The Problem
Work Moves—Until It Doesn't
Queues age, SLAs wobble, and teams feel "busy" without finishing more. The culprit is usually a handful of bottlenecks—slow approvals, unclear ownership, vendor waits, missing information, or tool friction—that quietly add hours to every ticket or task. Mapping and eliminating these constraints is the fastest way to cut cycle time, protect SLAs, and reduce cost.
The Framework
Risk Conditions (Act Early)
Use these leading indicators to trigger a bottleneck review:
- P90 age ↑ for 2+ weeks with flat intake (volume isn't the driver)
- Touch time vs wait time: wait time > 60% of total cycle time
- Handoffs/touches per item ↑ (ping-pong between teams/tiers)
- Approval latency > 24–48h on common flows
- Reopen rate ↑ (work bouncing back for missing info/steps)
Action: Run a quick flow-mapping exercise on the top 2–3 journeys.
Issue Conditions (Already in Trouble)
Move to focused containment if:
- SLA breach rate (7–14d) > threshold in queues with many handoffs
- Oldest-age items cluster behind a specific team/role/vendor
- AHT rising but with little "value add" time (mostly waiting or rework)
Action: Prioritize the blocked steps, add temporary bypasses, and time-box an improvement sprint.
Common Diagnostics
Ask these to find the real constraint (not the symptom):
- Where does work wait? (team, approval, vendor, environment access)
- What's missing at intake? (data fields, screenshots, attachments, decision rights)
- Who owns the baton? (single-threaded owner vs many partial owners)
- What breaks on handoff? (ambiguous status, incomplete checklists, tool gaps)
- What step repeats? (rework loops from unclear acceptance criteria)
- Which vendor step lags? (OLA vs actual, change blackout clashes)
Step-by-Step Guide
Map the Journey (1–2 Days)
Actions:
- Pick 2–3 top journeys (e.g., incident restore, access request, change approval, design review)
- Time-stamp the steps: intake → triage → diagnose → approve → execute → validate → close
- Measure three things per step: median wait, error/rework rate, and responsible role/team
- Visualize (simple swimlane): highlight steps with long wait or high rework
Expected Impact: Shared truth about where time really goes.
Remove the Drag (1–3 Weeks)
Actions:
- Fix intake: require 3–5 decisive fields; add macros/templates; attach auto-captured context/logs
- Reduce approvals: collapse low-risk approvals; add auto-approve thresholds and fallback SLAs
- Single-threaded ownership: assign one owner end-to-end; others consult, not own
- Standardize handoffs: definition of "ready," checklists, status reasons; link artifacts to the ticket
- Tooling shortcuts: scripts/remote actions for common steps; pre-built forms for repeatable changes
Expected Impact: Cycle time ↓ 15–30%; fewer bounces and reopens.
Bypass & Buffer (Now)
Actions:
- Fast lane for P1/P2 or high-value work: pre-approved steps, dedicated reviewers, or standing CAB
- Vendor escalation pack: linked IDs, timestamps, business impact; invoke OLA ladder
- Temporary parallelization: split review/execute where independence exists
- Daily 15-min stand-up: yesterday's blockers, today's owners, expected unblocks
Expected Impact: Immediate relief on oldest-age items and breach risk.
Make It Durable
Actions:
- Quarterly journey reviews: cycle time, handoffs, wait ratio, rework, sentiment
- Golden-path runbooks: decision trees with validation steps for each journey
- Automation candidates: promote stable steps to bots/scripts; add auto-collection of evidence
- Contract hygiene: align SLAs/OLAs to the measured reality; formalize approval SLAs and blackout windows
Expected Impact: Sustained flow; predictable delivery with lower variance.
KPIs to Track
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Cycle time (median & P90) by journey | ↓ 15–30% in 30–60 days |
| Wait time ratio (wait ÷ total) | ↓ to < 50% on key flows |
| Handoffs per item | ↓ 20–40% with single-threaded ownership |
| Reopen rate | ↓ via intake and validation checklists |
| SLA breach rate | ↓ 20% in affected queues |
Warning Signals
Real Scenarios
Change Approval Bottleneck
Context
Standard changes taking 5+ days due to CAB meeting cadence and manual approvals.
Steps
- 1.Map the change journey with timestamps
- 2.Identify low-risk changes for pre-approval
- 3.Create standing approval for standard changes
- 4.Implement auto-approve for low-impact categories
- 5.Track cycle time improvement weekly
Access Request Ping-Pong
Context
Access requests bouncing between 4 teams, averaging 3 days to complete.
Steps
- 1.Document current handoff points
- 2.Identify missing info at intake causing bounces
- 3.Create decisive intake form with required fields
- 4.Assign single owner for end-to-end completion
- 5.Implement validation checklist before close
Quick Wins
Start with these immediate actions:
- Create a swimlane diagram for your top 3 work types
- Add auto-approve thresholds for low-risk approvals
- Implement single-threaded ownership pilot on one queue
- Build a "definition of ready" checklist for intake
Related Playbooks
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