Putting some science in management science: investigating Little's Law

摘要

We walk through a step-by-step hands-on pedagogical treatment for introducing Little's Law to operations management undergraduates and provide some statistical evidence of its usefulness. Our approach emphasises the scientific method of observation, hypothesis development, and development of theory, contrasting with the more typical textbook approach of presenting formulas and conclusions first and, perhaps, establishing their validity as a follow-up.