the amount of work started but not yet finished. Lots of partially completed work-in-progress (WIP) is expensive.
— Making Work Visible, Second Edition, Dominica Degrandis
Flow Load
4 of our books define this term — and their definitions are worth reading side by side.
number of flow items in a value stream with the flow state of active or waiting. This is analogous to a flow item–based measure of work in progress (WIP) in the value stream. Overly high flow load tends to result in inefficiencies and lead to reduced flow velocity or increased flow time.
— Project to Product, Mik Kersten
Flow load Measures the number of flow items currently in progress (active or waiting) within a particular value stream.
— Industrial DevOps, in “Chapter 6: Implement Data-Driven Decisions”, Dr. Suzette Johnson and Robin Yeman
the number of flow items currently in progress (active or waiting) within a particular value stream
— Four Frameworks for Portfolio Management, in the text
See also Flow · flow item · Flow Time · flow velocity · value stream · Work-in-Progress (WIP)
Filed under Flow & Lean