ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cycle time variation

Okay kiddo, let me explain cycle time variation in a way you can understand.

Imagine you have a toy car that you want to race along a track that has some bumpy parts. You want to see how fast you can make the car go, but sometimes it gets slowed down by the bumps.

Cycle time variation is like the time it takes for your toy car to go from one point of the race track to another, but sometimes it goes slower because of the bumps. In other words, it's the time it takes to complete a task with some bumps and obstacles along the way that can slow it down.

In real life, cycle time variation is something that companies try to measure to see how long it takes for them to complete a process or task. They want to make sure that they are doing things as quickly and efficiently as possible.

For example, a company that makes shoes might want to measure how long it takes them to make one pair of shoes. But they might notice that sometimes it takes longer because there are some bumps and obstacles along the way, like a worker getting sick or a machine breaking down.

By measuring the cycle time variation, the company can see how long it takes on average to make a pair of shoes, but also how much longer it can take when things don't go as planned. This can help them figure out ways to reduce the cycle time variation and make their process more efficient.

So just like your toy car race, cycle time variation is all about how long it takes to complete a task, even when there are bumps and obstacles in the way. But by measuring and understanding it, companies can find ways to do things faster and better.