From the category archives:

queueing theory

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, A Queueing Perspective

by Pete Abilla July 8, 2010
This entry is part 28 of 28 in the series queueing theory

Yes, I feel like a manchild as I write this post about a vampire love story, but there is some relevance to the long-time readers of shmula.com: why would people wait for 3 days to see The Twilight Saga Eclipse? The answer can be found in the Psychology of Queueing (Queing) or Psychology of Waiting [...]

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Software Development is Queue Management

by Pete Abilla June 1, 2010
This entry is part 5 of 28 in the series queueing theory

Little’s Law is an incredibly helpful principle for business. Unfortunately, it is not used enough, or it is poorly understood. As review, Little’s Law: For a Queueing (Queuing) System in steady state, the average length L of the queue equals the average arrival rate λ times the average waiting time W. Or, L = λW [...]

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A Fulfillment Center is a Queueing System

by Pete Abilla May 30, 2010
This entry is part 2 of 28 in the series queueing theory

A Queueing (Queuing) System is a structure where things arrive (anything, including people), they join a line, wait for service.  After being served, they exit the system. One result of Queueing Theory is Little’s Law: Little’s Law: For a Queueing (Queuing) System in steady state, the average length L of the queue equals the average [...]

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Queue Shapes, Culturally Influenced

by Pete Abilla May 20, 2010
This entry is part 21 of 28 in the series queueing theory

Does the shape of the queue matter?  What determines how waiting lines are organized? A provocative young artist recently published a set of infographics that compare the differences between the West and the East.  In one of those, she portrays the differences in waiting between the West and the East. In that infographic, you get [...]

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A Bracket is a Queue

by Pete Abilla March 31, 2010
This entry is part 4 of 28 in the series queueing theory

We’re accustomed to viewing queues as serial lines, or people waiting to be served.  But, not much thought is given to the shapes of queues. Well, a Bracket is a type of Queue. In general, a queue is a line of people or things waiting to be handled, sometimes in sequential order starting at the [...]

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Emergency Room (ER) Wait Times

by Pete Abilla January 21, 2010
This entry is part 4 of 28 in the series queueing theory

The Emergency Room plays a vital role in patient care and plays an important role in communities and society.  According to the CDC, there were 119.2 million visits to the Emergency Room in 2007 1.  Indeed, the demand for emergency room care is great. With the aging demographic, we can expect the demand for emergency [...]

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On Queueing, Oil Change, and Customer Experience

by Pete Abilla April 2, 2009
This entry is part 2 of 28 in the series queueing theory

Earlier this week, I went to Jiffy Lube to get my oil change. I once worked for a person responsible for the redesign of many waiting rooms in various industries, so I went with an observant eye, looking for the items that he taught me about in his ethnographic work.   It was a very [...]

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Law of Instinct

by Pete Abilla November 17, 2008

I love data, but not much credit is given to hunch; gut, instinct.  Colin Powell, in his Laws of Leadership, shares what he calls his Law of Instinct.  He claims the following: Part I: Use the formula P@40-to-70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information [...]

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Attitude and the Pyschology of Queueing

by Pete Abilla February 2, 2008
This entry is part 20 of 28 in the series queueing theory

I took the kids to see a movie at a nearby dollar theater many weeks ago.  We saw Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and some parts of that movie has stayed with me.  I thought that the movie was actually very good: it was an overall very good feel-good movie, with a very good message.  One [...]

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