The Plan Do Check Act Cycle is a process improvement methodology.
- Plan: Create the method of improvement and identify the outcome expected (key performance indicator KPI)
- Do: Implement the change
- Check: Follow up on the KPI to determine if a change occurred
- Act: If the desired outcome wasn’t achieved, drop the activity as there are no gains. If there was an improvement but not the expected outcome, change the plan to improve the outcome. If the expectation was met, find a new process to improve.
Importantly, the PDCA cycle is just that: a cycle. After Act, you need to immediately start the next Plan.
