Strategy
Operational Efficiency
Plain English
Doing things with less waste.
Definition
Operational glossaryEfficiencyEfficiency measures how quickly and easily users can complete tasks once they are familiar with a system.Open glossary term measures how effectively a business delivers outputs with minimal waste and effort.
In practice
Improved through glossaryProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term glossaryOptimisationOptimisation is the process of improving a product or journey to increase performance, usability, or conversion.Open glossary term, glossaryAutomationAutomation is the use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention.Open glossary term, and better resource use.
In context
Pursued alone it optimises towards fragility. A glossaryProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term with no slack meets its targets until the first unexpected week.
The reality
glossaryEfficiencyEfficiency measures how quickly and easily users can complete tasks once they are familiar with a system.Open glossary term is often pursued in isolation, harming serviceUser ExperienceImprove journeys, reduce friction, and make digital products clearer, simpler, and easier to move through.Open service or long-term value.
Compared with
Operational Efficiency vs Effectiveness
glossaryEfficiencyEfficiency measures how quickly and easily users can complete tasks once they are familiar with a system.Open glossary term is doing things with less waste. Effectiveness is doing the right things. Efficiency gains on work that should not happen at all are the most common form of expensive progress.
FAQ
Common questions
A few practical answers to the questions that usually come up around this term.
What is operational efficiency?
It is delivering outputs with minimal waste and effort.
Why is operational efficiency important?
It reduces costs and improves glossaryPerformancePerformance refers to how quickly and efficiently a system responds to user actions and processes tasks.Open glossary term.
How do you improve efficiency?
Through glossaryOptimisationOptimisation is the process of improving a product or journey to increase performance, usability, or conversion.Open glossary term and glossaryAutomationAutomation is the use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention.Open glossary term.
What is the risk of focusing only on efficiency?
It can harm serviceUser ExperienceImprove journeys, reduce friction, and make digital products clearer, simpler, and easier to move through.Open service and quality.
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