The PDCA cycle divides quality management into four stages—Plan, Do, Check, Act—making our thinking, methods, and work steps more organized and systematic.
In the Plan stage, gather information, analyze the situation, confirm goals, and make a plan.
In the Do stage, take measures around the goals and implement the plan.
In the Check stage, evaluate results, analyze causes, and summarize lessons learned.
In the Act stage, turn effective methods into standards and do things that way going forward; for problems, propose solutions and hand them to the next PDCA cycle. By repeating this continuous cycle, you can achieve continuous optimization of the management object.
If we stretch out the PDCA unit, PD is the thinking and action of planning, and CA is the thinking and action of summarizing.
P is forward-thinking toward the future—that is, planning. Study what to do next.
D is action after thinking—that is, execution—carrying out the work according to the plan.
C is backward-looking, thinking back—that is, checking and reflecting—summarizing how things went.
A is action after reflection and summarizing—that is, handling—how to handle what went well and what didn't.