How do you calculate execution drag in IT operations?

The Execution Drag Coefficient measures five compounding friction forces: Entropy (unplanned work), Latency (aged tickets), Variance (configuration drift), Opacity (hidden costs), and Fragmentation (knowledge loss). Input your IT headcount and burdened cost to quantify Ghost FTEs consuming your capacity.

What are Ghost FTEs and how do they impact IT capacity?

Ghost FTEs represent full-time equivalents of capacity destroyed by operational friction—not lazy employees, but capacity consumed by context switching, alert fatigue, and rework loops. The typical organization carries 30–40% Ghost FTEs, meaning a 100-person team effectively operates at 60–70 FTEs.

How much does execution drag cost an IT organization annually?

At a median burdened cost of $120,000/FTE, a 50-person IT team typically loses $1.8M–$2.4M annually to Execution Drag. This is not headcount waste—it is structural capacity destruction from compounding friction forces that no amount of hiring can solve.

How do you calculate execution drag in IT operations?

The Execution Drag Coefficient measures five compounding friction forces: Entropy (unplanned work), Latency (aged tickets), Variance (configuration drift), Opacity (hidden costs), and Fragmentation (knowledge loss). Input your IT headcount and burdened cost to quantify Ghost FTEs consuming your capacity.

What are Ghost FTEs and how do they impact IT capacity?

Ghost FTEs represent full-time equivalents of capacity destroyed by operational friction—not lazy employees, but capacity consumed by context switching, alert fatigue, and rework loops. The typical organization carries 30–40% Ghost FTEs, meaning a 100-person team effectively operates at 60–70 FTEs.

How much does execution drag cost an IT organization annually?

At a median burdened cost of $120,000/FTE, a 50-person IT team typically loses $1.8M–$2.4M annually to Execution Drag. This is not headcount waste—it is structural capacity destruction from compounding friction forces that no amount of hiring can solve.

Forensic Diagnostic // The Physics of IT

The Execution Drag Coefficient

Quantify the five friction forces consuming your IT capacity. Most organizations operate at 55–65% effective capacity — not from lack of headcount, but from structural drag.

ITPI-VERIFIED·850+ ORG DATASET·2 MIN ASSESSMENT

Diagnostic Author

John MathieuChief Process Leader

Based on our 2026 ERP Audit, most organizations operate at 55-65% effective capacity.

Forensic Verification

Carlos CorralMIS · ITIL · Process Engineering

25 years of process engineering audits inform the diagnostic criteria.

ENTROPY

LATENCY

VARIANCE

OPACITY

FRAGMENTATION

How Much Capacity Is Your Organization Losing?

Two core inputs. Expand for Five-Law precision.

Number of IT FTEs

Total full-time equivalents in your IT organization (engineers, developers, infrastructure, operations).

Average Fully Burdened Cost per FTE

Include salary, benefits, equipment, and overhead. Default is $120,000/year (US enterprise median).

Baseline Entropy Coefficient: 35%

ITPI research (850+ organizations) indicates 35-45% of IT capacity is consumed by unplanned work. Expand "Refine Your Diagnosis" to adjust based on your environment.

Calculations run client-side. No data leaves your browser.

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Execution Drag Calculator: Frequently Asked Questions

Answers for CIOs diagnosing the friction consuming their engineering capacity.

The Execution Drag Coefficient

How Much Capacity Is Your Organization Losing?

Execution Drag Calculator: Frequently Asked Questions

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