Bottleneck
Also known as Flow bottleneck, Delivery constraint
Definition
A bottleneck is a workflow stage or capability whose effective capacity limits the rate at which the whole system can complete work. It is identified through sustained evidence of constrained flow, not simply because a stage feels busy.
The constraint limits the system
A bottleneck is not necessarily the stage with the longest individual task. It is the part of the system whose capacity limits completed flow. When work arrives faster than that stage can process it, a queue forms before the stage or downstream work becomes starved.
A concrete example
An illustrative team can implement changes quickly, but only one person can approve database migrations. Migration reviews accumulate, and later deployment work remains idle. Pairing another reviewer or simplifying the approval policy may increase total flow more than asking implementers to start additional tickets.
Improve without hiding it
Make the queue visible, protect the constrained capability from avoidable interruptions, and reduce the amount of work arriving at once. After an intervention, check whether the constraint moved elsewhere. A bottleneck can migrate as the system changes.
Limitations
Short spikes do not establish a structural bottleneck. Incidents, vacations, and unusual work can create temporary constraints. Examine a distribution over time and confirm the mechanism before reorganizing a team.
How this relates to Weave
Weave helps teams inspect where changes wait across review and delivery activity, which can supply evidence for a bottleneck hypothesis. Teams still need workflow ownership and operational context to confirm the constraint and choose an intervention.
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