The Theory of Constraints Analyst skill for Claude

No software to install, no subscription, no consultancy project: a single 1,749-word text file that puts Claude in the role of an analyst using the framework described in the work of Eliyahu M. Goldratt, with a fixed method, a fixed output format and six rules it may not let go of. You download the zip at the top of this page, put it in your Claude environment, and from that moment Claude looks for the constraint first in every stuck process. What a skill actually is and how that file format works is explained in what are Claude skills NL.

Busy teams can still have limited throughput. TOC helps investigate which constraints matter for a defined goal and period. Hiring or improving a non-constraint may not increase throughput while a binding constraint remains, but that does not mean such work has zero value or that every system has exactly one constraint.

The file's frontmatter lists the situations that trigger the skill: where is the bottleneck, my process is stuck, we are running flat out but not growing, reduce lead time, increase capacity, what is the weakest link, raise throughput. It also includes the technical terms, from drum buffer rope to current reality tree, for anyone who already knows the framework.

It is written for business owners with several departments or steps in their process who do not know which step is holding back the whole chain. It is part of the library we make freely available through the AI and automation service, with no account and no sales email afterwards.

The file asks for observable evidence before advice about the constraint. Queues, idle time and lead times are signals to investigate alongside demand, capacity and variability. The response should state its confidence and missing data, not keep questioning indefinitely until it claims certainty.

To make that measurable, the skill uses Goldratt's three units of measure, in a fixed order. Throughput: sales revenue minus totally variable costs for a defined period, not revenue alone. Inventory, also called investment: all the money tied up in the system. And operating expense: all the money needed to turn inventory into throughput. Review T, I and OE together; net profit is T minus OE for the same period. Do not cut costs mechanically at the expense of quality, safety or the constraint. Anyone who does not have their own figures to hand is not turned away: the skill briefly explains the terms and helps you estimate them yourself.

The difference from the usual improvement reflex is best shown as a diff:

Drum Buffer Rope coordinates work release with capacity and demand. The drum sets the scheduling rhythm; a time or material buffer protects against variability without guaranteeing zero idle time; the rope controls admission into the process. Faster local processing in short bursts is not forbidden. Excessive work release and accumulation are the concern.

The file's source list counts six titles: The Goal (1984), It's Not Luck (1994) and Critical Chain (1997) by Goldratt, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Goldratt and Jeff Cox, the Body of Knowledge from the TOC International Certification Organization, and Goldratt's Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach by H. William Dettmer. If you want to learn how to set up an instruction file this well grounded yourself, the method is in writing a SKILL.md NL.

The five-part working method gathers context and T, I and OE; investigates observable signals; works through the focusing steps; considers policy and assumptions as possible constraints; and ends with a 30-day action list. A policy constraint needs evidence just as a physical one does.

Identify investigates what limits the system, with confidence and missing evidence explicit. Exploit examines effective use of existing capacity before assuming large investment is needed. It retains required breaks, maintenance, safety checks, quality work and essential communication. The download no longer tells a bottleneck never to stop or a person never to pause.

Subordinate coordinates work admission with the constraint and demand. Elevate considers capacity proposals, costs, uncertainty and necessary approval after that review; essential work and justified enabling costs are not forbidden earlier. Repeat remeasures the system: the constraint may move, remain or become external. Review obsolete rules rather than assuming the answer.

For larger change questions the file also includes the three questions of the thinking processes, in order: what needs to change (the current reality tree, looking for the root cause), what does it need to change into (the future reality tree), and how do you cause the change (the prerequisite tree and the transition tree). The output is fixed too: the system laid out, the levels of T, I and OE, the constraint with its type, location and evidence, the five steps each worked out, the 30-day plan per week, and the assumptions that may or may not hold.

The six rules cover all focusing steps, consider policies and assumptions, ask for observable evidence, use Drum Buffer Rope where appropriate, state provisional conclusions and missing data, and explain T, I and OE when needed. They do not establish runtime compliance or permit an assistant to spend money or change work arrangements without authority.

After that, using it is simple: describe your system and your goal, and answer the follow-up questions about where the work is piling up. It asks itself about anything that is missing. If you get stuck anywhere, the full step-by-step guide per environment is in installing Claude skills NL, and the broader explanation of working with AI is in the knowledge base.

There are also situations where you are better off leaving it be. A problem with no chain is one of them: if it is about a single decision or a one-off task, there is no throughput to optimise and a different framework will serve you better. If you mainly want to know why something keeps going wrong, you are better off with the 5 Whys Analyst, which follows the cause chain rather than the work chain. And if your question is about which customers or tasks deliver the most value, that is the domain of the Pareto Analyst: Pareto looks for where the value sits, Theory of Constraints looks for where the flow stalls, and the two complement each other well.

The skill prepares an analysis and plan, not execution or a validated operational result. The first week of the agency example gathers evidence that may support or disprove the strategy hypothesis. Later interventions and training are conditional proposals, with costs, quality and approval still to assess.

Not every bottleneck sits inside: for many businesses the analysis ultimately points to the inflow. There is capacity to spare, but too few enquiries come in to fill it. Then the work shifts from the chain to visibility: getting found by the people looking for you. The free SEO scan shows in seconds where your site stands. And if you would like to talk further about what else AI can do for your business, from separate skills to full automation, we simply do that in a conversation.