Quality Improvement Tool: PDCA
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP
PDCA is short for Plan, Do, Check, Act. PDCA was the brainchild of Dr. Edwards Deming who is considered by many to be the father of modern quality control. It is typically used as a repeating process to improve project quality.
The PDCA cycle is a 4 stage process that is used to coordinate continuous improvement efforts. It emphasizes that quality improvement programs must begin with careful planning, resulting in actions that are analyzed for effectiveness in a process that is continually repeated.
Here’s how to perform the PDCA cycle in a nutshell:
PDCA
P Plan
D Do
C Check
A Act
Plan
- Identify the problem. Use tools like brainstorming to generate ideas
- Identify the root cause. Use tools like fishbone diagrams to identify the root causes
- Develop a solution and create an action plan or implementation plan
Do
- Implement the solution
Check
- Measure and evaluate the results of the implemented solution
Act
- Repeat the process
About the Author: Ray Myers, Jr. is a PMP certified project manager with over 2o years experience planning and managing technology projects. Contact Ray at wwwpmservicesnw.com
Article source: www.pmservicesnw.com
