Scientific Definition
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Plain-English Definition
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Feynman Explanation
Optimize everything except the bottleneck and you've optimized nothing.
Core Principle
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Find the bottleneck or you will spend money in the wrong place.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Optimize everything except the bottleneck and you've optimized nothing.
Examples
- Adding engineers when the bottleneck is product decisions.
- Find the bottleneck or you will spend money in the wrong place.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Apply Theory of Constraints quarterly: identify, exploit, subordinate, elevate.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Apply Theory of Constraints quarterly: identify, exploit, subordinate, elevate.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.
Designing systems for the lowest-capability user produces resilience for everyone.