Þjónustutíma

Þjónustutíma is Icelandic for service time. In its core sense it denotes the duration of a service event—the time from when a service begins to when it ends. In everyday usage it may also refer to the period during which a service is available, such as customer support hours.

In operations research and queueing theory, service time is modeled as a random variable S. The average service time is E[S], and the service rate is mu = 1 / E[S]. Under a single-server model with arrival rate lambda, system utilization is rho = lambda / mu. The waiting time Wq and total time W = Wq + S depend on rho and the distribution of S.

Service time distributions vary; examples include deterministic (constant) and stochastic ones such as exponential, gamma, or lognormal. Greater variability in S leads to longer queues under the same traffic load. The effect is analyzed through models such as M/G/1 and related results like the Pollaczek-Khinchine formula.

Applications span call centers, retail and banking services, manufacturing, and computer systems. Service time is measured from service start to service end, typically in seconds or minutes, using logs, timers, or system records. Accurate measurement supports performance assessment, staffing, and capacity planning.

Notes: In Icelandic, the term may also be used in casual language to refer to service availability windows, but in technical contexts it primarily denotes the duration of a service event.