OPS.8:4.4 - Compare policies by their operating mechanism

Compare the current policy with one material alternative before adding a more elaborate policy family.

• If incomplete kits create downstream starvation, coordinate the missing inputs and release into the receiving service only when its kit is ready.
• If excess starts congest the relevant operation, compare a whole-boundary release limit with the existing local limits. Count unfinished matters that crossed local board boundaries.
• If a supported constraint needs protection, relate release and replenishment to its usable pace. Use OPS.9 when the constraint itself is uncertain.
• If pooling is proposed, test service compatibility, routing, resource failures, priority and the service criterion that matters. Compare segregated service where pooling changes a protected class or failure exposure.
• If batch size is the lever, compare setup or transaction burden with waiting, holding, feedback and rework consequences. Transfer batch and processing batch may differ.

Keep the end-to-end result and waiting origin fixed in the comparison. Reducing a downstream queue by holding demand just outside its measured boundary is not an end-to-end improvement.

When earlier work can revisit a resource after the release signal, OPS.8.1 - Choose Work-Release Rules When Earlier Work Can Return constructs the release decision with that remaining or contingent demand. When auxiliary work could occupy an idle reserve, OPS.8.2 - Use Protective Capacity While Keeping It Available constructs its interruption or completion and the return to protected service. Reuse an adequate existing arrangement when the proposed use changes none of its relevant conditions.