I have seen this pattern many times and decided to write about it.
I am about to board a flight. I am comfortable sitting at the gate, and then the boarding is announced.
Two crew ground people start looking at IDs and collecting the flight ticket. The line at the gate moves reasonably fast.
Now, all passengers are standing at the corridor that connects the gate to the plane. This line moves really slow as everyone is entering the plane, placing their bags on the overall compartment, and then sitting at their assigned sits.
Systems thinking
A local improvement does not mean a system improvement.
Having two crew members checking IDs and collecting tickets makes a local improvement: the gate line moves fast. But this local improvement does not represent an overall system improvement. Another line forms right in the next workflow stage, entering the plane. Passengers still take a long time to sit. But now they are uncomfortably standing on a narrow corridor.
