What term is used to describe the speed at which a process can produce outputs?

Throughput is the term that denotes the speed at which a process can produce outputs. It specifically refers to the amount of material or items that a system can process in a given period of time. High throughput indicates that a process is operating at a high speed with many outputs produced, while low throughput signifies a slower process with fewer outputs. This measurement is crucial in various fields, including manufacturing and service industries, as it directly relates to the capacity and performance of operations.

While efficiency, productivity, and velocity are related concepts, they do not precisely define the same aspect as throughput. Efficiency typically refers to how well resources are utilized to achieve outputs, productivity often relates to the output achieved per unit of input, and velocity generally describes the speed of an object or process but is not as specifically tied to production output as throughput is. Thus, throughput is the most accurate term for indicating the production rate of a process.