Many organizations measure utilization as a proxy for productivity. The problem with this method is that high utilization is only good up to a point. Once utilization gets above a certain level, there is no spare capacity (or “slack”) to absorb unplanned work, changes to the plan, or improvement work. This results in longer lead times to complete work. Queue theory in math tells us that as utilization approaches 100%, lead times approach infinity—in other words, once you get to very high levels of utilization, it takes teams exponentially longer to get anything done. Since lead time—a measure of how fast work can be completed—is a productivity metric that doesn’t suffer from the drawbacks of the other metrics we’ve seen, it’s essential that we manage utilization to balance it against lead time in an economically optimal way.

Forsgren PhD, Nicole; Humble, Jez; Kim, Gene. Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations (pp. 47-48). IT Revolution Press.

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