Most outbound plans are written as if capacity were infinite, then quietly fail because the infrastructure could never have carried them. Starting from capacity produces a plan that survives contact with the month.
Why capacity comes first
A plan that commits to a monthly volume the sending fleet cannot support does not fail visibly. It fails as deliverability damage: senders pushed past their limit, reputation degrading, and reply rates falling for reasons that look like a copy problem for about six weeks.
Working from real inbox counts, through the warmup ramp, with a bench held back for rotation, gives a number that is lower than anyone wants and achievable. Every segment decision is then made against that number.
Parked is a real status
Segments that do not fit this quarter's capacity are recorded as parked, with the reason and what would have to change. This matters more than it sounds: without it, parked segments come back as new ideas three months later and get re-argued from scratch.
The ordering rule
Segments are stacked by the volume they can sustain against the capacity available, not by which one someone is most excited about. A segment that exhausts in two weeks is not the one to open a quarter with, however good the angle is.
Runs well with
Skills compound. These are the ones we usually install alongside it.