A bottleneck is a resource in a chain of resources whose limited capacity reduces the capacity of the whole chain. In other words, a point of congestion in a system causes it to operate at less than its full potential.
Bottlenecks can occur in any system, including production lines, computer networks, and our bodies. For example, a blockage in our digestive system can cause us to feel sluggish and tired.
In many cases, bottlenecks are caused by a lack of capacity. For instance, a production line may be able to produce 100 widgets per hour. Still, if the packaging station can only handle 50 widgets per hour, the production line is effectively bottlenecked by the packaging station.
Inefficient processes can also cause bottlenecks. For example, a computer network may be able to handle 1000 data packets per second, but if the process of routing those data packets is slow, then the network will appear to be bottlenecked.
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