PDCA Cycle:
A tool for structured Process Improvement
PDCA
PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) is an iterative design and management method used for structuring the continuous improvement of processes and products.
PDCA is often referred to as the Deming cycle (after Dr. W. Edwards Deming), however, literature seems to indicate that this is incorrect, and that PDCA goes back to Walter A. Shewhart.
Plan
Create a plan for a change or solution to a problem.
Do
Carry out the planned actions and changes from the previous step. Test this solution (at small scale / pilot if possible)
Check
Review and analyze the test results, compare with the expected outcomes, and identify what you’ve learned.
Act
Take action based on what you learned in the study step. If you were successful, incorporate what you learned from the test into wider changes: this becomes your new normal or baseline. If the change did not work, go through the cycle again with a different plan.
This phase is also referred to as "Adjust" (which I actually prefer), as this is where a process change can be further tweaked.
