Bottleneck Walk

More work starts, yet finished results barely rise. Follow one item through the process and find where waiting accumulates before spending effort on another improvement.

Follow one item. Find the waiting. Check completions.

Trace work from entry to a genuinely finished result. Note waiting, partly completed work, and capacity at each step, then find the currently binding constraint. An open queue is enough to investigate; feedback is a separate claim. After a change, expect the constraint to move.

Try this when…

We start more than we finish.

The busiest step may not be the limiting step.

New equipment has not increased finished output.

Where does one real item spend most of its time?

What you can use it for

Service requests

Distinguish processing time from time waiting for information or approval.

Making things

Locate drying, finishing, or inspection constraints behind piles of partial work.

Shared projects

Follow handoffs to find the constraint that actually limits delivery.