Improving Throughput Theory of Constraints Queuing Theory: With The and

Improving throughput
with the
Theory of Constraints
and
Queuing Theory
www.journey-to-better.com
Theory of Constraints
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
Process Process Process

Idea
A B C
Customer
Q: Where should we
strive to increase
throughput?

Idea
A B C
Customer
A: We don’t know…

Idea
A B C
5 units 2 units 3 units Customer
Per week Per week Per week
Now, where should we

strive to increase
throughput?

Idea
A B C
5 units 2 units 3 units Customer
Per week Per week Per week
A: Process B. Spending effort elsewhere will

not help; in fact it will probably slow down
delivery of value to the customer.
"a chain is no stronger than its weakest link“
Improving strong links,

does not strength the chain.
To achieve more of your goal,

improve your weakest link.
Five Focusing Steps
1. Identify the constraint Get the most out of the constraint,
with only minor changes.
2. Exploit the constraint
3. Subordinate all else
4. Elevate the constraint
5. Repeat
Major changes to the constraint,
Including increasing capacity.
Practical TOC
We are going to:
1. Map team workflow to Task Board

2. Populate the board
3. Run the system
4. Use TOC to manage flow
Backlog Analysis & Plan Coding Review Testing Accept Done
Map team workflow
Populate with current state
1. Identify the constraint
Constraint: The resource or policy that
prevents the organization from obtaining more
of the goal.
Symptoms
• Work piles up waiting to be processed by the
constraint.
• Resource is heavily stressed.
• Resources downstream from constraint are
regularly idle.
Doing Ready
Split Testing column
Doing Ready Doing Ready Doing Ready Doing Ready
Split all other columns
How do we get the most capacity out of the
constrained process?
Some options
• Shield the team from interruptions.
• Limit their WIP.
• Reduce the non value add work that they do
(i.e. reports).
Note: Do not ask them to do overtime.
(5)
Exploit the constraint

Limit WIP in Testing
(5)
Let it run
Constraint remains
Align the whole system or organization to support
the decisions made above.
Some options
• Limit the WIP of upstream teams to match the
constraint.
• Get upstream teams to do prep work to make the
job of the constraint easier.
• Focus upstream teams on improving their quality.
• Pair upstream with downstream team members,
heading to cross functional teams.
(5) (5) (5) (5)
Subordinate all other workflow steps
(5) (5) (5) (5)
Let it run
Constraint remains
Make other major changes needed to break the
constraint.
A.k.a. Enhance the capability of the constraint to
increases its throughput further.
Some options
• Improve their tools
• Improve their environment
• Improve their team work
• Hire more people
Why do we not do this first?
(5) (5) (5) (5)
Elevate the constraint

Devs do more test prep work.
Dev-QA pairing
(5) (5) (5) (5)
Let it run
Constraint has been broken
5. Repeat
• The bottleneck should now have shifted.
• Start all over again
TOC Summary
Idea
A B C
Customer
Five Focusing Steps

1. Identify the constraint
5. Repeat
Queuing Theory
Queuing Theory
Began by answering the question:
How many phone lines will the Copenhagen

Telephone exchange need to handle peak
load?
Paper published by
Agner Krarup Erlang in 1909
Serious math
Not for today
Simple principles
To increase throughput:
• Reduce utilisation
• Reduce batch size
• Reduce item size
Why reduce utilisation
Queuing Theory says that in a system with variability,

increased resource utilisation leads to an increase in cycle
time.
Software development has lots of variability.
Past a tipping point the increase in cycle time is exponential.
Tipping point
Some examples:
• Computer CPU
• Network Router
• Building Fire Exit
Cycle Time
• Road
0 Utilisation 100
Tipping Point
Tipping Point in action
Shockwave Traffic Jam Video
Utilisation above the capacity of the road,

just one more car,
created unevenness,
created delays,
greatly increased cycle time.
Why reduce batch size?
• Littles Law is part of Queuing Theory
Work In Progress (WIP)

Avg. Cycle Time =
Avg. Throughput Rate
Large batches increase WIP,

which increases Cycle time,
which usually reduces Throughput.
Why reduce item size?
Large items take longer to process,
leading to:
• Queues (extra WIP)
• Variability (the bad kind)
Options to reduce cycle time
Reduce Utilization
and/or
Reduce Batch Size
and/or
Reduce Item Size
Exercise – Improve highway throughput
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thienzieyung/
Highway - Reduce Utilisation
Q: How would we reduce utilisation?
Highway - Reduce Utilisation
Q: How would we reduce utilisation?
A: Announce blockage on the radio,
and/or notify ahead of the blockage and slow incoming traffic.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/highwaysagency/
Highway - Reduce Batch Size
Q: How would we reduce batch size?
Highway - Reduce Batch Size
Q: How would we reduce batch size?
A: Only allow a couple of car to enter at one time.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/
Highway - Reduce Item Size
Q: How would we reduce item size?
Highway - Reduce Item Size
Q: How would we reduce item size?
A: Replace Trucks with Cars, Cars with Motorcycles.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/null0/
Queuing Theory in agile
How does it lower Utilization?

• Saying No. i.e. “Yes you can have that later.”, “We
expect delivery in June, can you wait until then.”
Queuing Theory in Scrum

• Team members 100% allocated.
• Team pulls in work to sprint, leaving some capacity for
unknowns. i.e. Less than the tipping point.
How does it lower Batch Size?

• Sprint length limits the batch size. i.e. 2w is half 4w.
How does it lower Item Size?

• Time boxing encourages splitting stories and tasks.
Queuing Theory in Kanban
• Pull approach does not over commit workers. i.e. Less
than the tipping point.
• Limiting WIP
How does it lower Batch size?

• Limiting input queues. i.e. ‘Selected’, ‘Next’.
How does it lower Item size?

• Building a dry stone wall approach.
Summary – Queuing Theory
To increase throughput:
Lower Smaller Smaller

Utilisation Batches Items
Contact Details
Twitter @andrewrusling
Blog www.journey-to-better.com
SlideShare www.slideshare.net/andrewrusling
E-mail andrewrusling@hotmail.com
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrusling
Google+ +AndrewRusling

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Improving throughput

Process Process Process

Process Process Process

Process Process Process

Now, where should we

Process Process Process

A: Process B. Spending effort elsewhere will

Improving strong links,

To achieve more of your goal,

1. Map team workflow to Task Board

Map team workflow

Populate with current state

Split Testing column

Split all other columns

Note: Do not ask them to do overtime.

Exploit the constraint

Subordinate all other workflow steps

Elevate the constraint

Five Focusing Steps

How many phone lines will the Copenhagen

Not for today

Queuing Theory says that in a system with variability,

Software development has lots of variability.

Past a tipping point the increase in cycle time is exponential.

Shockwave Traffic Jam Video

Utilisation above the capacity of the road,

Work In Progress (WIP)

Large batches increase WIP,

Reduce Batch Size

Reduce Item Size

How does it lower Utilization?

How does it lower Utilization?

How does it lower Batch Size?

How does it lower Item Size?

How does it lower Batch size?

How does it lower Item size?

Lower Smaller Smaller

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