EP015

Faster Process Bottleneck Resolution vs. Sustainable Long-Term Fix

Business Context. Resolving a process bottleneck quickly restores throughput and satisfies immediate business pressure, but a fast fix implemented without addressing the underlying structural cause can allow the bottleneck to recur under slightly different conditions.

Process TRIZ Resolution. Rather than treating quick resolution and sustainable fix as sequential alternatives, organizations should implement an immediate operational workaround to restore throughput while a parallel structural improvement project addresses the underlying cause permanently.

Applicable TRIZ Principles

Principle 1 (Segmentation) separates the immediate operational workaround from the underlying structural fix.

Principle 17 (Another Dimension) runs the structural improvement project in parallel with the immediate workaround.

Principle 9 (Preliminary Anti-Action) treats the workaround explicitly as temporary rather than allowing it to become permanent.

Expected Outcome

Fast restoration of throughput

Sustainable underlying fix

Reduced bottleneck recurrence

Clear distinction between temporary and permanent solutions

Decision Indicators

The same bottleneck has recurred multiple times despite repeated fixes.

Temporary workarounds have become permanent by default.

No structural improvement project follows the initial quick fix.

Teams cannot distinguish which fixes were meant to be temporary.

Bottleneck resolution is measured only by immediate throughput restoration.

If several of these indicators are present, the contradiction is likely active and the Process TRIZ resolution above should be evaluated.