Operations
Bottleneck thinking
Last reviewedWhat is Bottleneck thinking?
A process can produce no more than its slowest step allows. Output is at most the capacity of the bottleneck, and less if demand or supply is lower.
When should you use Bottleneck thinking?
Operations, capacity and supply-chain cases.
What are its limits?
Real processes have variability and queues that the simple view ignores.
How do you tailor it to a case?
Find the step that limits output, fix it, then find the next constraint, rather than improving every step evenly.
Where does it come from?
Central to Eliyahu Goldratt's theory of constraints, set out in The Goal (1984).
Use a framework as a source of ideas, then put a structure built for this specific problem on the table. Reciting a framework by name is a common way to lose marks.