Invented by
Edwards Deming, the Deming Cycle provides a
framework for
continuous improvement of business process. It can be summed up in
four words:
- Plan: determine the action you intend to take, as
well as the steps required to achieve it. Design the new process (the
"to-be" state).
- Do: Execute the plan. Implement the new process.
- Check: Measure the outcome of the plan. This
required identifying measurable outcomes of the new process.
- Act: Determine what needs to be done to improve
the process.
...which brings us back to
Plan. Once gains are made,
some standard (such as
ISO 9000) is used to consolidate gains and
retain the new level of quality.
Leveraging the Deming Cycle requires that some sort of metric be
available for assessing the results of each change. Without a way to
measure, the process cannot be managed.
Deming designed this around industrial processes, but can be applied
elsewhere, such as IT. He put this into
practice to rebuild Japan after World War II.
http://www.balancedscorecard.org/bkgd/pdca.html
http://www.deming.org/
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