Being Agile: Eleven Breakthrough Techniques to Keep You from “Waterfalling Backward”

Chapter 3. Queuing Theory

Being agile requires embracing queuing theory practices because teams achieve greater efficiency and throughput by leveraging a steady flow of small work items.

By Scott Will

Picture this: You’re at a bank and need to make a transaction. You walk into the lobby and all four tellers are available. So you pick a teller, take care of your business, and then head out the door. Life is good.

Next week you go back to the same bank, but this time it’s lunch time on the last day of the month and 50 people are ahead of you, all needing to transact business. You’re number 51 in line, and you know you’re going to be waiting a long time before any one of the four tellers can help you. Wouldn’t it have been better if the 50 people ...