This implies we have established reliable process metrics. It is quite common to start the process of improvement without a very clear goal or without an action plan or without reliable metrics. If however we work true to the spirit of continuous improvement, with each application of the cycle, we will add clarity to the goal, improve the action plan and refine the metrics. This is the essence of the last phase of the cycle. There are clearly two halves to the cycle.
Every phenomenon has two components - formation and manifestation.
Formation is subtle and shadowy. It consolidates the present and makes it open to changes. It makes the phenomenon adaptive and versatile and puts it in a state where all phenomena are categorically discontinuous. In effect formation brings things to a halt. It is in this phase that a structure is chosen for the phenomenon.