Talk:Convoy effect

The convoy effect is a principle of queuing theory.

Consider a line, like at a bank or store, where the clerk can process people as fast or somewhat faster than the normally arrive. Intuition suggests that the line will always be short and often disappear because, on average, individuals are processed faster than they arrive.

Queuing theory shows that if a one-time burst of arrivals occur, the line will overflow, and will stay filled for a very long time. This burst of arrivals creates a convoy of individuals waiting for service. Even though future individuals still arrive at a rate somewhat less than the service rate, the convey will take a very long time to dissipate.

Individuals arriving when a convey exists will spend lots of time waiting in line, compared to individuals that arrive before the convoy establishes itself. The clerk will still process at a good rate, and if the convoy were not present, the line might even disappear from time to time as intuition suggests. But once a convoy starts, the amount of work in the line will continue to exceed what the clerk can process in real time.

Convoys can also be established if a one individual requires an extraordinary amount of processing time, or the clerk temporary suspends working. This stops the line from moving while the natural rate of arrival continues to fill it, creating the convey.

Specific action is generally required to break a convoy. Temporarily adding clerks until the line has been cleared, moving individuals requiring extended service to another queue, or turning future arrivals away, are three such actions.

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Now having explained that, I believe that re-directing to a page about software locking doesn't begin to explain the convoy effect.

The redirect article requires a degree in computer programming with a minor in Microsoft Windows programming to be understood.

It appear many places in people's lives, and needs to be described in everyday terms.

This title deserves its own article.

I'd do this myself, but I don't have the time to dig out out my old textbooks and create something up to wiki standards.

HiTechHiTouch (talk) 06:19, 19 March 2016 (UTC)