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PDCA cycle poster
PDCA (plan, do, check, act) is the four-step cycle behind every improvement: understand the problem and plan a change, try it on a small scale, check the result against what you expected, then standardize it or go round again. It is also called the Deming cycle or the Shewhart cycle. This poster shows the cycle with what to do in each step, for improvement boards, team areas and kaizen rooms.
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The words on the poster
PDCA: plan, do, check, act
The cycle behind every improvement. Go round again and again.
- Plan Define the problem and the goal. Study the current situation. Find the cause. Plan a change.
- Do Try the change on a small scale. Record what happens.
- Check Measure the result. Compare it with the goal and what you expected.
- Act It worked: standardize and share it. It didn't: learn why and go round again.
- Each turn starts from the new standard. Small cycles, done often, beat one big plan.
Also called the Deming or Shewhart cycle.
On the floor
How to use it
- 1
Put it next to the improvement board, so every card can be placed in a step of the cycle.
- 2
Ask in the huddle: which step is this problem in, and what is the next step?
- 3
Use the CHECK step to make sure every change is measured before it becomes the standard.
- 4
Pair it with the free PDCA template for each improvement.
Which size to print
- 24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
- 18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
- Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.
Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.
Sources and notes
- W. Edwards Deming taught the cycle in Japan in the 1950s, building on Walter Shewhart's work in the 1930s. Deming later preferred the name PDSA (plan, do, study, act).
Templates, decks and guides to go with it
- Kaizen training presentationFree training deck: What kaizen is, its principles, PDCA and four steps to a first improvement in 17 slides, with an activity and a quiz.
- DMAIC training presentationFree training deck: Define, measure, analyze, improve and control, with the main tools of each phase, in 16 slides.
- PDCA templateOne improvement cycle on one page: plan, do, check against the goal, then standardize or adjust. PDF and Excel.
- A3 problem solving templateThe standard seven-box A3 from background to follow-up, with a filled-in worked example. PDF and Excel.
- Quick kaizen templateOne page for a small improvement: before and after, the cause, the countermeasure, the results and whether the standard changed.
- Kaizen project plan (Gantt chart)One improvement project as a Gantt chart: tasks by phase with owners, predecessors and working days, a 16-week grid, milestones and a status from planned against actual % done.
- Topic: Kaizen and continuous improvementEvery guide we have on the subject, sorted.
- Topic: Root cause analysis and problem solvingEvery guide we have on the subject, sorted.
Terms on this poster
A poster reminds. A routine makes it stick.
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