Learning Curve: Theory, Meaning, Formula, Graphs 2024

When the results of a large number of individual trials are averaged then a smooth curve results, which can often be described with a mathematical function. Learning curves can also be applied to organizational performance using either the generalized approach or by conducting a measured analysis. Determining which approach to take depends on whether the desired performance can be directly measured. All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

For example, the 600 hours of incremental time for task No. 2 is the time it took to yield one additional task. However, the 960 hours in the next row is the time it took to yield two additional tasks. If you want to know what the future looks like, one of the most useful questions to ask is which technologies follow a learning curve.

Understanding a Learning Curve

In the what is learning curve diminishing-returns learning curve, the rate of progression increases rapidly at the start of learning and decreases over time. This can describe tasks that are easy to learn and rapidly progressing skills. Activities that follow a diminishing returns learning curve are more straightforward when measuring and predicting how the workforce’s performance and output will change over time.

Showing employee work schedule in terms of future requirements

1. A typical learning curve will show experience or time on the x-axis and the y-axis the percentage of learning.
2. In the example of a 90% learning curve, this means there is a corresponding 10% improvement every time the number of repetitions doubles.
3. 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.
4. Then, a learning curve assigns an improvement value to identify the rate of efficiency the task performer will incur as they learn and become more proficient at the task.

It presents a significant barrier to change management that involves overcoming a complex learning curve. The overall theory of the learning curve formula says that as the number of times a person attempts a task increases, the overall amount of time to complete the task will decrease. Manufacturing costs as related to workforce performance can be tracked by using the learning curve. Instead of performance and number of attempts, the values could be unit cost or unit labor hours and cumulative production in units. A high or steep learning curve indicates that it takes a substantial amount of resources to perform an initial task. However, it also signifies that subsequent performance of the same task will take less time due to the task being relatively easier to learn.

Upon reaching the plateau, individuals reach full proficiency, and in some cases, lose motivation and interest. As we’ve just mentioned, personality types, experience, and more all play a role in how we learn. The theory helps us to understand when and why we forget information and what we must do to ensure maximum retention potential. Driving, like so many other things, is very much about building theoretical knowledge and applying what you’ve learned in practice.

Understand learning data and receive a practical tool to help apply this knowledge in your company. Let’s take a look at some different examples of where the learning curve is being applied today. The learning curve is known by different names partly due to its wide variety of application. This could be described as a plateau, where the individual is no longer progressing. It could signal that the learner has reached a limit in their ability or that a transition may be occurring. The 1st curve of achievement represents an increase in productivity over each unit of trial.

As one continues to invest time and effort, the curve ascends, illustrating increasing proficiency or understanding. To help a new hire acquire competence and remain confident in their role, be sure to create an efficient onboarding process. The “S” curve model, also known as the increasing-decreasing return learning curve model, is the most commonly cited type of learning curve model. Depending on the task or process, there are four types of learning curve progression models. What if by the 100th time the product was produced, production time is reduced to one hour? The product would be on the market at a price that is much too high, resulting in potentially lower sales.

Remaining market segments or remaining potential efficiencies or efficiencies are found in successively less convenient forms. For example, employees learning a difficult task, such as learning to use a complex software program, may have poor performance at the beginning due to the inherent difficulty of the task. If the goal is that employees need to know how to use the software in their day to day tasks, this may be difficult to measure as it involves many variables. By applying the learning curve theory as a framework, organizations can still benefit. Companies know how much an employee earns per hour and can derive the cost of producing a single unit of output based on the number of hours needed.

Wright’s experience curve

The task needs to be repeatable, measurable, and consist of only one variable within a procedure; it cannot measure an entire procedure on its own. The latter half of the curve indicates that the learner now takes less time to complete the task as they have become proficient in the skills required. Often the end of the curve begins to level off, indicating a plateau or new challenges. The bottom of the curve indicates slow learning as the learner works to master the skills required and takes more time to do so.

In the example of learning to read, the variables could include phonetics, vocabulary, type of reading material, teaching methods, motivation, previous knowledge or experience, quality of practice, and much more. This model represents a more complex pattern of learning and reflects more extensive tracking. The 2nd illustrates an eliminative, or declining, curve of time needed to perform the same task. That more production leads to falling prices is not surprising – such ‘economies of scale’ are found in the production of many goods. If you are already making one pizza, making a second one isn’t that much extra work. The third curve is an integration of both concave and convex curves and hence is known as a concave-convex curve.

Initially, a project may take longer and involve more resources due to unfamiliarity or unanticipated challenges. However, as the team gains experience, they develop more efficient processes, problem-solving skills, and a deeper understanding of the project requirements. The learning curve is the correlation between a learner’s performance on a task or activity and the number of attempts or time required to complete the activity. To utilize a measured learning curve, organizations would need to identify a specific variable to analyze. For example, an organization seeking to improve the performance of customer service could decide that the implementation of a new initiative (# of attempts) would result in a decrease in customer complaints (performance).

In such situations, it is easy to learn a task and the progression of learning is thus at a quicker pace at the onset until the learner achieves full know-how. There comes a time when a change is taking place, and the learner is no longer progressing. The concave learning curve occurs in a learning situation where the task looks complicated at the beginning, but the learner gains mastery at the end because of increased practice. Tasks that require a considered, committed, often continual learning process are best represented by the complex learning curve. Below are a handful of the benefits your workplace will reap with a learning curve model. While delving too much into Learning Curve Theory might feel a bit esoteric for most business owners, it can help you figure out how fast a skill or knowledge can be learned.

Introducing new technology in an organization typically involves multiple learning curves. Let’s look at technology adoption from an enterprise perspective, specifically implementing a new technology like a CRM or ERP. In this article, we’ll explore the Learning Curve Theory, its history, advantages and disadvantages, types of learning curves, how to calculate it, and its application for modern learning and development strategies. Because a surgeon is essentially practicing the same skill over and over whenever that procedure is done, the learning curve can be applied to show individual learning and performance over time.