What Is a Learning Curve? Formula, Calculation, and Example

The learning curve can track its workforce’s performance with its manufacturing costs by replacing “performance” and “number of attempts” with total production in units or cost per unit. As time progresses, workers will produce more and the “per-unit” cost will decrease. Learning curves, also called experience curves, relate to the much broader subject of natural limits for resources and technologies in general. Approaching limits of perfecting things to eliminate waste meets geometrically increasing effort to make progress, and provides an environmental measure of all factors seen and unseen changing the learning experience. Perfecting things becomes ever more difficult despite increasing effort despite continuing positive, if ever diminishing, results. The same kind of slowing progress due to complications in learning also appears in the limits of useful technologies and of profitable markets applying to product life cycle management and software development cycles).

Table of contents

For example, the Windows program Notepad is extremely simple to learn, but offers little after this. At the other extreme is the UNIX terminal editor vi or Vim, which is difficult to learn, but offers a wide array of features after the user has learned how to use it. For surgeons in the operating room, many procedures will involve the same repetitive tasks.

Employee training

The term “steep learning curve” is often used to describe situations where the learning process is challenging or complex. In this context, “steep” implies that a significant effort and time-frame are needed to make real progress. The term “learning curve” is commonly used to describe the rate at which someone acquires a new skill or knowledge. In its simplest form, it is a graphical representation that plots the progress of learning against the time or effort invested. More organizations are leveraging employee training software to implement effective training with personalized learning content that uses user analytics to help shorten the learning curve across employees. With project management, teams become more proficient by processizing repeated tasks or similar projects.

The learning curve theory is that tasks will require less time and resources the more they are performed because of proficiencies gained as the process is learned. The learning curve was first described by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885 and is used as a way to measure production efficiency and to forecast costs. For example, the learning curve can play a fundamental part in understanding production costs and cost per unit. As the employee becomes more proficient at their job, they will be able to manufacture more goods in a smaller amount of time (all else being equal). In this example, a 90% learning curve would mean there is a 10% improvement every time the number of repetitions doubles. In the long run, a company can use this information to plan financial forecasts, price goods, and anticipate whether it will meet customer demand.

There are currently different variations of the original formula used today in specialized applications, but the idea remains familiar to the original formula. When a learning curve has a given percentage, this indicates the rate at which learning and improvement occur. Most often, the percentage given is the amount of time it will take to perform double the amount of repetitions.

This is useful for anyone using digital learning platforms, as it lets you measure and predict how well a training program will work. With this information, you can make better choices for your business, whether it’s training your staff or educating your customers. Often no matter how well a formal employee training program is structured, it does not impart all of the knowledge and information employees need to perform their roles effectively. This is when real-life coaching from an experienced professional – a supervisor, mentor, or veteran employee – can be effective to acquire knowledge in real-time. Let‘s examine some key advantages and disadvantages of the learning curve model. The phrase “learning curve” has become a common colloquial phrase to describe how a skill isn’t easily acquired.

Understanding a Learning Curve

When a company first implements a new LMS, employees may notice a steep learning curve as they become familiar with the interface and learn how to use the system’s features effectively. With continued use, their proficiency will grow, making it easier to navigate and complete training modules. Graphically, a steep learning curve typically depicts a sharp ascent, indicating that tangible gains in skill or knowledge can be achieved, but often at the cost of higher initial effort.

Konstantaras, Skouri, and Jaber [21] what is learning curve applied the learning curve on demand forecasting and the economic order quantity. They found that the buyers obey to a learning curve, and this result is useful for decision-making on inventory management. The learning curve theory puts its onus on the fact that when a new activity commences, the engaged workforce will not be able to achieve maximum efficiency at the beginning. Repetition of tasks will give the necessary confidence to gain knowledge that will enable quick and effective operations. As a result, the time taken to complete the task will decline and later stabilize after achieving an efficient working. Thus a learning curve refers to the time an individual has spent on a particular activity before he understands the actual elements or components.

Models

A learning curve can also be depicted between axis points in a chart as a straight line or a band of points. Integrated circuits are the fundamental technology of computers, and Moore’s Law has driven a range of changes in computer technology in recent decades – computers became rapidly cheaper, more energy efficient, and faster. One of the significant uses of the learning curve is in setting up an incentive structure. The good news is that you can easily leverage Thirst’s innovative L&D platform and build a robust L&D infrastructure that reflects an optimum learning curve to bolster scalable learning across the whole organisation. Organisations must get employees up to speed fast, implementing scalable learning strategies to continually optimise learning as quickly as possible. A skill that’s difficult to grasp, followed by competence the more experience as you garner more experience, and then more concerned effort to master, is defined by the S-curve.

Typically, most learners experience a learning curve at the beginning of a new experience, and that incline tapers off as they gradually learn more about the subject matter. Zimmer also comments that the popular use of steep as difficult is a reversal of the technical meaning. He identifies the first use of steep learning curve as 1973, and the arduous interpretation as 1978. GeneralizedThe learning curve is often used in colloquial speech to describe the time and effort required when learning something challenging.

It is a learning curve that is used to influence delivery timings; quantities produced and required manpower to avoid late deliveries and interruptions in production. As you become more proficient, the learning rate will be slow, before increasing to the point of high proficiency. A complex task, one that’s challenging to master and has a slow learning rate, is typically defined by the increasing returns curve. Something that’s easy to learn, with rapid progression to proficiency before plateauing at the expert level is defined by the diminishing returns learning curve. Authoring software like Articulate 360 or Vyond requires an initial investment of time and effort to learn. However, as users gain more experience with these tools, they can create increasingly complex and interactive eLearning content.

As everyone in an organisation climbs the learning curve, the risk factor descends. This is when the learner is unaware that they have a specific skill or knowledge gap. There are a few different types of employee training software that can be leveraged for creating and managing employee training programs. In healthcare, the learning curve can be applied to various aspects, such as surgical procedures, diagnosis methods, and patient care techniques. Whatfix enabled REG to standardize its end-user training via contextual in-app guidance in the flow of work.

If the data from the learning curve shows that the current training process is not working, explore alternative employee training methods and implement other modifications to fine-tune your training programs. It might take a few rounds of trial and error to find the right change that improves performance. L&D teams can use the learning curve model to determine the time needed for a person (or group of people) to master a new skill or process. In many workplace applications of the learning curve model, the actual learning is the process improvement.

The learning curve theory is based on the concept that there is an initial period where the amount invested in learners is more significant than the return. However, after overcoming the learning curve, the return is much greater than the investment. The idea of a learning curve was first proposed by Dr. Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885 when developing his forgetting curve theory. It helps organizations understand when and why we lose information and how we can fight this knowledge loss.

1. According to the formula, the more attempts required to complete the task, the more the cumulative completion time will decrease.
2. In this model of a learning curve, it states that the rate of progression is high at the beginning and later starts decreasing over time.
3. When the war was over and demand shrank, the price decline reverted back to a slower rate.
4. With enterprise software being highly complex and custom-built for business requirements, employees start from square one.
5. Our support, walk-throughs and in-app assistance are designed to boost productivity, and maximise engagement.

It shows that for every doubling of a company’s output, the cost of the new output is 80% of the prior output. As output increases, it becomes harder and harder to double a company’s previous output, depicted using the slope of the curve, which means cost savings slow over time. When onboarding and training new employees, L&D teams are tasked with accelerating the time-to-productivity for new hires. Organizations can predict this reduction in per-unit cost by modeling the change with the learning curve. This is done by considering labor costs and employee training and will impact the cost of a good or service. Initially, the product may reach the market at a higher price point because of the high per-unit cost to produce a good.