Check in, pick up your badge, and connect with other attendees before the program begins. Staff will be available to answer questions and help you get settled.

This workshop is for anyone new to the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes. This is an area of TOC that sometimes misses the limelight of DBR and CCPM; however, it can be considered both more broad-reaching and more important for organizations and individuals.

There are three key areas the workshop will cover:

Learners will be given an introduction and overview of the Thinking Process toolset, providing context for all the various tools and their purpose—leaving with a map of how the tools fit together and what the purpose of each tool is.

The why of the Thinking Processes. We all know how to think already, right? So why are these tools so important to learn and apply effectively?

Learning the fundamental logic structures by applying them to real-world situations—leaving with the skills to use the basics in everyday life and enough understanding to build on these skills by learning more of the TP toolset.

If you are an Executive or a Manager in a Manufacturing Organization this hands-on workshop is for you. It will teach you and your management team via a realistic, hands-on production simulation, how to use the techniques outlined in the Goal to increase productive capacity, improve on-time delivery, decrease inventory, reduce costs, and maximize net profit. For more info, please click this link - https://cmsmontera.com/goal-workshop/

Recharge with coffee, tea, and light snacks. A great time to network and prepare for the next session.

This hands-on workshop will focus on one of the biggest hurdles in TOC consulting: sustaining the change long-term. TOC implementations are known for the phenomenal results they attain in extremely short timeframes, delivering through-the-roof ROI. Nevertheless, TOC implementations seem to be subject to the same forces that many other change initiatives fall prey to. Despite the incredible results, too many companies eventually revert to their old ways and the results fade away. The good news: if there is any community that can figure out how to change that trajectory, it’s the TOC community. This workshop will focus on identifying the key gaps in the early stages of a TOC implementation that hinder the ability to sustain results.

Participants will work through interactive exercises to uncover these barriers and identify the key levers for keeping improvements moving forward, ensuring that the implementation isn’t just a one-time success but a launching pad for the next leaps in performance.

We will explore behavioral and cultural shifts required for lasting success, and dive deep into the importance of agreeing on new measures, instilling new habits, and aligning systems to support the change. We will also touch on succession strategies that integrate criteria to prevent new managers or executives from reverting to outdated cost-world thinking.

If you’re a consultant, you will gain actionable strategies to enable your client to embed the changes and ensure that improvements continue long after the engagement ends.

If you’re a client of consultants, you will gain actionable strategies to ensure that your investment continues to pay off long after the engagement ends.

Kick off the TOC Innovation Summit with an evening reception hosted by WiseTech Global at NOVE, located on the 51st floor of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms Casino Resort. Enjoy drinks, light hors d’oeuvres, and panoramic views of Las Vegas while connecting with fellow attendees, speakers, and industry leaders.

If you haven’t checked in yet, stop by the registration desk to pick up your badge and event materials before the day begins. A light breakfast will be served — a great opportunity to connect with fellow attendees and get oriented before the program starts

Join us as we officially open the TOC Innovation Summit. You’ll hear important updates, learn how to make the most of the program, and get a quick overview of sessions, tracks, and key activities. It’s the perfect time to connect with fellow attendees and start the Summit experience together.

The global logistics industry is $11 Trillion, approximately 10% of global GDP, beset with macro challenges and operating with extensive local optima. WiseTech is developing global industry solutions to meet these challenges – these are problems worth solving.

Every industry, or even company in an industry, creates value in its unique way. But the patterns of inefficiency are the same across industries. Yes, they are. And so are the solutions to break those patterns.

Drawing upon 35 years of experience across a wide range of industries—hospitals; mining; manufacturing; maintenance, repair & overhaul; construction; high tech; and even back-office operations—Sanjeev will describe what those patterns are. He will also share how those patterns arise from very few common causes, and how to break them.

Enjoy coffee, tea, and light snacks. Sponsors will be available to connect and discuss their solutions.

Take the Fantasy elevators down to the Ground Floor, then transfer to the NOVE elevators to reach NOVE, located on the 51st floor of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms Casino Resort.

Enjoy a relaxed meal with peers while continuing the day’s conversations. Please return promptly — afternoon sessions begin at 1:00 PM PDT.

A compelling case study from Comstock Inc., revealing how a holistic, systemic application of Theory of Constraints and the Theory of Profound Knowledge transformed its strategic planning, execution, and organizational development into a repeatable engine of globally impactful innovation. CEO Corrado DeGasperis explores how alignment, empathy, reliability and constraint-based management systems enable transformative results.

TOC offers a bold promise to leadership teams: it will help them FOCUS on what matters most. It tells us to focus on the Constraint. But real-world systems are messy—there are many goals, many constraints, many problems, many conflicts, and many possible solutions. So how do we find and focus on the next ONE Thing?

This session introduces the ONE THING Focusing Cycle, a simple yet powerful way to cut through complexity. By combining Dr. Goldratt’s 5 Focusing Steps with his ProConCloud method, this step-by-step method helps teams and individuals identify and resolve the next 1 Goal, 1 Constraint, 1 Problem, 1 Conflict, 1 Innovation, and 1 Experiment to focus on.

If you’re ready to move faster with more clarity and less overwhelm, this session is your next best step.

Take a break to enjoy coffee, tea, and light snacks. Sponsors will be available at their booths for conversations and questions.

It started with a Google search: “What’s a Goldratt?” What followed transformed not just project delivery—but an entire company.
In this fast-paced, story-driven talk, Val King shares how discovering the Theory of Constraints turned chaos into clarity. After years stuck at 70% on-time delivery (even with Agile and Scrum), his team reached 94% using Critical Chain—and from that success came a bigger realization: the same thinking could fix everything else.
This is a talk about seeing what others miss. Whether you lead a law firm, hospital, IT shop, or small manufacturing business, you’ll learn how to find your real constraint, protect it, and turn work into flow. Along the way, you’ll hear how a Google search, a war room of sticky notes, and one clarified constraint helped change not just project delivery—but the entire culture of a company.
You’ll leave with one action you can take Monday—and a radically different way of seeing how work really gets done.

If you haven’t checked in yet, stop by the registration desk this morning to pick up your badge and materials. A light breakfast will be served — the perfect way to start the day, connect with fellow attendees, and get ready for Tuesday’s sessions.

Start the day with key updates, reminders, and highlights to help you get the most from today’s sessions and activities.

This session will introduce Goldratt UK's Rules of Flow for MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul)—a recent advancement in their implementation approach. Inspired by Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag’s book Goldratt’s Rules of Flow, the Goldratt UK team has developed a practical 10-step framework specifically tailored for the MRO environment. After extensive field testing and refinement, they are now sharing this framework with the Theory of Constraints (TOC) community.

Ian will present real-world client examples to illustrate the framework’s impact and effectiveness in practice.

Attendees will gain:
>A clear understanding of Goldratt UK's Rules of Flow for MRO and its foundation in TOC principles
>Practical case examples demonstrating its application
>A 10-step framework ready to apply or adapt within their own MRO environments

Wolf McNally has spent four decades turning audacious ideas into software that reshapes how people think. As the creator of Flying Logic, he made the visual language of the Theory of Constraints accessible to strategists from Fortune 500 firms to solo consultants. He also leads research at Blockchain Commons, developing open-source protocols for digital autonomy.


In this session Wolf traces Flying Logic’s evolution as a decision accelerator, then confronts the elephant on every strategic planner’s whiteboard: artificial intelligence. He compares the way large models reason with the way humans think, exposes the cognitive terrain AI cannot cross, and shows how TOC practitioners can ride the wave instead of becoming the constraint. He closes with a glimpse into his research for next-generation AI-integrated TOC tools.

Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) blends Operations and Project Management with its own unique challenges, Goldratt UK developed the Rules of Flow for MRO to successfully implement TOC in MRO environments. Learn how Embraer – the world’s third largest commercial jet manufacturer - implemented these Rules of Flow to improve the turnaround time of aircraft brought in for maintenance, increase delivery performance, and boost profitability. Attendees will learn more about the inherent challenges and complexities of MRO environments and how TOC can be applied to overcome them, reducing firefighting and improving flow and capacity. Understand what’s next for Embraer as they strive to rolling out the Rules of Flow for MRO across further sites and functions.

Assuming that the general goal of government is increasing the quality of life—now and in the future, this presentation examines the persistent constraints that prevent governments from reliably achieving that aim. Governments operate in a complex and demanding environment shaped by limited resources, volatility, uncertainty, competing priorities, and deep ideological divides. These persistent constraints—distinct from day-to-day obstacles—are recurring sources of systemic tension that must be identified, categorized, and addressed if meaningful progress is to be made. The analysis is built on the shoulders of government thought leaders applying the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to public systems, including Kristen Cox (Results Management in government operations), Alan Barnard (Strategy and decision science), and Rami Goldratt (TOC implementation in national systems). Using TOC thinking tools—especially the Evaporating Cloud and the concept of oscillating conflicts—we will surface the most impactful and recurring constraints that governments face across the tactical (service), operational (agency), and strategic (political) levels. We use conflict categories and also look at budget conflicts and how they can be resolved. We will then focus on one or two of these chronic conflicts for deeper examination, analyzing their underlying assumptions and proposing potential injections to dissolve them. In the spirit of John Dewey’s insight that “a problem well-defined is half-solved,” this session aims to strengthen the conceptual foundation for applying TOC to governance—clarifying constraints that obstruct progress and creating a path toward greater societal well-being through deliberate and measurable improvement.

Grab coffee and a snack, then connect with sponsors at their booths to learn about their tools and solutions.

This session explores how AI agents dramatically accelerate the TOC Thinking Processes, demonstrating their use in refining verbalization, root cause analysis, and solution guidance. It also highlights the critical need for expertise to efficiently manage AI task consumption ("tokenization") and avoid unnecessary costs, marking the shift to AI-driven Service-as-Software.

Every MRO operation faces at least one critical constraint that limits turnaround time, disrupts workflow, or creates costly delays. In this interactive session, participants will be guided through a structured approach used to deliver 90-day turnarounds in real-world MRO environments.

Attendees are invited to bring a current operational challenge and work through it live—whether it’s parts availability, inspection backlogs, staffing, or hangar scheduling. The goal: uncover the real constraint and identify the actions that can unlock significant performance gains, fast.

Questions on how to participate? Email events@tocico.org

Manufacturing value as a percent of GDP is declining across most major industrial countries.  What does AI say about the reason why?.  What does AI say to do about it - what needs to be done to make manufacturing strong again?  Is the AI answer any good?  Jack and Duncan from Montera think the AI answer falls short.  They dare to explore the idea that there is one thing that could change everything.  Join them as they share their thoughts and ideas from over 25 years of implementing TOC with manufacturers.

Take the Fantasy elevators down to the Ground Floor, then transfer to the NOVE elevators to reach NOVE, located on the 51st floor of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms Casino Resort.

Enjoy a relaxed meal with peers while continuing the day’s conversations. Please return promptly — afternoon sessions begin at 1:00 PM PDT.

The Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization (TOCICO) invites members of its global community to participate in recognizing excellence through its Awards Nomination process. Nominations are opened annually, allowing individuals to propose deserving individuals or organizations for prestigious honors such as the Distinguished Service Award or the Outstanding Product or Service Award. The submissions are reviewed by TOCICO’s Awards and Recognition Committee, with winners being celebrated at the TOC Innovation Summit. These accolades spotlight those who have significantly advanced the Theory of Constraints community with outstanding contributions and achievements.

Grab coffee and a snack, then connect with sponsors at their booths — they’ll be available to chat and share insights.

Learn how a rag-tag group of individual contributors are helping a large scale aerospace and defense contractor leave behind its addiction to productive capacity, re-think its thinking and learn to love flow again.

This session presents research focused on making the TOC Thinking Processes (TP) accessible to everyone through generative AI. Building on last year’s prototype—which used Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and prompt chaining to help non-experts quickly create UDEs and CRTs—three major enhancements were introduced this year: a dialogue-based interface for sequential question-answer interaction, an AI agent that incorporates industry-specific knowledge, and a system reconstruction as a GPT app for broader deployment. These upgrades further reduce the entry barrier to TP and support faster, more inclusive problem-solving.

Attendees will:

Learn how to use generative AI agents to construct UDEs and CRTs
Apply RAG-based techniques to support root-cause analysis
Explore interactive dialogue systems to guide non-experts through TP
Gain insight into integrating AI tools into organizational problem-solving frameworks.

While CCPM effectively manages flow, it assumes the project team is already aligned, capable, and collaborative. In practice, the human side of projects is often the hidden constraint. Misaligned team composition, poor communication, and limited learning during execution can stall performance—regardless of how well the schedule is managed.

This session introduces an evolved CCPM approach by integrating Doug Wilde’s Teamology, which builds cognitively diverse teams using Jungian typology, and embedding structured peer learning into project flow. This aligns with TOC’s core principle: focus on the real constraint to improve throughput.

A proposed pilot will be shared, comparing a standard CCPM team with one using the A-Team framework: Teamology-informed team design, a co-created team charter, learning rituals such as feedback circles and “hotseats,” and psychological safety checks. The goal is not just faster delivery, but smarter, self-improving teams.

Attendees will leave with a simple, replicable framework for building A-Teams:

How to use typology to design better teams

How to embed learning rituals into project cycles

How to measure team functioning alongside buffer burn

How evolving CCPM in this way can dramatically boost project velocity and long-term team effectiveness

In 2020, SpaceX successfully launched the first manned mission of the brand new Dragon 2 spacecraft. For the mission control teams, the "Demo-2" mission was the culmination of years of preparation and training. When the goal of flying 8 mission per year was set, it became clear that a paradigm shift was required in how training was conducted. While TOC proscribes a foundation for optimizing a system, the engineers at SpaceX are challenged to go much farther than that. We'll look at how the Theory of Constraints applied to optimizing the execution of complex, costly training events. Then we'll look at how integrating TOC within Elon Musk's Algorithm exposes the perils of premature optimization.

To contract or not to contract remains a fundamental conflict in the public sector. This analytical paper and presentation uses empirical research to explore the benefits of using Theory of Constraints (TOC) tools and methods in the world of public sector procurement to make better “make or buy” decisions, manage contractors to success, and ultimately produce more quality public value per tax dollar.

This session presents a solution that combines AI-enhanced Theory of Constraints and System Dynamics modeling for organizations seeking deeper system understanding and aiming to overcome complex, persistent problems in healthcare.
This session will highlight:
Strengths and limitations of AI for enhancing systems thinking
How TOC and System Dynamics offer complementary system understanding
A deeper understanding of how PTSD is shaped by personal, social, and system-level variables
The impact of visual models on social construction

There is a 3rd Way (out of five) to increase Throughput in a System — without acting on the “flow rate” Constraint (to increase the Volume of the Flow), or reducing the “lead time” Constraint (to increase the Velocity of the Flow). Instead, increase the Value of the Flow, by acting to improve the Value-to-Customer (V2C) of the Output — as illustrated in the solo-preneur Melissa Case Study. 

Join us for an evening of pizza, snacks, and a special showing of The Goal — the classic story that brings the Theory of Constraints to life in a practical, engaging way. Relax with fellow attendees, enjoy great food, and see TOC principles in action on screen.

If you haven’t checked in yet, stop by the registration desk this morning to pick up your badge and materials. A light breakfast will be served — the perfect way to start the day, connect with fellow attendees, and get ready for Wednesday’s sessions.

Get the latest updates and a quick look ahead at today’s sessions, tracks, and networking opportunities.

In today’s marketplace, where products are commoditized and price is no longer a differentiator, inventory turnover becomes a decisive source of competitive advantage. Miguel Abuhab, Founder and Chairman of Neogrid, will share how outdated business rules rooted in past technological constraints continue to limit performance — and how shifting to synchronous, demand-driven practices can unlock higher returns on inventory, reduce out-of-stocks, and improve cash flow across the supply chain.

This session addresses the patient throughput challenges facing post-COVID Emergency Departments across the country—challenges that directly impact patient care. Presenters will share their experience using data analytics, with the support of AI, to uncover and identify resource constraints within the ED.

By aligning providers, nurses, and ancillary staff to patient flow, the team was able to optimize departmental efficiency without adding resources. Improvements were achieved in key performance areas, including Left Without Being Seen (LWBS), Length of Stay (LOS), and Patient Experience.

Attendees will gain ideas on using data effectively, leveraging AI to visually represent data, and approaching complex problems with actionable, resource-conscious solutions.

Discover how Belgotex, South Africa’s largest carpet manufacturer, transformed its operations with the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Hear from Belgotex’s senior leadership and Goldratt UK how TOC was applied in production and procurement to overcome availability challenges, improve on-time, in-full delivery, and reduce excess inventory. By aligning their vision with TOC principles, Belgotex not only boosted customer and employee satisfaction but also achieved a remarkable 293.5% increase in profitability within just one year. In this session, attendees will gain practical insights into applying TOC to production and procurement challenges whilst learning lessons from Belgotex’s journey that can be applied across manufacturing environments.

Part of the TOC Fundamentals Track, this session introduces Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) — the TOC approach to delivering projects faster and with greater reliability. Learn how to identify and protect the project’s critical chain, manage buffers effectively, and improve on-time performance while reducing stress and firefighting.

Enjoy coffee, tea, and light snacks. Sponsors will be available at their booths to answer questions and share insights.

Despite decades of proven results across industries, the Theory of Constraints (TOC) remains far from mainstream. This session explores the paradox: why TOC is so difficult to “sell” to decision-makers and why many implementations stall, even within organizations that initiate them. The discussion will examine commonly cited barriers along with a less-discussed but critical factor—TOC’s own uniqueness—and how that may inadvertently limit its adoption. Structured around three key phases—consideration, acceptance, and persistence—this session offers a clear view of the obstacles and a practical way forward to support faster, broader, and more sustainable TOC growth.

Every healthcare organization faces at least one critical constraint that limits patient flow, strains staff capacity, or slows access to care. In this interactive session, participants will be guided through a structured approach used to deliver 90-day turnarounds in real-world healthcare settings.

Attendees are invited to bring a current operational challenge and work through it live—whether it’s emergency department wait times, bed availability, surgical scheduling, or discharge delays. The goal: uncover the real constraint and identify the actions that can unlock significant improvements, fast.

Questions on how to participate? Email events@tocico.org

While the basic concepts behind Critical Chain remain valid today, Critical Chain software has changed a lot over the past 30 years. In this presentation, Rob will talk about the evolution of ProChain’s software and how they have managed the inevitable conflict between building capabilities while maintaining simplicity. How can you give users the ability to navigate the different situations they might encounter, while minimizing the difficulties they will have in learning to use the tools?

At a scrap recycler, a labor-intensive process led to low customer satisfaction, on-time delivery hovering around 50%, and an order-to-cash cycle of 95 days. Rework in the form of missed or rolled steamship bookings was hidden within the process and impossible to measure, while container booking staff worked evenings and weekends just to keep up.

Using a current reality diagram, the team identified a constraint in the ERP software: new orders had to be tied to specific ports. Any changes required a complete rework, and each contract generated seventy-two emails before a shipment could be completed.

The solution was to offload the bottleneck with a bolt-on contract management application that also handled shipping. By integrating branch operations with shipping ports, the company gained full process visibility. The results were significant: on-time delivery improved from 50% to 85%, order-to-cash dropped from 95 days to 58 days, and staff not only went home on time but eventually gained the flexibility to work from home.

Current CCPM planning and scheduling risk management metrics are not fully leveraging the capabilities of newly available technologies. To remain relevant, the Theory of Constraints must adapt to incorporate these advancements.
This session will offer a deeper understanding of the limitations of existing CCPM risk management metrics and explore why updating them is critical in today’s evolving technological landscape.

Part of the TOC Fundamentals Track, this session explores how the Theory of Constraints reshapes traditional financial thinking. You’ll learn key TOC measures — Throughput, Inventory, and Operating Expense — and how to use them to make better decisions, evaluate true profitability, and align operations with the organization’s overall goal.

Take the Fantasy elevators down to the Ground Floor, then transfer to the NOVE elevators to reach NOVE, located on the 51st floor of the Fantasy Tower at the Palms Casino Resort.

Enjoy a relaxed meal with peers while continuing the day’s conversations. Please return promptly — afternoon sessions begin at 1:30 PM PDT.

WiseTech Global is an organization proud of its DNA - TOC Thinking Processes, the Black Built in Thinking, Constraints, buffers, flow, enabling mantras and credo's.

As WiseTech grows, it will require reliable, repeatable, scalable delivery of projects. But how do you implement a project management 'way of working' with the structures necessary for scalability, without jeopardising the cultural need for agility, responsiveness, fast pace and high velocity?

This presentation will showcase:

The Core Conflict, and how it was arrived at

The current environmental conditions (conditions ripe for success)

A sample of the content being implemented for the WiseTech Way Project Delivery Framework.

A taste of what the future Project Portfolio Management 'Way of Working' will look like.

This session will describe the factors causing the 38-year-old problem of ED overcrowding to persist. TOC is the solution to the problem, as it finds the constraint—which, in hospitals and emergency departments, is a staffed bed. This presentation will show how using buffer management can help alert staff and management when to focus on constraint management and find hidden opportunities to exploit the constraint.

Topics covered will include:

Understanding how measuring, monitoring, and alerting when buffers are increasing can help manage downstream constraints

How to use live data to drive prescriptive actions

How fun and easy TOC is

Part of the TOC Fundamentals Track, this session introduces how the Theory of Constraints can transform supply chain and logistics performance. Learn the core principles behind reliable flow, inventory positioning, and buffer management to improve delivery performance, reduce lead times, and increase overall system throughput.

Every mine faces at least one critical constraint that limits throughput, drags down efficiency, or stalls performance. In this interactive session, participants will be guided through a structured approach used to deliver 90-day turnarounds in real-world mining operations.
Attendees are invited to bring a current operational challenge and work through it live—whether it's equipment availability, material flow, staffing, or shift transitions. The goal: uncover the real constraint and identify the actions that can unlock significant gains, fast.
Questions on how to participate? Email events@tocico.org

Grab coffee and a snack, then connect with sponsors at their booths — they’ll be available to chat and share insights.

Buffer targets in TOC implementations use past patterns of consumption data and are often inadequate to protect availability against demand shifts caused by predictable demand drivers. The proposed dynamic buffer targeting, using AI/ML in demand sensing, anticipates these demand shifts and adjusts the relevant buffers proactively, thereby reducing stockouts and excess inventory. Its implementation in multiple companies has produced encouraging results.

Part of the TOC Fundamentals Track, this session introduces the core concepts of production and operations management through the lens of the Theory of Constraints. Attendees will learn how to identify and manage system constraints, improve flow, and maximize throughput in production and operational environments. Ideal for those building or strengthening their foundational understanding of TOC.

Behavioral health clinics face complex challenges like high demand, limited resources, and increasing provider burnout. This session introduces a standard Strategy & Tactic (S&T) Tree designed explicitly for outpatient behavioral health clinics. It provides a roadmap for improvement and growth.

Patient falls continue to pose persistent and costly challenges to healthcare systems worldwide, contributing to adverse patient outcomes, prolonged hospital stays, and increased resource use. Despite decades of effort, the frequency of falls highlights the need for a more focused and systemic approach. This study applies Constraints Management and High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles to reduce inpatient falls in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Türkiye at Ankara Etlik City Hospital—a state-of-the-art facility with over 4,050 beds. Using the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Five Focusing Steps, the team identified key system constraints and implemented targeted interventions. In this pilot study, three-month control period following implementation showed measurable reductions in falls and related harm. Nevertheless, sustaining and scaling these improvements has proven to be challenging, largely due to factors such as heterogeneous patient risk profiles, fluctuating staff practices, inconsistent data quality, and the operational complexity inherent to
large hospital systems. To address ongoing challenges with sustaining and replicating improvements, the Cynefin Framework is being considered to guide decision-making that reflects the varying levels of complexity in fall-related scenarios. The Cynefin framework distinguishes ordered from unordered domains; in complex and chaotic contexts, patterns must be sensed, and solutions emerge through experimentation. This differentiation supports more effective governance by aligning interventions with the nature of the situation—avoiding over-standardization in complex domains and enabling rapid response in chaotic ones. Concurrently, the initiative reinforces the core principles of High Reliability Organization (HRO), particularly preoccupation with failure, sensitivity to frontline operations, and commitment to resilience. Teams were encouraged to anticipate failure modes, respond to weak signals, an engage subject matter experts closest to the work to shape realistic, sustainable solutions. These behaviors were essential I reducing variation in fall prevention practices across departments and shifts. However, sustaining gains requires more than behavioral discipline. It depends on robust data quality and sufficiency—including timely, narrative-rich, and context-aware reporting that goes beyond binary metrics. Data sufficiency also includes the presence of both leading and lagging indicators that can inform learning from both success and failure. By combining Constraints Management, HRO behaviors, and Cynefin’s situational awareness lens, this integrated approach offers a practical, adaptive model for improving patient safety and operational reliability in dynamic healthcare environments, while building the foundations for long-term learning and system-level resilience.

The integration of advanced digital technologies presents both significant opportunities and considerable challenges for modern organizations. While these technologies promise enhanced efficiency, innovation, and customer engagement, their successful adoption is often hindered by various obstacles, including legacy systems, resistance to change, and a lack of strategic vision. The Theory of Constraints (TOC), a management philosophy centered on identifying and alleviating the most critical limiting factor (constraint) within a system, offers a powerful framework to navigate these complexities. This paper explores the core principles of TOC and its five focusing steps, demonstrating how they can be strategically applied to address the specific bottlenecks that impede the effective integration of digital technologies. Through practical examples and real-world case studies of companies, this analysis highlights TOC's ability to prioritize efforts, optimize resource utilization, and foster a continuous improvement mindset in the context of digital transformation. By focusing on the constraint, organizations can ensure that their investments in advanced digital technologies yield maximum throughput and contribute directly to achieving their overarching business goals.

Do project management scholars understand critical chain and its potential to improve project performance? This session suggests they don’t, and will make the case that this matters.
Ian will share his analysis of nearly 600 academic papers on Critical Chain that were found in databases of academic articles. He will facilitate a discussion amongst attendees about his analysis so far, whether it matters, and what else might be worth looking into in the future.
He will contrast the academic perspective of CC with practitioner experience shared through TOCICO and other media.