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workflow bottleneck finder
Diagnose operational constraints, map lead times, and prioritize workflow interventions using constraints-based logic.
$5
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workflow bottleneck finder
Example session with this skill installed
Map the 'Software Bug Fix' workflow. Symptoms: developers say they're waiting on specs, but QA is backed up. Steps: Triage, Dev, PR Review, QA, Deploy. PRs take 2 days, QA takes 3 days.
- Read your context and instructions
- Compiled the workflow bottleneck finder
- Generated the document
I have analyzed the 'Software Bug Fix' workflow. While QA has the longest active time, the primary controlling bottleneck is the PR Review step due to a high queue-to-active ratio and downstream impact on QA readiness.
Workflow Bottleneck Analysis
| Step ID | Name | Owner | Input Required | Queue Wait | Active Time | Lead Time | Rework % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Triage | PM | Bug Report | 4h | 30m | 4.5h | 5% |
| S2 | Dev | Engineer | Specs | 2h | 6h | 8h | 15% |
| S3 | PR Review | Senior Eng | PR Link | 48h [EST] | 1h | 49h | 20% |
| S4 | QA | Tester | Build | 12h | 24h | 36h | 10% |
| S5 | Deploy | DevOps | Approved Build | 1h | 30m | 1.5h | 2% |
Bottleneck Identification
Primary Constraint: S3 (PR Review). Lead time is 49 hours. The queue-to-active ratio is 48:1. This is a scheduling bottleneck where work sits idle, causing "starvation" for the QA team who then receive items in large, unmanageable batches.
2.
Secondary Constraint: S4 (QA). Lead time is 36 hours. While the active time is high, the delay is exacerbated by S3's batching behavior.
3.
Hidden Rework: S2 (Dev). The 20% rework rate coming out of S3 suggests that 'waiting on specs' (S1 output) is causing poor initial code quality.
Intervention Priority List
| Intervention | Impact | Effort | Risk | Total Score | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implement 'Review Buddies' (S3) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4.6 | High |
| Standardize Spec Template (S1) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4.1 | High |
| Automated Regression Suite (S4) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3.4 | Medium |
Action Plan: S3 Lead Time Reduction
- Owner: Engineering Manager
- Measure: PR Cycle Time (Lagging), Daily Review Count (Leading)
- Baseline: 49 hours
- Target: 12 hours (within 4 weeks)
Validation Test: Compare S4 queue stability. If S3 lead time drops but S4 queue spikes, the bottleneck has successfully shifted to capacity.
Next steps
- Validate the 48-hour PR wait time with actual GitHub metadata.
- Assign 'Review Buddies' to distribute the PR load away from Senior Engineers.
- Review the Triage spec template to reduce S2 rework.
workflow-bottleneck-finder.pdf
PDF · document
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What you get
About this skill
The problem
Operational delays and high rework rates are often treated by fixing symptoms rather than the actual constraint. Developers and managers frequently optimize individual steps without realizing they are just moving the bottleneck elsewhere in the system.
What it does
- Maps end-to-end workflows including queues, active work time, handoffs, and approval gates.
- Identifies the controlling constraint by calculating lead times and queue-to-active work ratios.
- Distinguishes between superficial symptoms and root causes, tracing issues upstream to missing inputs.
- Scores interventions using a weighted priority matrix based on impact, effort, and implementation risk.
- Generates actionable improvement plans with owners, KPIs, and validation tests to ensure the bottleneck actually shifts.
Why this beats prompting it yourself
Generic prompts often miss the nuances of queue theory and rework loops, leading to shallow "work harder" advice. This skill applies specific constraints-based logic to differentiate between scheduling issues and capacity limits, ensuring you don't waste resources optimizing the wrong step.
Use cases
- Diagnosing delays in software release cycles or CI/CD pipelines.
- Identifying friction points in client onboarding or support ticketing flows.
- Optimizing manufacturing or order fulfillment processes with high rework rates.
- Audit-ready mapping of complex approval workflows and cross-departmental handoffs.
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