What is Work Allocation?
How engineering effort splits between growth work and keep-the-lights-on maintenance.
Definition
Work allocation describes where engineering effort actually goes — typically split between growth (new, value- or revenue-oriented work) and keep-the-lights-on, or KTLO (fixes, maintenance, tech debt, dependency upkeep). It answers whether capacity is building the future or just preserving the present.
How it’s measured
Classify shipped work — merged pull requests or completed work items — as growth, KTLO, or other, using work-item type and labels where available, or branch and title conventions as a directional proxy. Track the growth share over time.
What good looks like
There is no universal target, but a healthy team consciously chooses the balance and watches the trend. A falling growth share signals capacity drifting toward maintenance; a rising one signals reclaimed capacity flowing to new value.
Why it matters
When AI or process improvements free up capacity, the real question is where that capacity goes. Allocation makes the answer visible — proving (or disproving) that efficiency gains are funding growth rather than being absorbed by the backlog.
Related terms
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