About the Roadmap Feasibility Simulator

CutLiner is a roadmap feasibility simulator for capacity planning that models pacing, delivery risk, and schedule fit across teams.

This app answers a simple, uncomfortable question: given the teams you have and the work you want to ship, what actually fits on the calendar? It turns capacity, initiative effort, and pacing assumptions into a schedule you can explore before you commit to dates.

Use it when a roadmap feels crowded, when staffing is in flux, or when you need to align leadership on tradeoffs across initiatives. It is intentionally lightweight so you can run scenarios quickly and share the story behind the numbers.

How it is different from a project management app

Project management apps track tasks, statuses, and delivery execution. This simulator focuses on feasibility before execution. It works with a smaller set of inputs and assumptions, favors speed over precision, and produces a forecasted schedule rather than a task board. Think of it as pre-commitment planning, not project tracking.

Foundational concepts

• Initiatives: large bodies of work you want to deliver, with effort estimates and optional due weeks.
• Teams: capacity containers that turn staffing, availability, and productivity into weekly delivery bandwidth.
• Allocations: how each initiative draws from a team, including pacing rules and contributors.
• Pacing and guardrails: constraints that shape how work is scheduled so forecasts stay realistic.

How it works

You describe teams and initiatives, then assign allocations. The simulator first computes each team’s weekly capacity from staffing, productivity, and availability. It orders deliverable work by the scheduling rules you choose (priority vs category, then initiative rank and due week) and schedules effort week by week within each initiative’s start or due week window.

Pacing rules act as guardrails: you can cap weekly effort or require a minimum number of contributors. When a due week is set and back-scheduling is enabled, the simulator works backward from that deadline; otherwise it schedules forward from the start. The result is a forecast of start/end weeks, plus utilization snapshots that show where capacity is overrun or left unused.

Cut line

The cut line is a suggested breakpoint in the Forecast table. Initiatives above the line fit within current capacity assumptions; initiatives below the line are where tradeoffs usually start. It is a guide, not a rule.

What you can do

• Model capacity with staffing changes and productivity settings.
• Compare sequencing options by reordering initiatives or changing priorities.
• Spot bottlenecks early by reviewing team and initiative heatmaps.
• Pressure-test due weeks before you promise them to stakeholders.
• Share scenarios via JSON export/import without extra setup.

Getting started

1. Start with one team and one initiative to learn the workflow.
2. Enter a rough effort estimate and a simple team allocation.
3. Check the Capacity tab to see weekly load.
4. Review Forecast to understand completion timing.
5. Change one assumption at a time and observe the impact.

Terms

This app is free to use. It is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind, and you use it at your own risk.

I am not liable for any claims, damages, or other liability arising from its use. The app may change or be discontinued at any time without notice.

Please use the app responsibly and legally, and do not misuse it in ways that degrade performance, attempt unauthorized access, or interfere with other users.

To keep sharing fair and anonymous, public share creation is limited to 20 roadmaps per 24-hour window per client IP.

Motivation

I kept watching roadmap conversations spiral: ambitious promises, fuzzy capacity assumptions, and a dozen spreadsheets that never agreed with each other. The same questions came up every quarter, and I wanted a faster way to make the tradeoffs visible before anyone committed to a date.

This simulator was my answer. I wanted a lightweight place to test “what if” scenarios, to show how staffing or pacing changes actually move delivery, and to give leaders a shared picture they could react to. Building it was my way of turning anxiety about overpromising into a clear, collaborative planning ritual.

If you want to compare notes or share feedback, reach out anytime at yuriyzubarev7@gmail.com or on LinkedIn.