Serial Process
A process laid out as a sequence of steps, where each step's output feeds into the next.
Also known as: Sequential Process, Linear Process, Series Process
A serial process is the most common process structure. Work moves through steps in order, step 1, then step 2, then step 3. The total process time is the sum of all individual step times. The capacity is determined by the slowest step.
Delays between steps do not affect process capacity, but they do affect flow time.
Example
A hiring process: Screen Resume (10 min) → Phone Interview (30 min) → In-Person Interview (60 min) → Reference Check (20 min).
System process time = 10 + 30 + 60 + 20 = 120 minutes. The bottleneck is the In-Person Interview at 1 per hour.
Why It Matters
The MyProcessManager calculator models serial processes. Understanding that the capacity equals the bottleneck capacity, not the average or total, is the key insight. Improving the fastest step in a serial process does nothing for overall output. All improvement effort should target the bottleneck step.