Shadow worker feature: how to track secondary team capacity
In most project management tools, team members are assigned to projects with a percentage allocation: "Sarah is 100% on Project Alpha" or "Mike is 50% on Project Beta." This model breaks down when reality is more fluid. At BetterQA, we noticed this problem when scaling our QA consultancy. Engineers would be "assigned" to one client but regularly helping another team with code reviews, architecture discussions, or emergency fixes.
The Shadow Worker feature in BetterFlow captures this reality by tracking secondary assignments separately from primary roles.
Why primary assignments lie about capacity
Consider a common scenario: Your database administrator is assigned 100% to the infrastructure team. But in practice, they spend 15 hours per week helping application teams optimize queries, troubleshoot performance issues, and review schema changes. Your capacity planning shows "1 FTE on infrastructure" but the reality is closer to 0.6 FTE.
This discrepancy compounds across a team. If five people each have 20% shadow work, you have effectively lost one full-time equivalent that your planning never accounted for.
How shadow worker tracking works
When a team member logs time to a project they are not primarily assigned to, BetterFlow tracks this as "shadow work." The system distinguishes between:
- Primary allocation: Official assignment with expected hours
- Shadow allocation: Time spent on other projects
- Overhead: Company-wide activities not tied to specific projects
Managers can view shadow work patterns at the team level: which projects are pulling resources from other teams, which team members are most frequently borrowed, and how shadow work trends over time.
Configuring shadow worker visibility
Not all shadow work should be visible to all managers. A developer helping another team might be doing so at their manager's request, or they might be overcommitting without approval. BetterFlow provides configuration options:
- Automatic detection: Flag any timesheet entry to a non-primary project
- Threshold-based alerts: Only flag when shadow work exceeds a percentage (e.g., 15%)
- Manager approval flow: Shadow work requires explicit approval from primary manager
- Silent tracking: Log shadow work for reporting but do not alert
Real-world patterns we have observed
After analyzing shadow work data across multiple BetterFlow deployments, common patterns emerge:
The Knowledge Holder: Senior engineers who built legacy systems get pulled into every project that touches that system. Their shadow work often exceeds 40% of their time, making them a bottleneck.
The Helper: Some team members naturally assist others. While valuable, excessive helping indicates either underutilization on primary work or an unrealistic primary allocation.
The Emergency Resource: Certain skills (database administration, security expertise, DevOps) get borrowed during crises. Tracking this helps justify dedicated headcount.
Using shadow data for capacity planning
Shadow worker data feeds into capacity planning in several ways:
- Realistic availability: When planning new projects, subtract average shadow work from each team member's capacity
- Skill gap identification: If one person handles all shadow work in a skill area, that is a hiring signal
- Cross-team dependencies: High shadow work between teams suggests they should be merged or given formal collaboration time
Implementation considerations
Adding shadow worker tracking to your organization requires change management. Employees may worry that shadow work will be seen negatively. Communication should emphasize that the goal is accurate planning, not surveillance.
Start by tracking shadow work for reporting only, without alerts or approval workflows. After a few months of data, discuss patterns with managers and decide whether more active management is needed.
About BetterFlow
Built by BetterQA, a software testing company. BetterFlow is the timesheet and project management platform that tracks how teams actually work, not just how they are officially assigned.
Sources & References
- PMI - Resource Management Best Practices
- Gartner - Capacity Planning for Project Management
- Harvard Business Review - Managing Multiple Projects
Published by BetterQA, an ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certified company with 8+ years of experience in software quality assurance. According to research by McKinsey, data-driven project management improves team productivity by up to 25%. Last updated on .
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