Notes
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Using the definition of queueing theory, you can define the queue elements as:
- Queue: the waiting work.
- Server: team members—product, engineering, design.
- Arrival Process: the pattern with which work arrives. It's usually unpredictable.
- Service Process: the process in which the server accomplishes the work. For example, small deliveries every day.
- Queueing discipline: how queue handles the waiting work. For example, using Scrum or Kanban.
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Queues in [product development] aren’t physically visible. They go unnoticed and can be poorly managed by teams.
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The idle time of waiting works in queues increases the work-in-process, which is the root cause of much waste in product development.
References
- The Principles of Product Development Flow, chapter 3. Managing Queues
- 2GEMBA. Basics of Queuing Theory in Lean Product Development