Having established theory-of-constraints in manufacturing and general management, eliyahu-goldratt spent the late 1990s and early 2000s applying its logic to new domains — each time revealing how constraint-based thinking upended standard practice.
critical-chain (1997) attacked project management. Goldratt argued that conventional Gantt-chart scheduling with individual task buffers caused the very delays it was meant to prevent. critical-chain-project-management replaced local buffers with strategically placed project and feeding buffers, protecting the critical chain rather than each individual task. buffer-management provided the mechanism for monitoring project health without micromanagement.
isnt-it-obvious extended TOC to retail distribution, applying constraint logic to inventory replenishment and revealing how standard ordering practices systematically created shortages and surpluses simultaneously. necessary-but-not-sufficient addressed technology adoption, arguing that IT implementations fail when they automate flawed processes rather than exploit constraints.
Transmission accelerated through the goldratt-satellite-program, launched in 1999: video lectures distributed to study groups worldwide that brought Goldratt's teaching directly to practitioners without requiring physical attendance. The founding-of-tocico in 2001 further institutionalized the field by establishing certification standards and a professional community independent of any single consulting organization.