The theoretical study of waiting lines, expressed in mathematical termsCincluding components such as number of waiting lines, number of servers, average wait time, number of queues or lines, and probabilities of queue times= either increasing or decreasing.

A technique that balances the cost of having a waiting line against the cost of service to maintain that line.

a rationale that helps allocate services or workstations to minimize customer waiting and service cost.

A modelling technique based upon the allocation of requirement to resources. It will indicate whether the resources will meet with the anticipated level and distribution of demand. Invariably delivered as a computer simulation it provides a prediction of resource requirements, generally mapped against time and business cycles.