Capability Conversation – Intake & Demand Activation
Intake & Demand Activation
Manage Intake and Demand Activation
What this capability means: Make demand visible, clarify it enough for a responsible decision, distinguish options from commitments, and control how work becomes active and starts consuming capacity, attention, coordination, analysis, or expectations.
Working well when...
- Demand enters through visible, understood channels.
- Requestsremain options until an explicit activation decision.
- Entry decisions consider value, capacity, urgency, Work in Process, and constraints.
- People can say not now, renegotiate, or stopwork safely.
First-pass conversation
- Where can demand enter, and who can activate or promise work?
- When does work begin consuming capacity even if production has not started?
- What current work would a new request displace or delay?
- What qualifies for urgent or fixed-date treatment?
- Can people safely say not now or renegotiate a commitment?
Warning signs to discuss
- Leaders, sales, customers, or incidents activate work through invisible channels.
- Approval, assignment, analysis, or promise is treated as free.
- Urgent work bypasses decisions without later review.
- Backlogs mix options, promises, active work, and abandoned items.
Facilitator reminder
Related areas: Portfolio Alignment, Effective Planning, Work in Process Management, Interruptions & Flow Protection
