What effect does excessive waiting time have on a process?

Excessive waiting time in a process negatively impacts overall productivity because it creates delays in the workflow, leading to bottlenecks. When there is excessive waiting, resources such as labor, materials, and equipment sit idle rather than being utilized effectively. This idle time can lead to decreased throughput and an inability to meet demand in a timely manner, ultimately affecting the efficiency of the entire process.

In addition, waiting time can lead to increased lead times, higher costs, and can ultimately frustrate both employees and customers, since employees are unable to move on to subsequent tasks and customers may experience longer wait periods for services or products. Reducing waiting time is crucial for improving the flow of work and enhancing productivity in Lean IT practices, as it allows for a smoother and more efficient process overall.