delivery environment. Often the development of this matrix will
is often worse than no delivery. It is also help to uncover other unique concerns within your
embarrassing to promise delivery of a report that organization that should be specifically included and
requires data that is not available until after the addressed. As an example, we will be filling in this
report date. It is vital that the process be built matrix later in the paper to illustrate the process.
around these time constraints.

+ Deliverables ~ Prioritize ~ Resulting ~

AS a result of producing entries in each of the above
areas, we should be able to develop 8 list of expected Once the .atrix has been developed and the data acquired
outputs that lIeet the needs of the customer base. has been sumllarized into it, a review of the right most
Effectively. we are distilling all the requests into a column and the bottom two rows (Summary, Deliverables,
series of manageable end products. and Limitations) should easily result in the production
of a list of tasks. Essentially what we are doing is
+ Limitations using the matrix format to simplify the analysis. By
Also as result of the analysis of all the above, we reviewing each row, we should be able to develop a
should list all of the concerns that cannot be addressed summary for that key item. By doing the same for each
at this time with reasons and ultimate solutions. This column, a list of desires and requirements from each
section will help to direct future activities and will user group shoud evolve. The intersect of these"
also help you to answer the customer who asks "why not 1". processes should yif~ld the two boxe" at the lower right
of the matrix that have the distilled information thac
~ Summary of Matrix we need.

It should be apparent that a series of interviews and The capacity planner will now be able to discern the
questionnaires are required to accumulate the points relative priority of each task dependent, of course, on
that make up the matrix. This approach does not the appropriate scheme in vogue in your corporation.
eliminate the need to talk to the customers. In fact it Some of the more common prioritization techniques are:
is dependent on it. What we hope this procedure will Technical value, Monetary concerns, Delivery of service,
provide is a means of summarizing the acquired data into The highest ranking person always gets his way, etc. In
a manageable format. point of fact, the system in place is usually some
combination of the above. Since I don't have enough
time or paper to cover the topic of the political
realities of the business world. all I can say is - be
alert and best of luck with this one•

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~ Proceed .!..!!!!. the Tasks Benefi t8 + Bet ter service

Having a prioritized list of tasks should help in + Better information for service
keeping the process on track. Before you proceed J it level negotiations
is a good idea to review this with some of the customers
who supplied the information (particulary those + Insights into scheduling
identified in the Committment section). This allows us

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to verify that we correctly interpreted the data we + Information for the budget process
received.
--------------
Timeframes
--------------------------------------
+ Volume schedules
~ Summary ~ ~ Process
+ New application schedules
The key rationale for utilizing this, or any other
technique, is to establish and maintain a perspective of + Output delivery times
the task at hand. Following this approach will force
+ Response time needs
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the analyst to proceed in an orderly pattern through the

steps of data collection, reduction, analysis and result -----------------------------------------------------

I
formulation.
Perhaps as a result of reviewing this column, we could
summarize as follows:
The technique employs a standard business approach of
surveying users concerning critical issues to help
produce the most effective product. In this case. the ------------------------------------------------------
Deliverables + Reports related to service level
product is a capacity management procesB that will be
most responsive to the business needs of the enterprise. delivery and cost of service
In order to step through the matrix, the analyst will --------------- .. _-------------------------------------
conduct meaningful discussions with other departments in Limitations + We need to acquire data related to:
the corporation that will make him aware of the business -Business plans
of the corporation. In addition, he will discover the -ApplicatIon plans
goals and needs of computer users, critical time ----------------.~-------~,-------------------------------

considerations, available data sources, financial Let's .ave on to the next column:
concerns and political realities. If he absorbs only a
portion of these items, he will be much more valuable in DP
his function as a cap city planner.
-------------
Expectations.
--------------------------------
+ Utilization breakdowns by worlkoad
+ Future hardward and software needs
In order to best illustrate how this matrix format can
help to summarize data from seemingly disparate customer + Bottleneck deteralnations
types, we will complete the matrix already used as an
example. + Clear service level agree.ents
Let us assume that we have distributed questionnaires
-------------
Inputs
_._--------------------------------------
+ Classical monitor data
that asked for clarification of the issues that we
identified on the matrix. As a result of the responses + Technical information
to these inquiries, we followed up with interviews of
several key persons in each community. + DP plans
-------------- -----------------------------------------
This segment will contain a list of key
Due to lack of a spread sheet format in the proceedings, personnel that would be interviewed in
we will view the matrix one column at a time. detail.
--------------
Benefits
-----------------------------------------
+ System tuning
USERS
+ Adequate resources to meet user needs
Expectations + Understanding of resource com8ump- + Tracking methodology
tion by activity. For example,
what resources are needed to pro-
--------------
Timeframes
-----------------------------------------
+ Peak periods
cess a particular function?
+ Due out constraints
+ Accurate measures of service. How
do we report response and de- + Workload overlaps
livery?
-------------------------------------------------------
+ Clear service level agreements Perhaps as a result of reviewing this column, we could
Bummarize as follows:
Inputs + ~rojected volumes

+ Business plans --------------

Deliverables
-----------------------------------------
+ Workload characterizations
+ Details of anticipated new appli- + Reports on: Service by Workload
cations Bottlenecks
Future h{w needs
CotlllDitment This segment will contain a list of
key personnel that would be
--------------
Limitations
_._--------------------------------------
+ Data may not be available readily for
interviewed in detail. specific subsystems. i.e., eiCS
--------------_.--------------------------------------
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We're ready to view the last column: Based on this sample matrix (which has been kept very
brief for the sake of discussion), the following tasks
might be listed:
EXECS
- Establish procedures fOl' collecting and analyzing
existing utilization data;
Expectations + Breakdown by line of business
- Investigate and implement a monitoring tool for the

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+ Cost of DP by type requisite subsystems (CICS, IMS, Data Base);

+ Optimal solutions to DP service - Regularly acquire and review both corporate and user
department planning documents;
Inputs + Corporate plans
- Develop the relationship between business elements
+ New lines of business and DP usage. Establish a "cost per element"; and
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+ Potential legislative impacts - Design and pubUsh reports that address the delivery
of service both currently and in the future. Develop
Commitment This segment will contain a list of key models that are capable of anticipating future system
personnel that would be intervie~ed in performance.
detail.

Benefits + Cost effectiveness

This list is by no means complete. Each item can be
+ Return on investment analysis expanded into many sub-components. It should, however,
be clear that involving the "customers" in the
+ Budgetary insights development effort will allow for a process that is more
sensitive to their needs. The basic benefits of
Timeframes + Schedules for corporate planning following this appwach are:
process
- The involvement of all areas of the corporation in
+ Budgetary timelines the development of the capacity management process
will help insure support in the endeavor;

- It supplies a fo:rmat for reducing and managing

Deliverables + Reports on: Cost of DP volumes of data into a few pages; and
Future alternatives with
costs - It supports a methodology for highlighting the
critical tasks t~at must be performed to make the
Limitations + We need access to corporate plans, process successful.
budgetary issues, state of the
industry data. etc. Perhaps this is a good time to suggest the use of
another business te,::hnique. Before you invest a lot of
time and effort in the process, use the concept of "test
markets" to see how well your product ~ill be received.
Start small and use the reactions that you get to help
improve the output.
As a result of these three columns. we might summarize
this way:
General eoameots
SUMMARY
Since we are interef~ted in bringing capacity management
into the mainstream of "the business enterprise", it is
important that we always conduct qurselves in a
Expectations + Need to develop requirements by business-like manner. To achieve this goal here are
workload with associated costs some general rules c,f thumb to keeep in mind:
+ Must address the area of NYU's and -= Know ~ Customers
KVI's
In a broade~ sense, know what your company does for a
Inputs + Data is required from SMF/RMF, other living. Unless you have this ubderstanding, it will be
subsystem monitors (CICS, IMS, etc.)
very difficult to relate to the needs of each segment of
the company. This may require that the analyst
+ In addition, we need non-monitor data occassionally revie~ trade publications and establish
related to business volumes and plans relationships with peers in non-DP functions within the
organization.
Commitment This segment will contain a list of key
personnel that would be interviewed in Optimally, this will be a two way process in which you
detail.
will learn about the "business" and will help to educate
others in the value of DP. It is also important to
Benefits + Here we would detail how the process understand the organizational structure and the
could be sold in each area corporate decision making process. This will assist
the capacity planner in determining the best point in
Timeframes + Here we would summarize the time the company to present information for optimal results.
requirements specific to each area

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=- Satisfy ~ Customer (3] Brown, DoE., liThe Case for Capacity Management: A
Presentation to Management", CMG Proceedings, 1984.
This is an age-old axiom in business which still holds
true. In the process of knowing your customers , it is {4] Bylinsky,G. "E,DP Managers Put on Business Suits",
key that you gain insight into his needs and Fortune, November 1976, ppa 68-74.
requirements. Success is tied to sathfylng those needs.
As a part of satisfying the customer, concerns such as (5J Cortada, J.W.~"Hanaging OF Hardware: Capacity
timeliness, accuracy, reliability and cost must be Planning. Cost Justification, Availability, and

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addressed. Energy Management", Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.. 1983.
- Gain the customer's Confidence Through Positive
- ~hIeVements [6] Febish, GoJ., "Data Processing: A Corporate Asset or
Liabilit.y", C:"lG Proceedings. 1963.
Nothing succeeds like success. Take a positive attitude
and approach to performing your tasks. Exert some [7) Ferreira, J., and J.F. Collins, Jr., "The Changing
effort in trying to help the organization derive tbe Role of the HIS Execut.ive", Datamation, Vol. 25,
Join over 14,000 peers - subscribe to free CMG publication, MeasureIT(tm), at www.cmg.org/subscribe

aaximum utilization froll available resources. Develop No. 13, November 25, 1979.
an effective reporting syste.. Suggest alternatives that
eliminate bottlenecks. Prove that the capacity (8] Ingrassia, F.J., "Climbing the Corporate D.P.
management function is worth the investment. And do it Ladder", CMG Proceedings, 1985.
in 8 positive- cooperative manner.
[9) Ives, B., and M.lL Olson, "Manager or Technician?
=- Present Multiple Solutions The Nature of the Informa'tion System Manager's Job'"
HIS Quarterl~~, Vol. 5, No.4, December 1981,
Whenever possible, present more than one alternative pp. 49-62.
for consideration. This is especially important when
dealing with higher levels of management. Each option [10] Lo, T.L. and J. Peng, "Capacity Management: A
should be clearly delineated with benefits and impacts, Hulti-relational Process", CMG Proceedings, 1985.
costs and time frames. This will help to get others
personally involved and committed to the resulting (11] Michel, M.J., "Organizational Structure for
decision. (please read on) Effective Information Technology Planning", CHG
Proceedings, 1982.
=- Take !. Chance (within reason)
[12] Morino, M.M., ''Establishing an IS Management
While we advise you to present multiple options, do not System", CHG proceedings, 1986.
be afraid to support the one that you think is best.
Also, if you feel strongly, present original ideas and (13] Nanjo, H., R. Choy, and C. Liu, "An Informat.ion
solutions. Gambles which are based on sound foundations System Cost Analysis Approach", CMG Proceedings.
come to be known as investments. 1984.

(14] Nolan, Ro, "Plight of the EDP Manager", Harvard

= Establish Defined Plans Business Review. 1973.

Never appear haphazard and disorganized. Keep your (15) Persson. J., "IVM Capacity Planning: A Management
tasks in perspective and document each milestone. The Perspective", CHG Proceedings, 1983.
matrix approach presented in this paper has thia concept
8S one of its cornerstones. [16] Rosenberg. J,L. and E.M. Friedman, "Capacity
Planning in oil Decentralized Environment", CMG
=~ Decisions Proceedings, 1984.

Management is not impressed by indecisiveness. If you (17] Rosenberg, J,1.., "Effective Management Reporting",
hope to advsnce, you must exhibit leadership qualities. CMG Proceedb,gs, 1985.

=- Constantly Review [18] Rosenberg. J.L. and E.M. Friedman, "Do 1 Really Need
a 3090 SystelD?", CMG Proceedings. 1986.
Always remember that any process left to its own will
eventually strophy. Set up 8 visble feedback system (19] Stanton, J.Aa, "Managing MVS Installations as a
that points out the strengths and weaknesses of the Business". CMG Proceedings, 1984.
process. Correct the weaknesses and publish the
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Perhaps :1.t is time that capacity planners lido as the [211 Tartaglia, D., "Capacity Planning: Justifying the
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[23] Von Kinsbergen, .T.E.., "An Integrated System for
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(2J Allen. Dr. L•• liThe Compleat Capacity Planner". CHG

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