PDCA, DMAIC and A3 side by side poster

PDCA, DMAIC and the A3 report are the same way of thinking at three sizes. PDCA is the four-step improvement cycle: plan a change, do it, check the result, act on what you learned. DMAIC is Six Sigma's five-phase version for problems that hide in data and variation. The A3 report puts the whole story of one problem on one sheet so that several people can agree on the facts and a leader can coach the owner. This poster lines the three up step by step and gives a plain rule for when each fits, so a team stops running a six-month project on a one-hour fix.

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Download PNG (300 dpi)2550 x 3300 px, prints at 8.5 x 11 in · 559 KB · no form

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The words on the poster

PDCA, DMAIC and A3

One way of thinking, three sizes. Line them up and the steps match.

PDCA: The cycle. Hours to weeks.

Plan Goal, current state, cause, the change you expect to work.
Do Try the change, small, and record what happens.
Check Measure the result against the goal and your expectation.
Act It worked: make it the standard. It didn't: learn why and go again.
Use it when Any improvement, every day. The habit the other two are built on.

DMAIC: Six Sigma's version. Weeks to months.

Define, Measure, Analyze Define the problem. Measure it. Analyze the data for causes.
Improve Put in the solutions that remove the confirmed causes.
Control Monitor so the gain holds: control charts, standards, reaction plans.
Use it when The cause is not obvious, variation matters and there is data to measure it.

A3: The story on one sheet. Owner plus coach.

Left side Background. Current condition. Goal. Root cause analysis.
Right side Countermeasures. The plan: who, what, when.
Follow-up Did it work? What was learned? What to standardize and share.
Use it when Several people must agree on the facts, and a leader coaches the owner through it.

Definitions after the Lean Lexicon (Lean Enterprise Institute): PDCA, DMAIC, A3 report.

On the floor

How to use it

1
Pin it in the improvement room, next to the board where open problems are listed.
2
Before a new problem starts, ask: do we know the cause, do we have data, and who has to agree? The answers pick the column.
3
Use the rows to show a Six Sigma team and a kaizen team that they are running the same cycle.
4
Pair it with the free PDCA template, DMAIC project charter and A3 template.

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.