Optimising Handoffs and Bottlenecks

Optimise handoffs and bottlenecks by targeting the waiting between activities, because most service delay accumulates there rather than in the work itself. Improvement should focus on queues, rework, batching and unclear acceptance criteria.

• Measure queue time and touch time separately to see where work actually waits. In the article's example, a procurement approval step is quick to perform, but work waits there for days because approvals are processed in weekly batches.
• Set clear entry and exit criteria for each handoff to reduce rework.
• Reduce batch sizes, and give one owner visibility of the whole flow, since a value-stream view exposes waiting, rework and fragmented accountability that functional reports often miss.
• Track queue time, rework rate and flow efficiency as a set, and after the first cycle ask whether flow efficiency moved for the intended reason and whether any group experienced a worse result.
• Avoid speeding up non-bottlenecks, moving work without improving flow, and using automation to transfer poor-quality data faster. Make each change as a controlled step, inspect the result and keep it only if it improves value, flow, resilience or experience.