PDCA - Plan-Do-Check-Act
What is it?
The PDCA approach is a four step management method often used in business process management. It is a method of controlling continuous improvement (CI) in the quality and effectiveness of products and processes. It is used in product management (PM), human resource management (HRM) and supply chain management (SCM) and education.
It was made popular by the father of modern day quality control, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and sometimes called the Deming circle/cycle/wheel. Deming’s referred to it as Shewhart cycle after Walter Andrew Shewhart, an American physicist, statistician and engineer, known as the father of statistical quality control.
How is it used?
It’s used when starting a new project and as a model for continuous improvement. It is helpful in repeated work processes or when implementing changes. It also works well in data collection and analysis in that it can prioritize problems and root causes.
Why is it used?
This model is often used in education for a district’s strategic planning, curriculum design, classroom instruction and more. It is a good model to follow for continuous improvement whether it’s a product or process, it provides an overview of an improvement project, allowing for the cycle to repeat. It is used when something needs to change.
Advantages
Job Aid
Plan – Define problem, collect data, find root cause
Do – Try or test in order to gauge effectiveness
Check – Data before and after data comparison
Act – Document, inform, and recommend solutions to problems and then PDCA cycle repeated again, thus the model of a circle representing the unending cycle
http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/csr/report_e/7_management/image/e-G-6_pict_01.png
The PDCA approach is a four step management method often used in business process management. It is a method of controlling continuous improvement (CI) in the quality and effectiveness of products and processes. It is used in product management (PM), human resource management (HRM) and supply chain management (SCM) and education.
It was made popular by the father of modern day quality control, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and sometimes called the Deming circle/cycle/wheel. Deming’s referred to it as Shewhart cycle after Walter Andrew Shewhart, an American physicist, statistician and engineer, known as the father of statistical quality control.
How is it used?
It’s used when starting a new project and as a model for continuous improvement. It is helpful in repeated work processes or when implementing changes. It also works well in data collection and analysis in that it can prioritize problems and root causes.
Why is it used?
This model is often used in education for a district’s strategic planning, curriculum design, classroom instruction and more. It is a good model to follow for continuous improvement whether it’s a product or process, it provides an overview of an improvement project, allowing for the cycle to repeat. It is used when something needs to change.
Advantages
- Easy to remember
- Clearly defined, repeatable process
- It explores solutions before creating a full scale implementation
- Limited
- Repeatable continuous cycle, which is not needed for all situations
Job Aid
Plan – Define problem, collect data, find root cause
Do – Try or test in order to gauge effectiveness
Check – Data before and after data comparison
Act – Document, inform, and recommend solutions to problems and then PDCA cycle repeated again, thus the model of a circle representing the unending cycle
http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/csr/report_e/7_management/image/e-G-6_pict_01.png