The basic description of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Model:
The Deming Cycle or The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model is a proven framework for implementing continuous quality improvement. It originated in the 1920s with Walter A. Shewhart. These four steps provide the framework for continuous improvement. The PDCA cycle basically starts with a plan and ends with an action in accordance with the information learned during the process. In later years Deming actually changed the Check portion to the term Study to highlight the creation and validation of new knowledge during that portion of the cycle.
Plan: The Plan stage should take up 50% of your efforts and it is where you define the customer objectives or the problem statement and determine the conditions and methods required to achieve the objectives. It is imperative that you clearly describe the customer need you must fulfill and the goals and policies required to achieve the objectives at this stage. A specific target should be documented numerically, if possible, and the procedures and conditions for the means and methods to achieve the target must be described.
Summary of the Plan Stage:
- State the objective of the change.
- Define causes within the current state that keep the system from achieving the objective.
- Determine baseline measurements of the existing process.
- Understand the causes that make up the problem.
- Decide what needs to change to eliminate the problem.
- Develop a plan to carry out the change
Do: In the Do stage, conditions are created and the necessary training or additional support to execute the plan is implemented. It is important that the sales/marketing teams completely understand the objectives and the plan and are in agreement with the procedures needed to fulfill the plan. The work is then performed according to these procedures.
Summary of the Do Stage:
- Implement the change in a trial form.
- Adjust and modify where needed.
- Document what you have learned, both expected and unexpected.
Check: In the Check stage, one must check to determine whether work is progressing according to the plan and whether the expected results are obtained. The performance of the set procedures must be checked against changes in conditions, or deviations may appear. As often as possible, the results of the work should be compared with the objectives. If a check detects a deviation (actual value differs from the target value) then a search for the cause of the deviation must be initiated to prevent its recurrence.
Summary of the Check Stage:
- Analyze the data.
- Compare data to predictions.
- Summarize what was learned from the trial.
- Proceed with full implementation if results are acceptable or return to the Plan phase.
Act: If the Action stage determines that the work is not being performed according to plan or those results are not what were anticipated, measures must be devised for appropriate action and you go back thru the next project.
Summary of the Act Stage:
- Standardize changes learned into the implementation.
- Complete the data analysis and verify to the target.
- Establish the process/controls needed to monitor.
- Maintain the improvement over time.
- Determine when the next improvement cycle is needed.
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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.
Detailed long-term planning cannot meet the rapid changes occurring in the market place and is falling out of favor. Rapid cycles found in Agile software development are becoming more common. The reason is that most successful sales cycles meet market needs by having a high degree of flexibility and the ability to adjust their plans as needed. So, with iterative cycles the rage, is there any need for a planning stage?
We use PDCA to provide a flexible structure and create a team with shared responsibility and authority for a successful outcome. The plan is in creating an effective way for teams to work, create, share and capture knowledge during the sales cycle. It has been said that less than 20% of the knowledge within a company is captured. When you consider that you are primarily dealing outside the company, that percentage has to be significantly lower. PDCA is an effective methodology that can be utilized to counteract this. It is first and foremost a learning tool that emphasizes the creation, sharing and capturing of knowledge. It is also a people process that emphasizes learning by doing and as a result focuses on making things happen.
- In the first stage, Plan is defined as companies connecting in a new way to bring new knowledge. This connection may have occurred through the web, conferences, experiences or research. It is the accumulation stage where the organizations share their knowledge and determine the next learning opportunity.
- In the 2nd stage, Do is defined as converting the new knowledge needed in processes, practice, material and culture to each organization. In this stage, the company intends to distribute and utilize knowledge between the experts in service, IT, supply, finance, etc. to assure value is delivered between companies. The goal is to create an all for one, one for all approach.
- In the 3rd stage, Check is the measurement of understanding. We do not only evaluate the knowledge shared but the process and workflow. Creating the flow of knowledge and optimizing the interactions typically becomes the most valued part of the interaction. Simple questions are asked such as: What are we here to do? What are we learning? Who will do what by when? How are we doing? What needs more of our attention?
- In the 4th stage, Act is the application of knowledge and interaction is transformed into competitive advantage. Utilization and reutilization of these components on real problems and the ability to deliver the product/service as required is answered here. This cycle may only be one step in a multiple-decision-making process or at the point of a purchase decision.
One way of reducing cycle time is to create faster feedback loops. First, take one of the stages of the customer decision-making process and break it down into multiple loops or cycles. Prioritize the loops and define the work that needs to be done within the first cycle through the use of a user story.
The result of this is that you generate fast feedback by offering the customer smaller parcels of information to see if you are on the correct path or to gain buy-in of a smaller step of the process.
Early customer feedback results in a better focus on the problem. As a result less work is done on superfluous tasks and more work is done on the required objectives. Little waste is generated because the feedback is so quick that obvious deviations are discarded.
Faster feedback can result in increased quality. There are a number of reasons for this. Shorter cycles result in better fit since the feedback can be gathered and applied frequently. Also, faster feedback means that the team can minimize the work required to meet the objectives. Less rework is required (you are constantly tweaking) and this is very advantageous compared to the large time-consuming proposals that are often generated.
Another advantage of this process is that you only do the iterations that you are comfortable doing. You don’t have to start every task in order. The flexibility of being able to put off some decisions to the last possible moment does not detract from the overall objective. By doing other cycles first, you will have increased knowledge of the cycle that will add better definition to the most difficult tasks.
By putting order into your learning cycle you will find that most of the time before was spent waiting on decisions or tasks that others were doing. Wait time is significantly reduced because the smaller cycles are much easier to complete and easier handoffs are created which may simplify the task of others.
Working on the basics makes a difference. To improve your football team, you need to work on blocking and tackling. To improve your learning (PDCA) cycle, you need to work on your feedback loops.
I have been a long time fan and practitioner of Franklin Covey’s, The 4 Disciplines of Execution. One of the reasons maybe that the 4 Disciplines are closely related to Lean practice of PDCA. If you are looking for a simplified version of putting PDCA in practice these 4 Disciplines serve as an excellent guideline. It is PDCA without calling it PDCA. In fact, I cannot remember in any Lean Engagement that I did not cover this material.
The 4 disciplines have been slightly updated in the book and can be summarized:
- (Plan) Focus on the Wildly Important (WIG): Execution starts with focus. Focus on the one or two goals that will make all the difference, instead of giving mediocre effort to dozens of goals.
- (Do) Act on the Lead Measures: Apply a disproportionate amount of energy to the activities that drive these lead measures. In this way, your team is creating the present while focused on the WIG.
- (Check) Keep a Compelling Scoreboard: If you know the score all the time, people will be engaged.
- (Act) Create a Cadence of Accountability: A frequent recurring cycle of accounting for past performance and planning to move the score forward. Great teams operate with a high level of accountability.
Are you using the Lean Tool of A3? Below is a short video on the subject and why you may want to consider using A3s.
A3 Thinking Introduction: There are basically four types of A3: Problem Solving, Proposal, Status and Strategy. For a complete description and understanding of these, I would recommend reading Understanding A3 Thinking by Sobek and Smalley. This, in my opinion, is the foremost work on A3 thinking and description of its use.
The Problem Solving A3 report is the most common and is the basis for all of the others. It is has been called the thinking form. This structure is the primary tool that Toyota has used to enact PDCA throughout their organization.
The Proposal A3 format is basically the same as the problem solving report except the implementation stage and follow-up are pending. It defines what you are going to do; it is a proposal. Many times it could even be a pilot or a sample offering stating that with these types of results, we will proceed. This type of documentation is very common in marketing. I even use this structure for my own marketing proposals and quotes.
The third type of A3 is the Status report. Think of it as a snapshot of the situation. From this, you can develop a call-to-action but it is not meant to be a problem-solving exercise. The status report is much like an end-month balance sheet.
The Strategy A3 focuses on a business planning strategy or in the case of this writing a marketing plan. It is planning report that looks at strategy for a longer period and at a higher level than the others.
We will concentrate on the problem solving A3. It is the most common and creates the best learning tool for A3 thinking. There is a basic nine-step process that takes place.
- Select the problem area
- Clarify the problem
- Break down the problem
- Set the target
- Investigate/analyze cause(s) then determine root cause
- Determine countermeasures and agree on plan
- Manage implementation plan
- Check and evaluate results and process
- Standardize and share, then decide next problem
The team selection is very important in developing A3s. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of collaboration and building a team. You should go to great lengths to find people who are interested in working in a “network” type environment in solving problems, building, and supporting each other.
Typical you must start building a team from a functional perspective. You have to have the technical expertise on hand when problem solving. Do you have someone from IT or HR that may be needed?
Time is another important aspect that needs to be considered. You do not want to create a team if only half the participants can be there. Geographic, psychographic, and all these types of parameters need to be considered, the same as you would do for any other type of project.
Collaboration is critical to the process of generating ideas and problems in any organization. When you review the principles of Kaizen and Agile, your ability to succeed really comes down to how good a team you put together.
Taking a broader stroke may not be in the definition of the project; when you develop a current state, check back to see if you have all the team members you need to solve the problem. The A3 process does not demand that once your team is set it does not change. It may have to. However, the A3 is the glue. It is what keeps the team focused and allows others to pick up where they left off or pick up in the middle of the project.
In a Business901 podcast, Karen Martin, author of The Outstanding Organization: Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence discussed planning.
Joe: You bring up my next question and lead into it perfectly. Planning seems to be so taboo. Even the Lean StartupTM version of PDCA is Build, Measure, and Learn. Planning, it just seems we’re dropping the planning from the cycle. Is there still room for planning?
Karen: Oh, yes. I’m so glad you asked that question because a lot of my content got on the cutting-room floor because I had far more words than what my contract was for. One of the things I went into in detail, that got cut, was my…I don’t know…I’m frustrated with what’s going on out there around planning and there are a lot of people that are playing into it. So I touch on Gladwell’s comments about planning, and I touch on other people and their anti-planning, guys who are out there, and I think it’s just wrong, just wrong because I think what happens, and I mentioned this very quickly in the book, is that people have gotten the plan confused with the process of planning.
The criticisms I keep hearing about planning is that, “Well, the world is so fluid, and you have to be flexible and agile.” Of course you do but who said that once you get a plan in place, you may not ever, under any circumstances, deviate from it. No one said that and yet that’s how organizations have behaved. So once again, we throw the baby out with the bathwater on an extremely robust and necessary part of performing well and people say, “Ah, forget the plans. We can’t plan,” and that’s just wrong.
Joe: A well-thought-out plan is going to include the ability to adapt?
Karen: Well right. That’s what PDSA is or PDCA. It is about adapting based on current conditions. There’s a lot going on even in the Lean community that’s smelling as though people were saying, “Well, stop with your plans, stop with your to-do list, and stop with this…” I’m like, “No, no, no, no, no. Don’t stop with it but use PDCA/PDSA as it was intended,” which is being very present with what your experiment’s results are showing, alter your hypothesis, go back experiment again, and keep on adapting based on your new information.
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