Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management philosophy and continuous improvement framework introduced by Eliyahu Goldratt in his 1984 novel The Goal and formalized in his 1990 book. TOC holds that every system has at least one constraint — a bottleneck that limits the system's overall throughput — and that systematically identifying and addressing that constraint is the most effective lever for improving performance. It is widely applied in manufacturing, project management, supply chains, and service operations.