What does "bottleneck" mean?

A bottleneck is the stage of a process where tasks get delayed longer than at other stages, which slows down the entire flow of work. Just like in a bottle with a narrow neck - liquid does not pour faster than the narrowest point allows - in a team, speed is limited by the slowest stage.

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#Signs of a bottleneck

• The column on the Kanban board fills up with tasks.
• The cycle time at this stage keeps growing.
• The team is often waiting for results from a specific specialist or step.
• On the CFD (cumulative flow diagram), the zone for this stage widens sharply.

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#Why it matters to find and remove them

1. Increases flow speed. Removing the bottleneck speeds up the whole process.
2. Reduces stress and overload. A balanced workload makes the work more sustainable.
3. Transparency. It becomes visible where time is being lost, so resources can be managed consciously.

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#How to remove one

• redistribute tasks among team members;
• introduce automation or simplify the step;
• temporarily raise the WIP limit at earlier stages to unload the critical point;
• analyze the causes - lack of skills, unclear requirements, manual checks.

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#Conclusion

A bottleneck is the point that limits the throughput of the whole system. Finding and removing bottlenecks is the key to a smooth, predictable, and efficient flow of work.