Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle

Deming Cycle, Shewhart Cycle

Description

The plan–do–check–act (PDCA) cycle consists of four steps to follow for improvement or for making changes. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement.

When to Use• When starting a new improvement project

• When stuck moving from one phase to another of a project

• To plan data collection and analysis in order to verify and prioritize problems or root causes

• When implementing a solution

• When reviewing your improvement process for what you learned

Procedure

Plan: Recognize an opportunity and plan the change.

Do: Test the change. Carry out a small-scale study.

Check: Review the test, analyze the results, and identify learning’s.

Act: Take action based on what you learned in the check step. If you were successful, incorporate the learning’s from the test into wider changes. If the change did not work, go through the cycle again with a different plan.