# How to visualise queue wait time

Suppose I have a process that works as follows:

• collect all outstanding requests
• process all of them, which takes time
• commit all results in one transaction
• repeat

I get a data point (start, duration) from each cycle:

00:00: 1h, 01:00: 1h, 02:00: 2h30m, 04:30: 2h, 06:30: 1h, 07:30: 1h

Below is the best I've come up with so far, boxes ;-)

It shows a "slow" batch @2:00 where:

• all users had to wait, 2h30min for their results
• this "sloweness" lasted just as long, 2h30min

I this visualisation good? Is there a canonical visualisation for time spent in queue?

How can I show multiple similar processes on same plot, e.g. requests from Germany (own process), France (-"-), UK (-"-)?

• Could you provide - possibly made-up - data sample of such data that can be used as example? – Tim Jan 20 '16 at 11:31
• edited, included data for the plot. – Dima Tisnek Jan 20 '16 at 11:37
• Are the "wait time" and elapsed "wall time" always the same? If so, it seems odd to put totally redundant information on two axes. Also, is the wait time at 00:59 really 1 hour? At that point, you only need to wait 1 minute until the next phase. – Nuclear Wang Jan 20 '16 at 11:43
• They are same for this process (unless it fails, or is not ran at all); They would be different for e.g. a pipeline. The reason for axes if for viewer being able to grasp that at 5AM queue was 2 hours long – Dima Tisnek Jan 20 '16 at 11:47