{
  "version": "1.3.0",
  "releasedAt": "2026-05-20",
  "kpi": {
    "rogueId": "product.scalability_headroom",
    "slug": "scalability_headroom",
    "domain": "product",
    "defaultLabel": "Time to Capacity Limit",
    "description": "Months of system capacity remaining at the current growth rate before the platform requires major (not incremental) infrastructure investment — typically driven by the binding bottleneck (database, message bus, single-tenant compute ceiling, regional capacity, or compliance-driven re-architecture). Surfaces the \"scale runway\" alongside the financial runway. Common pitfall: a single number hides which bottleneck binds. Boards should require the bottleneck to be named (\"database shard hot-spot binds at ~150K accounts at current growth, ~4 months out\"), not just the headline months — a named bottleneck makes the investment decision concrete.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": "months",
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "R&D"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "editorial",
      "sourceName": "imboard Editorial",
      "sourceUrl": null,
      "sectionRef": null,
      "publicationDate": "2026-04-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "benchmark": {
      "p25": 4,
      "median": 9,
      "p75": 18,
      "unit": "months",
      "sourceName": "imboard Editorial",
      "sourceYear": "2026",
      "higherIsBetter": true
    },
    "formula": "Engineering-attested estimate: months_until_binding_bottleneck_at_current_growth_rate. Recompute when growth-rate assumption changes or when capacity work lands. Always surface the binding bottleneck name alongside the months number — `12 months (database write throughput)` not just `12`.",
    "whyItMatters": "Sequences major infrastructure work against revenue growth. A 6-month scalability headroom against a 9-month financial runway is a foreseeable crisis the board should be addressing now. Pairs naturally with `defensive_roadmap_pct` (which funds the work).",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade: 12+ months of headroom is comfortable; 6–12 months means the rearchitecture project should be in flight; under 6 months means the project is critical-path and may already be late. Compare against `finance.runway_months` — financial runway shorter than scalability headroom means the company will hit the cash wall first; the inverse means the company will hit the scale wall first and should be planning the rearchitecture into the current operating plan.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "product.defensive_roadmap_pct",
      "product.capacity_allocation_pct",
      "product.quality_churn_pct",
      "finance.runway_months",
      "sales.growth_rate_yoy"
    ],
    "metricBasis": {
      "timeBasis": "point_in_time",
      "production": "primary"
    }
  }
}