What shipped
Cut Line is a capacity-vs-priority stack. Name the batch (a sprint, a week, a release), set a capacity in points or hours, and add work in priority order with an effort number and an optional Must-have star. The demo keeps a running total down the list and draws a dashed CUT LINE exactly where cumulative effort first exceeds capacity: everything above is IN, everything below is OUT. A verdict badge reads ON TRACK (everything fits), CUT (some work is out, but every must-have made it), or OVERCOMMIT (at least one must-have fell below the line). Copy a markdown cut-line receipt with the IN/OUT lists, headroom, overcommit note, and an America/Chicago timestamp. State saves in localStorage under cut-line-v1.
How to try
- The demo opens on Sprint planning: 30 points of capacity, 53 points requested. Five stories make the cut, and the starred Admin audit log lands below the line, so the badge shows red OVERCOMMIT.
- Tap ↑ on Admin audit log a few times, or tap ↓ on Onboarding checklist v2, and watch the line move. Once every must-have is above it, the badge flips to CUT.
- Load Client deliverables (32 hours, with a 10-hour must-have that just fits) or Content week (20 hours) to see the hours framing. Raise capacity until you get ON TRACK.
- Copy the receipt and paste it into the sprint doc or the client thread so the “not this week” list is written down.
Why this (vs neighbors)
Scope Fence sorts features into In / Maybe / Out by judgment, and Tradeoff Scorecard weighs options against criteria. Cut Line works differently: it takes a strict priority order and a hard number and lets the arithmetic draw the line. There is no backfilling a small item past the cut. If the next thing doesn't fit, it and everything after it waits, so the order has to mean something.
Scope trim
No drag-and-drop (↑/↓ buttons only), no multiple people or per-person capacity, no dependencies between items, and no skip-ahead packing. One batch at a time, one capacity number.
Limitations
- Effort is a point estimate. There are no ranges or confidence levels, so a stack that fits on paper can still slip.
- The strict-stack rule is deliberate. A knapsack-style optimizer would fit more total work, but it would quietly break your priority order.
- Preset items and numbers are illustrative.
Suggested next steps
- Add a buffer slider (e.g. hold back 15% of capacity for interrupts) and draw a second, softer line.
- Add a “what would it take” helper that shows the smallest capacity bump or the cheapest cut that clears an OVERCOMMIT.
- Add drag-to-reorder and a shareable link that encodes the stack in the URL.