Multitasking makes each and every task to take a longer time to complete than required. The cause of delay is due to the time lost when switching between multiple tasks, as shown in the following figure.
According to Gerald Weinberg (Quality Software Management: Systems Thinking), there is a loss of around 20% of the total time per task switching. Therefore, fewer task switching leads to less loss of time.
Little’s Law for Operations
You just learned that multitasking results in lower productivity. Little’s Law helps you understand the context in more detail. The law is stated as a formula.
PLT is directly proportional to the number of items in the system (WIP). The more number of items in the system or queue results in longer PLT.
You might need to calculate the required variable for two types of systems:
- Stable Systems: Apply the modified Little’s Law and use actual measurements from the system.
- Unstable Systems: Apply the original Little’s Law and use average measurements from the system.
Source: DASA DevOps Professional – Enable and Scale coursebook.
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