PDCA - wikipedia PDCA For other uses, see PDCA ( disambiguation ). PDCA ( plan -- do -- check -- act or plan -- do -- check -- adjust ) is an iterative four - step management method used in business for the control and continual improvement of processes and products. It is also known as the Deming circle / cycle / wheel, the Shewhart cycle, the control circle / cycle, or plan -- do -- study -- act ( PDSA ). Another version of this PDCA cycle is OPDCA. The added `` O '' stands for observation or as some versions say : `` Observe the current condition. '' This emphasis on observation and current condition has currency with the literature on lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Contents 1 Meaning 1.1 Plan 1.2 Do 1.3 Check 1.4 Act 2 About 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading Meaning This section contains instructions, advice, or how - to content. The purpose of Wikipedia is to present facts, not to train. Please help improve this article either by rewriting the how - to content or by moving it to Wikiversity, Wikibooks or Wikivoyage. ( October 2017 ) The PDCA cycle Continuous quality improvement with PDCA Plan During the plan phase, establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output ( the target or goals ). By establishing output expectations, the completeness and accuracy of the specification is also a part of the targeted improvement. When possible start on a small scale to test possible effects. Do During the do phase, implement the plan, execute the process, make the product. Collect data for charting and analysis in the following check and act steps. Check In the check phase, study the actual results ( measured and collected in do phase above ) and compare against the expected results ( targets or goals from the plan phase ) to ascertain any differences. Look for deviation in implementation from the plan and also look for the appropriateness and completeness of the plan to enable the execution, i.e., the doing. Charting data can make this much easier to see trends over several PDCA cycles and in order to convert the collected data into information. Information is needed for the next step : act. Act If the check phase shows that the plan phase which was implemented in do phase is an improvement to the prior standard ( baseline ), then that becomes the new standard ( baseline ) for how the organization should act going forward ( new standards are thus said to be enACTed ). Instead, if the check phase shows that the plan phase which was implemented in do phase is not an improvement, then the existing standard ( baseline ) will remain in place. In either case, if the check phase showed something different than expected ( whether better or worse ), then there is some more learning to be done... and that will suggest potential future PDCA cycles. Note that some who teach PDCA assert that the act phase involves making adjustments or corrective actions, but generally it would be counter to PDCA thinking to propose and decide upon alternative changes without using a proper plan phase, or to make them the new standard ( baseline ) without going through do and check steps. About PDCA was made popular by W. Edwards Deming, who is considered by many to be the father of modern quality control ; however, he always referred to it as the `` Shewhart cycle ''. Later in Deming 's career, he modified PDCA to `` Plan, Do, Study, Act '' ( PDSA ) because he felt that `` check '' emphasized inspection over analysis. The PDSA cycle was used to create the model of know - how transfer process, and other models. The concept of PDCA is based on the scientific method, as developed from the work of Francis Bacon ( Novum Organum, 1620 ). The scientific method can be written as `` hypothesis -- experiment -- evaluation '' or as `` plan -- do -- check ''. Walter A. Shewhart described manufacture under `` control '' -- under statistical control -- as a three - step process of specification, production, and inspection. He also specifically related this to the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment, and evaluation. Shewhart says that the statistician `` must help to change the demand ( for goods ) by showing (... ) how to close up the tolerance range and to improve the quality of goods. '' Clearly, Shewhart intended the analyst to take action based on the conclusions of the evaluation. According to Deming, during his lectures in Japan in the early 1950s, the Japanese participants shortened the steps to the now traditional plan, do, check, act. Deming preferred plan, do, study, act because `` study '' has connotations in English closer to Shewhart 's intent than `` check ''. Multiple iterations of the PDCA cycle are repeated until the problem is solved. A fundamental principle of the scientific method and PDCA is iteration -- once a hypothesis is confirmed ( or negated ), executing the cycle again will extend the knowledge further. Repeating the PDCA cycle can bring its users closer to the goal, usually a perfect operation and output. Another fundamental function of PDCA is the `` hygienic '' separation of each phase, for if not properly separated measurements of effects due to various simultaneous actions ( causes ) risk becoming confounded. PDCA ( and other forms of scientific problem solving ) is also known as a system for developing critical thinking. At Toyota this is also known as `` Building people before building cars ''. Toyota and other lean manufacturing companies propose that an engaged, problem - solving workforce using PDCA in a culture of critical thinking is better able to innovate and stay ahead of the competition through rigorous problem solving and the subsequent innovations. Deming continually emphasized iterating towards an improved system, hence PDCA should be repeatedly implemented in spirals of increasing knowledge of the system that converge on the ultimate goal, each cycle closer than the previous. One can envision an open coil spring, with each loop being one cycle of the scientific method, and each complete cycle indicating an increase in our knowledge of the system under study. This approach is based on the belief that our knowledge and skills are limited, but improving. Especially at the start of a project, key information may not be known ; the PDCA -- scientific method -- provides feedback to justify guesses ( hypotheses ) and increase knowledge. Rather than enter `` analysis paralysis '' to get it perfect the first time, it is better to be approximately right than exactly wrong. With improved knowledge, one may choose to refine or alter the goal ( ideal state ). The aim of the PDCA cycle is to bring its users closer to whatever goal they choose. When PDCA is used for complex projects or products with a certain controversy, checking with external stakeholders should happen before the Do stage, since changes to projects and products that are already in detailed design can be costly ; this is also seen as Plan - Check - Do - Act. Rate of change, that is, rate of improvement, is a key competitive factor in today 's world. PDCA allows for major `` jumps '' in performance ( `` breakthroughs '' often desired in a Western approach ), as well as kaizen ( frequent small improvements ). In the United States a PDCA approach is usually associated with a sizable project involving numerous people 's time, and thus managers want to see large `` breakthrough '' improvements to justify the effort expended. However, the scientific method and PDCA apply to all sorts of projects and improvement activities. See also COBIT Decision cycle DMAIC Lean manufacturing Learning cycle Lesson study OODA loop Performance management Quality storyboard Robert S. Kaplan ( closed loop management system ) Six sigma Theory of constraints Total security management Software development process References Jump up ^ Tague, Nancy R. ( 2005 ) ( 1995 ). `` Plan -- Do -- Study -- Act cycle ''. The quality toolbox ( 2nd ed. ). Milwaukee : ASQ Quality Press. pp. 390 -- 392. ISBN 0873896394. OCLC 57251077. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Rother, Mike ( 2010 ). Toyota kata : managing people for improvement, adaptiveness, and superior results. New York : McGraw - Hill. ISBN 0071635238. OCLC 318409119. Jump up ^ `` Taking the first step with PDCA ''. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2011. Jump up ^ Aguayo, Rafael ( 1990 ). Dr. Deming : the American who taught the Japanese about quality. A Lyle Stuart book. Secaucus, NJ : Carol Pub. Group. p. 76. ISBN 0818405198. OCLC 22347078. Also published by Simon & Schuster, 1991. Jump up ^ Dubickis, Mikus ; Gaile - Sarkane, Elīna ( December 2017 ). `` Transfer of know - how based on learning outcomes for development of open innovation ''. Journal of Open Innovation : Technology, Market, and Complexity. 3 ( 1 ) : 4. doi : 10.1186 / s40852 - 017 - 0053 - 4. Jump up ^ Dubberly, Hugh ( 2008 ) ( 2004 ). `` How do you design ? : a compendium of models ''. dubberly.com. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Shewhart, Walter Andrew ( 1986 ) ( 1939 ). Statistical method from the viewpoint of quality control. New York : Dover. ISBN 0486652327. OCLC 13822053. Reprint. Originally published : Washington, DC : Graduate School of the Department of Agriculture, 1939. Jump up ^ Deming, W. Edwards ( 1986 ). Out of the crisis. Cambridge, MA : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study. ISBN 0911379010. OCLC 13126265. ^ Jump up to : Moen, Ronald ; Norman, Clifford. `` Evolution of the PDCA cycle '' ( PDF ). westga.edu. Paper delivered to the Asian Network for Quality Conference in Tokyo on September 17, 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Jump up ^ Berengueres, José ( 2007 ). The Toyota production system re-contextualized. Tokyo : José Berengueres. p. 74. ISBN 1847534775. OCLC 906982187. ^ Jump up to : Liker, Jeffrey K. ( 2004 ). The Toyota way : 14 management principles from the world 's greatest manufacturer. New York : McGraw - Hill. ISBN 0071392319. OCLC 54005437. Further reading Wikimedia Commons has media related to PDCA. Kolesar, Peter J. ( 2005 ) ( 1994 ). `` What Deming told the Japanese in 1950 ''. In Wood, John C. ; Wood, Michael C. W. Edwards Deming : critical evaluations in business and management. 2. New York : Routledge. pp. 87 -- 107. ISBN 9780415323888. OCLC 55738077. Reprint. Originally published : Quality Management Journal 2 ( 1 ) ( 1994 ) : 9 -- 24. Langley, Gerald J. ; Moen, Ronald D. ; Nolan, Kevin M. ; Nolan, Thomas W. ; Norman, Clifford L. ; Provost, Lloyd P. ( 2009 ) ( 1996 ). The improvement guide : a practical approach to enhancing organizational performance ( 2nd ed. ). San Francisco : Jossey - Bass. ISBN 9780470192412. OCLC 236325893. Shewhart, Walter Andrew ( 1980 ) ( 1931 ). Economic control of quality of manufactured product. Milwaukee : American Society for Quality. ISBN 0873890760. OCLC 7543940. 50th anniversary commemorative reissue. Originally published : New York : Van Nostrand, 1931. Lean manufacturing tools Cellular manufacturing Takt time Standardized work Continuous - flow manufacturing Kanban 5 Whys Single - minute exchange of die Poka - yoke Production leveling Total productive maintenance 5S ( methodology ) PDCA Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PDCA&oldid=806671566 '' Categories : Lean manufacturing Process management Manufacturing Production and manufacturing Commercial item transport and distribution Management Inventory Quality American inventions Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017 Articles needing cleanup from October 2017 All pages needing cleanup Articles containing how - to sections Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский کوردی Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 23 October 2017, at 13 : 33. 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Question: the first step of the pdca cycle is
Answer: plan phase