Mohammad Zaid

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PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT (PDCA) CYCLE

To make improvements in the quality of your product or service, quality assurance focuses on the processes you use to make the product or provide the service instead of only performing tests on the final product. Probably the most well-known technique used for identifying spots for improvement processes is called the Plan-

Do-Check-Act, or the PDCA Cycle.

Walter Shewhart, a pioneering statistician who developed Statistical Process Control while at Bell, created the PDCA Cycle technique in the 1930s. Shewharts friend W. Edwards Deming, a famous quality management guru, made the technique popular in the 1950s.

The major stages of the PDCA Cycle

The idea behind the PDCA Cycle is that process improvement isnt a one-time linear event; its a continuous cycle of activities that make the process better and better over time (see Figure). The following list outlines each stage: 1. Plan to improve the process by identifying whats going wrong and coming up with ideas to make it better.

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The planning stage involves a few steps:

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Make sure you clearly define the problem and have a measurable goal for the effort involved. Identify the process or processes that impact the problem and select one to work on. List the steps involved in the process, and review the steps to identify potential causes of the problem. Collect and analyze data related to the problem to identify the problems root cause. For example, suppose youre trying to reduce the number of reported bugs in a software program. You would review your software development process to look for areas that seem to have the biggest impact on the number of bugs created.

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

2. Do small changes a little at a time to minimize disruption to your normal activities, which allows you to clearly see the effects of the change. Establish criteria for selecting which solution to try, and implement the solution on a pilot basis to limit potential problems. In our software example, we may decide to add a code review process to see whether the bug count decreases. 3. Check whether the small changes are producing the desired result. To carry out the checking stage, you should Gather the appropriate data on the solution you implement. Analyze the data to see if you achieved the desired result; if not, go back to the Plan stage. After three months of performing code reviews, we look at the bug count for the software to see whether its decreased. 4. Act on what you discover, and implement positive changes throughout the process. Identify the changes required to make what youve learned part of your process, and plan ongoing monitoring of the solution to make sure it doesnt cause new problems. If the bug count has gone down, you make code reviews a permanent part of the software development process. If the bug count hasnt gone down, go back to the Plan stage to look for other things to try. 5. After you solve the problem and improve the process, start over again to plan the solution to the next problem in a never-ending improvement cycle.

Tools for working through each PDCA stage

At each stage of the PDCA Cycle, you have numerous tools and techniques at your disposal to complete the steps required for success in the stage; we discuss these items throughout this book. The following sections outline the tools and techniques in an easily accessible list format (if you havent gathered it already, lists are to become a big part of quality control life).

Mohammad Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Planning tools
You can facilitate the Plan stage by using any of the following tools: Flowcharting: Draw a diagram that shows the step-by-step progression of the product through the process. Customer/supplier mapping: Create a diagram of the interactions between all customers and suppliers in your supply chain. Brainstorming: Bring together a small group to brainstorm possible problem solutions. Pareto analysis: Use the 80/20 rule to narrow the problems you need to work on look at 20 percent of your activities that cause 80 percent of your problems. Evaluation matrix: Develop problem evaluation criteria and relative weights to rank each problem. Cause-and-effect diagrams: Draw a chart that shows the problem and the reasons why the problem occurred to look for root causes.

Doing tools
The Do stage may require any of the following techniques: On-the-job training: You can train your workers while on the job in order to implement changes to a process. Experiment design: Design experiments and expected outcomes to determine the effectiveness of the change. Small-group leadership skills training: Help lead the team to make the required changes. Conflict resolution: Build the skills needed to resolve issues between the people and departments performing the process.

Checking tools
You can complete the Check stage by using any of the following tools: Data worksheets: Track important outputs from the process. Control charts: Measure data to determine whether the process is consistent.

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influence the effectiveness of the process.

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Key performance indicators: Identify the factors that directly and indirectly Graphical analysis: Graph the process results to highlight any changes.

Acting tools
The Act stage puts the process in place by using any of the following tools: Process mapping: Draw an updated diagram of the process for all to see. Process standardization: Compare the updated process to other existing processes to look for issues or opportunities. Formal training for the new process: Make sure everyone performs the new process correctly.

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PDCA Cycle

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