Using slot-based scheduling can help companies set deadlines, prioritize work, and improve overall productivity. The method can also be used to organize meetings, consultations with staff, and evaluation reviews. It’s useful across almost every industry.

The first step in a slot-based schedule is to estimate the workload of each job. By examining historical performance metrics, the estimator can calculate the amount of slots required to handle the work at a particular capacity level. This information can then be analyzed to identify peak utilization periods and recommend cost recommendations for reservations.

The next step is to analyze the impact of increasing or decreasing the number of slots. The Slot estimator can display job performance data for the past seven days. This data can be modeled to estimate the effect of moving to reservations, changing the number of slots, and a variety of other scenarios. The result is a visual display of estimated performance changes for all reservations. The chart shows the change in job performance by percentile as well as the estimated average duration for each job.

Once the estimation is complete, it can be used to make on-demand billing recommendations. It can also be used to help customers evaluate the cost of adding or removing slots.

For example, if a financial consultant wants to use slot-based scheduling to schedule appointments with clients, he or she may need to determine how much time to dedicate to the appointment. This is particularly important when meeting a deadline. The method can also be used to ensure that everyone has clear expectations and knows how to manage their time.