Work in progress

Work in progress (or WIP, work in process) is work that has been initiated but not yet completed. By starting a task or project without finishing it yet, some resources have been spent on it but little or none of the value that is generated by completing the task can be enjoyed yet. Therefore as a general rule WIP should be minimised.

A good analogy is a store's inventory. A store will often have to buy some products from a manufacturer to keep in stock so they are ready to sell immediately when a customer requests it. However, in the time between buying the product from the manufacturer and selling it to the customer, the store has paid for the inventory but not yet gained any value from it.

Examples:

• An author may have spent a substantial amount of time writing a book that is still only half finished. No readers will be able to read the book yet. The book will not generate income.
• A partially constructed building may already have taken significant time and effort from engineers and construction workers, but it can't yet be lived in or used otherwise.