Two durations, one wait#

SLOP2034. Week 1.

A wait has two durations#

The clock gives one.

The person gives the other.

They are rarely the same number.

What this course is not#

It is not a course about making things faster.

Every technique after week 2 leaves the clock alone.

The thesis#

Waiting is not a failure of a system, it is a designed component of it.

The rest of the line arrives in weeks 5 and 9. Read it on the front page before then.

Three things you will do#

• log a week of your own waits
• take one shipped wait apart
• redesign a wait you are not allowed to shorten

The third one is the course.

Why the log comes first#

You will read that felt duration and clock duration diverge.

Reading it takes a minute and convinces nobody.

Measuring it on yourself takes a week and is harder to argue with afterwards.

The third column#

Clock duration. Felt duration. What you were told.

Most people leave the third blank on their first attempt, and then cannot explain their own numbers.

Before Thursday#

Build the instrument. Bring a stopwatch.

Read Maister for the propositions, and Block and Zakay for how much of the field’s confidence survives a meta-analysis.