The Theory of Constraints (TOC) identifies that the throughput of any system is limited by at least one constraint, and emphasizes focusing management efforts on these constraints to enhance overall productivity. By following TOC's five focusing steps, organizations can systematically identify and optimize these constraints to improve processes and project outcomes. Effective management of these constraints leads to increased throughput and value delivery while minimizing inefficiencies.

1.
Radically
increase
your
process
and
project
throughput
with
the
Theory
of
Constraints
In
a
dynamic
environment
where
the
product
mix
and
customer
requirements
are
continuously
changing,
it
is
critical
to
quickly
identify
what
is
constraining
the
enterprise
from
being
responsive
and
from
delivering
ever
increasing
value
at
a
reasonable
cost
to
customers.
The
Theory
of
Constraints
(TOC)
is
a
commonsense
way
to
understand
a
system
(in
this
case,
a
business
process
or
a
project).
TOC
maintains
that
the
throughput
of
every
system
is
limited
by
at
least
one
constraint.
A
constraint
is
anything
that
prevents
the
system
from
achieving
more
of
its
goal.
Only
by
increasing
flow
through
the
constraint
can
overall
throughput
be
increased.
These
constraints
are
the
leverage
points
in
the
system.
The
primary
goal
of
the
Theory
of
Constraints
is
to
guide
management
toward
where
and
how
they
should
focus
their
resources
to
leverage
the
best
return
on
investment.
The
primary
principle
of
TOC
is
to
focus
on
the
weakest
point
of
the
process,
the
constraint
limiting
throughput,
and
leverage
all
improvement
efforts
on
the
constraint.
In
typical
business
processes
and
projects,
the
weakest
link
is
a
constrained
resource
that
limits
the
throughput
of
an
organization.

2. Finding
and
strengthening
the
constrained
resource
gives
the
greatest
opportunity
for
measurable
improvement,
both
within
individual
processes
and
projects
and
across
the
entire
collection
of
an
organization’s
processes
and
projects.
Focusing on the constraint
TOC
identifies
the
few
things
that
make
a
difference
in
the
system.
It’s
much
easier
to
manage
a
system
when
you
only
need
to
pay
close
attention
to
those
few
things.
Decisions
become
easier
because
the
health
of
the
constraint
indicates
how
well
the
system
is
performing.
If
the
constraint
is
limping,
the
system
is
limping.
If
it’s
well,
all
is
well.
A
constraint
is
a
positive,
not
a
negative.
It
is
an
opportunity
for
management
to
focus
on
what
matters,
instead
of
wasting
their
time
focusing
on
everything.

3. This
releases
management
from
the
natural
tendency
to
try
and
address
everything
(in
effect,
focus
on
nothing)
resulting
in
a
failure
to
improve.
Focusing steps
TOC’s
five
focusing
steps
to
analyze
and
improve
any
organization
holistically
include:
1. Identify
the
system
constraint
2. Decide
how
to
exploit
(not
waste)
the
system
constraint
3. Subordinate
everything
to
the
above
decision
4. Elevate
the
system
constraint
5. If
in
a
previous
step
a
constraint
was
broken,
don't
let
inertia
become
the
system
constraint,
return
to
step
1.
Identify the constraint
There
are
a
number
of
ways
to
identify
the
constraint
(other
than
by
manager
intuition):
• Where
is
there
a
work
backlog?
• Where
do
most
problems
occur?
• Which
resources
or
tasks
require
the
most
management
attention?
• Which
resources
are
heavily
utilized?
• Which
resource
is
strategic
and
whose
capacity
cannot
easily
be
augmented,
is
expensive,
difficult
to
get,
or
cannot
be
easily
outsourced?
• Which
resources
are
used
by
the
majority
of
the
projects?
Maximize the constraint
To
maximize
the
constraint:
1. Make
certain
it
is
doing
what
it
should
be
doing.
2. Make
certain
it
stops
doing
what
it
should
not
be
doing.
3. Make
certain
it
has
the
right
amount
of
work
to
be
effective.
4. Make
certain
it
has
what
is
needed
to
do
the
job
(may
include
skills/information/data/knowledge,
or
reliability
of
partners/vendors).
5. Make
certain
it
is
protected
from
delays
in
other
parts
of
the
system.
6. Make
certain
there
aren’t
rules
or
business
practices
that
inhibit
the
maximization
of
the
constraint.