What does limiting WIP aim to prevent?

What does limiting WIP aim to prevent?

• A. Delays caused by overplanning.
• B. Overloading the board with tasks.
• C. Bottlenecks and improve flow.
• D. Unclear product vision.

Answer: (C)

Limiting WIP focuses on controlling how much work is actively in progress so the system can move work smoothly. When too much work is in flight, some stages become bottlenecks, causing queues, delays, and uneven throughput. By setting WIP limits, work flows in smaller, manageable batches, bottlenecks are exposed earlier, context switching drops, and cycle times shorten, leading to a steadier, faster overall flow. That’s why preventing bottlenecks and improving flow is the best fit. The other options describe related symptoms or causes but don’t capture the core effect of WIP limits: they aren’t primarily about planning delays, overloading the board is a consequence rather than the primary aim, and unclear product vision isn’t addressed by WIP constraints.

Limiting WIP focuses on controlling how much work is actively in progress so the system can move work smoothly. When too much work is in flight, some stages become bottlenecks, causing queues, delays, and uneven throughput. By setting WIP limits, work flows in smaller, manageable batches, bottlenecks are exposed earlier, context switching drops, and cycle times shorten, leading to a steadier, faster overall flow. That’s why preventing bottlenecks and improving flow is the best fit. The other options describe related symptoms or causes but don’t capture the core effect of WIP limits: they aren’t primarily about planning delays, overloading the board is a consequence rather than the primary aim, and unclear product vision isn’t addressed by WIP constraints.