ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Queuing Rule of Thumb

Okay, let's imagine you are standing in a line at a store. There are people in front of you and people behind you. This is called a queue!

Now, the queuing rule of thumb is a way to help us make decisions about how long we're willing to wait in a queue. It's a general guide that helps us estimate the time we'll spend waiting and decide whether it's worth it to stay in line.

Basically, the rule of thumb says that you should expect to wait about 1 minute for every 3 people in front of you. So, if there are 9 people ahead of you in line, you can expect to wait for about 3 minutes.

But, this rule isn't always exact. Sometimes the people in front of you take longer to finish their transactions, or someone might have a complicated problem that takes a long time to solve. That's why the rule of thumb is just an estimate!

So, the queuing rule of thumb helps us decide if we want to stay in a line or not based on how many people are ahead of us and how long we're willing to wait. But remember, it's just an estimate and sometimes queues can move faster or slower than expected.