A lack of strength in a given movement is the most common reason for scaling a workout. Almost everyone has been in a position that they just can't lift the weights written on the board. Luckily this is probably the easiest scaling to do. The first step, like scaling for skill, involves understanding the intent of the workout then choosing a weight that you can lift that meets that intent. For instance, a CrossFit workout can be intended to be pretty fast around 4 minutes while other are intended to be long over 30 minutes. There is a difference in the amount of weight that should be used in each case. The shorter workout might use a slightly higher weight and fewer reps, while the longer workout might use light weights (or bodyweight) and lots of reps.
For example, if the workout is Diane (21-15-9 225# deadlifts and Handstand Pushups) and you know there isn't a chance that you can do 45 deadlifts at 225#. Understanding how this workout is performed and how it should feel will help you choose the right weight. For this workout you should be shooting to complete it within about 7 minutes and with each rep performed pretty quickly. With that in mind you should realize that deadlifts cannot take up all of the time so the weight needs to be manageable. The handstand pushups are also an area that can be scaled too. I usually like to modify these by putting knees on a box but keeping my upper body vertical. I'm still doing a handstand but my legs are able to help me through the pushup.
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