Definition

Basic Concept

In PDCA.software, an improvement consists of a logical series of steps or a “cycle” aimed at improving something in your organization:

• An idea or suggestion for an improvement.
• A plan to implement that idea.
• A record that the planned improvement was implemented.
• A check on what happened during implementation.
• Any lessons learned and potentially a further improvement that follows on from the current one.

Ideas for improvements can be big or small, theoretical or practical, expensive or cheap. They can be led by management or come from people on the shop floor.

PDCA

Within this basic concept, PDCA.software encapsulates the well known Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle common to popular management practices such as Kaizen, ISO 9001 and many others. The PDCA method has been around in many forms for a long time: some people date it back to the invention of the scientific method. You can use PDCA even if you don’t follow a specific management methodology since most people agree that it is just a great way to continually improve your organization. Finally PDCA.software also inherently supports cyclical or continuous improvement.

PDCA.software helps you understand the totality of your improvement programme: reporting allows you to see how many improvements are being worked on, where and at what stage. Optionally, you can prioritize improvements or use security to control sign-off that an improvement cycles are complete.