The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is a model for carrying out change. It is an essential part of the Lean manufacturing philosophy and a key prerequisite for continuous improvement of people and processes. It is very similar to [the OODA Loop](The%20OODA%20Loop.md) for decision making and [the PDSA Cycle](The%20PDSA%20Cycle.md) for knowledge generation and learning. The Cycle can be practiced in the context of [the Coaching Kata](Coaching%20Kata.md). ## Prerequisites Understand the current and target state you are in by defining it in written form. And recognize opportunities for making an improvement that close the gap to the target state. ## The Cycle 1. **Plan:** Identify the most promising action or change. Plan that action or change and define the expected outcome. 2. **Do:** Carry out the action or implement the change. 3. **Check:** Analyze the results and identify what you’ve learned. 4. **Act/Adjust:** Decide on the next steps based on what you learned. Share learnings. - If the change did not work or the action did not have the desired effect, go through the cycle again with a different plan with what you learned. - If you were successful, incorporate what you learned more broadly. - If you have reached the target state, the cycle ends. - Otherwise, use what you learned to plan further improvements and begin the cycle again. - If you repeat the cycle, and you have more than one option, ## Example PDCA Cycle Sheet