PDCA

Learn in the textbookService Maintenance and Continual Improvement

DefinitionPDCA is a management approach that runs through four stages in order, Plan, Do, Check, and Act (corrective action and improvement), and feeds the outcome of Act into the next Plan as the cycle repeats.

ExplanationPDCA is not tied to any one field; it is used in quality management and many other areas. Because the revisions decided in Act are built into the next Plan, goals and methods get a little better with each cycle.

AnalogyIt is like cooking: you settle on a recipe and amounts, cook, taste, and decide to use less salt next time. That decision then goes into the recipe for the next round.

Learn in the textbookManagement Cycles and Business Continuity

DefinitionPDCA is a management cycle that runs four stages in order, Plan, Do, Check, and Act, to make work a little better each time.

ExplanationOne kind of measure used in Check is the KPI (key performance indicator). In Act, you address the causes of gaps between plan and result, and build those fixes into the next Plan.

AnalogyIt is like choosing a recipe, cooking it, tasting it, and deciding to use a little less salt next time.