theory of constraints

a scientific approach to analyzing systems based on the constraints that exist in the system.

— DevOps for the Modern Enterprise, Mirco Hering

A way to identify the most important limiting factor (the constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor.

— Making Work Visible, Second Edition, Dominica Degrandis (as “Theory of Constraints (TOC)”)

The Theory of Constraints states that in any complex system, whether a manufacturing process or a workflow, there is at least one bottleneck or limiting factor that determines the overall throughput of the system.

— Output to Outcome, in “Introduction”, Mik Kersten

any manageable system is limited in achieving its goals by a very small number of constraints

— How to Thrive (or Fail) in Building a Learning Culture, in the text, Jeffrey Shupack (Project & Team, Inc.), Harry Koehnemann (Scaled Agile), Jeffrey Fredrick (CITCON), Steve Mayner (Scaled Agile) & Thomas Limoncelli (Stack Overflow)