Quick Definition:
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management philosophy focused on identifying and managing bottlenecks. Little’s Law is a mathematical principle that relates WIP, cycle time, and throughput.
Complementary Approaches
While they are different, TOC and Little’s Law are highly complementary:
- TOC helps you find where to focus: It identifies the bottleneck that is limiting your project’s output.
- Little’s Law helps you understand how to improve: It provides the mathematical proof that reducing WIP at the bottleneck will improve flow.
Why Use Both?
By using TOC to identify the constraint and Little’s Law to manage the flow through that constraint, PMs can achieve significant improvements in project performance.
