Dr. Williams Edwards Deming (1900-1993), who was a management consultant and statistician that used his methods and philosophy to help Japan recover after the second world war, developed the concept of Plan Do Check Act (PDCA). The PDCA is a methodology for achieving continuous improvement through a closed loop system.

 

A brief summary of Plan, Do, Check, Act

Plan

Think of where you are now (Current State) and where you want to be (Future State), then plan the change, which can include but not limited to the following:

• Scope of the change – Goals and Objectives
• How you will monitor the progress of the change
• How you will measure the effectiveness of the change
• Check any legal requirements

Do

This is where the plan is put into implementation and activities organised. These may include but not limited to the following:

• Identify the biggest risks
• Good communication so that everyone is clear on what is required
• Provide adequate resources
• Provide the right tools and methodology to do the job
• Provide training where it is needed
• Create procedures
• Follow procedures
• Walk the process

Check

Once the changes have been implemented compare the future state with the old current state and consider the following:

• Is the new process more efficient?
• Is the new solution working?
• Have you met your goals, objectives or targets?
• Do you have the data that corroborates what you are measuring?

Act

Your new process has now become the baseline (current state) from which you will now try to improve. This may mean:

• looking at an individual part of the process
• automating the process
• using new software
• updating procedures
• creating policies

You can repeat the PDCA process as many times as needed until you are certain that the process is as efficient as possible.

The benefits of the PDCA process

No matter what business you are in you will have competitors so the quest for excellence must be constant so that your business stands out. The PDCA process gives you a method for continuous improvement, therefore, ensuring that errors can be corrected. The efficiency and effectiveness of your business will also be improved allowing for better strategy development and planning. PDCA can be used in a variety of businesses for project management, change management, product/service development, etc. therefore, making the PDCA process versatile, simple and powerful.