Process Flow Diagram for Completing a Transaction (such as a loan application, a call at a call center, an order in a fast food restaurant, a customer at a bank, or a unit being processed). Consider the following process flow diagram for completing a transaction unit. All tasks or steps (A, B, C, D, and E) are necessary to process and complete the transaction. Each task employs a single employee. Exact task times, in minutes/unit, are shown at each step. For example, it takes exactly 4 minutes to complete task C.

Refer to the Process Flow Diagram. Consider only task A, in isolation from the rest of the process. What is task A's cycle time?