Flow & Delivery Simulator

Explore how queues, batching, and high WIP disrupt delivery and drive up Cost of Delay.

Execution Pipeline

🕒 {{ formattedSimTime }}
System Stage
Active Processing
Queue (Waiting)
{{ step.name }}
Cycle Time: {{ step.cycleTime }}h
IDLE
Items in Queue: {{ step.queue.length }}
+{{ step.queue.length - 100 }} more

Flow & Economic Analytics

Watch how system dynamics impact lead time, cost of delay, and value delivery.

Cost of Delay
${{ Math.round(state.totalCostOfDelay).toLocaleString() }}
Value Delivered
${{ Math.round(state.totalBusinessValue).toLocaleString() }}
System WIP
{{ state.currentWIP }}
Avg Lead Time
{{ state.avgLeadTime.toFixed(1) }} h
Completed
{{ state.completedCount }} / {{ state.demand }}

Flow & Delivery Simulator

Welcome! This simulation models the mechanics of flow and queuing theory in software delivery. It illustrates how system design, rather than individual effort, dominates lead time and value delivery.

What this illustrates

  • The Impact of WIP: High Work-In-Progress immediately spikes Lead Time and delays value delivery.
  • The Cost of Batching: Moving work in large batches starves downstream stages and creates massive queues.
  • Variance & Rework: Natural variance and defect loops disrupt even the best-planned systems, demonstrating why slack is essential.

How to use the simulator

  • Select Scenarios: Use the dropdown to load common anti-patterns like "The Logjam" or "100% Utilization".
  • Tweak Parameters: Adjust pipeline stages, batch sizes, or task variance to see real-time effects on flow.
  • Observe the Flow: Click Play and watch items move through the pipeline. Monitor the financial impact in the analytics panel.