# ECRS process time exercise materials

BizThinkFrame created every record for this fictional teaching exercise. These are not company data. The simulated period is October 1–4, 2026, in Asia/Shanghai. All 12 routine requests are complete; there are no incomplete, complex, or overnight requests. The records are not evidence of team service levels or method effectiveness.

## Files and reproduction

- `process-log.csv`: one request per row, with stable IDs, four timestamps with UTC+08:00 offsets, five active-effort categories, review queue time, and an approval-before-handoff flag.
- `process-summary.json`: script output containing definitions, the source CSV's SHA-256, totals, means, and a conditional scenario. It is not a measured improvement result.
- `analyze_process.py`: Python 3 standard library only. Checks IDs, timestamp order, stage durations, approval flags, and the serial-process assumption before calculating results.
- `process-worksheet.md` / `process-worksheet.en.md`: separate Chinese and English worksheets with one worked example. Use the English file for this article.

Download the CSV, script, and summary into one directory, then run:

```sh
python3 analyze_process.py
```

The output JSON should match the supplied summary. To save it, use a different file so that the reference summary remains available:

```sh
python3 analyze_process.py > recalculated.json
```

## Fields and calculation basis

`entry_minutes`, `copy_minutes`, `review_minutes`, `handoff_minutes`, and `rework_minutes` measure staff effort. Rework includes completing missing fields and checking them again after initial review; it is counted once in active effort. `wait_minutes` is elapsed queue time between `queued_at` and `review_started_at`. It does not measure staff inactivity or recoverable effort.

Within each request, work is sequential, only one person works at a time, and there is one wait before review. Rework has no additional wait. Receipt to queue entry equals entry plus copying; review start to handoff equals review plus rework plus notification. Lead time is independently calculated from `handoff_at - received_at` and checked against work plus waiting. Do not reuse that addition rule for concurrent work in a real process.

Expected results: 216 staff-minutes of work, 504 request-minutes of waiting, and 720 minutes of summed lead time, with means of 18, 42, and 60. Six requests needed rework, totaling 24 staff-minutes. Removing all copying with no added effort would avoid 36 staff-minutes for this batch and leave 180. This is a conditional estimate, not a statistical confidence bound or a promise for future batches.

## Use and evidence limits

Use these materials for learning or internal process exercises, retaining the BizThinkFrame credit and fictional-data label. With real data, redefine period, scope, concurrency, missing records, and incomplete requests; do not remove exceptions to create apparent improvement. The script checks this example's format and assumptions. It is not a general process diagnostic tool, and the framework page does not automatically import or calculate these files.

Method reference: JICA / Uzbekistan Japan Center, Advanced KAIZEN course, October 2016, slides 133–134, PDF page 211: [original materials](https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12334025_03.pdf#page=211), accessed October 6, 2026. The source supports the four improvement prompts, not the simulated counts, the 36-minute scenario, or pilot approval.