Planning is important. Maybe even more is the ability to EXECUTE ACCORDING TO PLAN. This does not mean that plans are not adaptable, good ones are. This means though that when we are “in the moment,” we must believe in what we are doing and execute within our existing capabilities. Or in other words, Standard Work. Preparation is the key in delivery, and you must prepare and be comfortable with the plan (Standard Work). Improving on your plan is a deliberate action outside of your Standard Work. Without this understanding, you may wander and not achieve what you set out for.
We are so obsessed with this thought and the “so-called” ever changing world around us that we are willing to toss the best laid plans out the window. The new advice is to iterate and seek perfection. Planning has become so passé. I personally struggle with the all to common Inspect-Adapt thoughts.
I believe in a learn by doing approach, Lean. This approach incorporates the principles of PDCA/PDSA (Plan – Do – Study – Adjust). Most believers in PDCA/PDCSA will tell you that the “P” should incorporate 50% of your time. Planning is important.
From Wikpedia:
PDCA was made popular by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who is considered by many to be the father of modern quality control; however it was always referred to by him as the “Shewhart cycle”. Later in Deming’s career, he modified PDCA to “Plan, Do, Study, Act” (PDSA) so as to better describe his recommendations.
The concept of PDCA is based on the scientific method, as developed from the work of Francis Bacon (Novum Organum, 1620). The scientific method can be written as “hypothesis,” “experiment,” “evaluation” or plan, do, and check. Shewhart described manufacture under “control” – under statistical control – as a three-step process of specification, production and inspection. He also specifically related this to the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment and evaluation. Shewhart says that the statistician “must help to change the demand [for goods] by showing…how to close up the tolerance range and to improve the quality of goods”. Clearly, Shewhart intended the analyst to take action based on the conclusions of the evaluation.
According to Deming, during his lectures in Japan in the early 1950s, the Japanese participants shortened the steps to the now traditional plan, do, check, act. Deming preferred plan, do, study, act because “study” has connotations in English closer to Shewhart’s intent than “check”.
I have chosen to stay with PDCA to keep it consistent throughout the information presented. A fundamental principle of the scientific method and PDCA is iteration – once a hypothesis is confirmed (or negated), executing the cycle again will extend the knowledge further. Repeating the PDCA cycle can bring us closer to the goal, usually a perfect operation and output.
For the most comprehensive discussion of PDCA, I recommend Four Practical Revolutions in Management: Systems for Creating Unique Organizational Capability. It is not an airplane book. It is 700 pages of small print and very dry. The wealth of information in it though is unbelievable. In the The Toyota Way Fieldbook, you may read Chapter 17, Plan-Do-Check-Act but I think it is somewhat confusing and when used out of context does not give a good description of PDCA.
More on PDCA this week. Michael Balle in a quick video about PDCA: