PDCA Cycle for Android

11 things about PDCA Cycle

1. One can envision an open coil spring, with each loop being one cycle of the scientific method - PDCA, and each complete cycle indicating an increase in our knowledge of the system under study.

2. 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.

3. When a pass through these four steps does not result in the need to improve, the scope to which PDCA is applied may be refined to plan and improve with more detail in the next iteration of the cycle.

4. 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.

5. PDCA (plan–do–check–act) is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products.

6. Study the actual results (measured and collected in "DO" above) and compare against the expected results (targets or goals from the "PLAN") to ascertain any differences.

7. However, the scientific method and PDCA apply to all sorts of projects and improvement activities.

8. Especially at the start of a project, key information may not be known; the PDCA—scientific method—provides feedback to justify our guesses (hypotheses) and increase our knowledge.

9. Charting data can make this much easier to see trends over several PDCA cycles and in order to convert the collected data into information.

10. PDCA allows for major 'jumps' in performance ('breakthroughs' often desired in a Western approach), as well as Kaizen (frequent small improvements).

11. Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output (the target or goals).