Il ciclo di Deming o Deming Cycle (ciclo di PDCA, acronimo di Plan–Do–Check–Act, in italiano "Pianificare - Fare - Verificare - Agire") è un metodo di gestione iterativo in quattro fasi utilizzato in attività per il controllo e il miglioramento continuo dei processi e dei prodotti. È noto anche come Ciclo di Shewhart, (Plan-Do-Study-Act, "Pianificare - Fare - Studiare - Agire"). Un'altra versione di questo ciclo viene chiamata, OPDCA, in cui la "O" ha il significato sia di "osservazione", che di "Afferrare la condizione attuale." È un modello studiato per il miglioramento continuo della qualità in un'ottica a lungo raggio. Serve per promuovere una cultura della qualità che è tesa al miglioramento continuo dei processi e all'utilizzo ottimale delle risorse. Questo strumento parte dall'assunto che per il raggiungimento del massimo della qualità sia necessaria la costante interazione tra ricerca, progettazione, test, produzione e vendita. Per migliorare la qualità e soddisfare il cliente, le quattro fasi devono ruotare costantemente, tenendo come criterio principale la qualità.
Il ciclo PDCA è usato nel processo di creazione di una Customer relationship management avanzata[1]. Può anche essere sostenuto utilizzando strumenti cognitivi, come le mappe mentali, e coadiuvando gli analisti con flussi semplificati per l'implementazione di micro cicli in fase di brainstorming. La sequenza logica dei quattro punti ripetuti per un miglioramento continuo è la seguente: Ideato da W. Edwards Deming in Giappone negli anni cinquanta. In quegli anni in Giappone la produzione di qualità era assicurata semplicemente dalle fasi di collaudo. Ispezioni successive al processo davano la sola possibilità di scartare i pezzi difettosi e, in tale logica, l'aumento della qualità avrebbe significato l'aumentare delle ispezioni e di conseguenza dei costi. Sprechi e costi non erano in sintonia con il concetto di qualità ricercato dal Giappone. Il Giappone si affidò a esperti americani tra i quali W. Edwards Deming, per introdurre degli strumenti atti ad assicurare un progressivo miglioramento della qualità.
I giapponesi successivamente hanno reinventato la ruota di Deming e l'hanno chiamata Ciclo PDCA, costituendo un metodo da applicare a tutte le fasi e a tutte le situazioni. Ora il concetto di far girare costantemente la ruota di Deming per generare miglioramento continuo è esteso a tutte le fasi del management, e i quattro stadi della ruota corrispondono a precise attività. Il Ciclo di Deming è uno strumento molto utile per sviluppare: Nel contesto della continuità aziendale, il Ciclo PDCA è la metodologia fondamentale di approccio per gestire le ongoing activities dei piani di business continuity.Thinking ResoningThinking Decision MakingThinking QuestioningThinking OnlineThinking ModelThinking GoogleThinking SkillsCritical ThinkingAnalyze ThinkingForwardTo Analyze Thinking We Must Identify and Question its Elemental Structures. /pages/learn-the-elements-and-standards/861 - Via Anita DehghaniPeople are often so busy with the implementation that they put less attention to the previous steps that deal with the problem.
That’s what creates a pitfall! Without a clearly defined problem, how would you know what you’re trying to improve and how much you will need to do reach the goal? You would be attacking a target that doesn’t exist. Without thorough analysis, how would you know which target to point at? In my previous “Every problem-is-an-investment-opportunity…..” , we had a detail discussion on this. The Agile process is an alignment and collaboration of many short cycles of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Adjust). This suggests that everything starts with a plan, but there are multiple steps we need to follow to develop an action-based plan. (Note: You may have heard the PDCA cycle in different names like the Deming cycle, Shewhart cycle, Deming wheel, Control circle, or plan–do–study–act (PDSA)) The industry has developed many tools to support the action planning but complex problems are still out of the capability. In Lean thinking “We believe, the method or tool is not as important the thought process and the skills of the user.”
Because resources are sure to waste if the plan is unclear and everyone is not skilled enough to perform the task. In Toyota, the term “Countermeasure” is used to describe the proposed solution (Plans). The countermeasures are mainly divided into: In Toyota, It is generally taken that a large portion of countermeasures will be implemented quickly (Within a week). Therefore the definition of the short term and long term are according to the overall permanency of the countermeasures. Short term plans are utilized to reduce the defects and ensure that they will not result in the next process. They additionally minimize the lost production time due to the constant cleaning. In some circumstances, the short - term solutions become permanent if the teams don't find a more effective solution. The long - terms are the most effective solutions. But these type of solutions are usually difficult or not possible to implement in the current capability. So, long - term solutions are only intended to permanently eliminate the root causes.
Implementing it may take weeks to months. So, the teams usually divide the long-term plan into smaller increments. The process of smaller increments by reducing Muda (wastage) is known as “Heijunka” (Production Leveling or production smoothing). In SAFe, the iterations are the shorter increments or the common short goals of the team according to the Team PI Objective and the outcome demoed at the team and system demos. There are many benefits of short - term increments: When can you declare a product completion? Most of us would answer -- when the goals are achieved. But in Lean, the answer lies in the successful achievement of smaller improvements by actively pursuing the issues at all levels. One must continue to observe and correct until the process creates lesser problems requiring modification and performs as planned. Iteration execution is the process where implementation happens in Agile and the teams complete the “Do” part of PDCA cycle. In the daily stand-up, the teams evaluate the progressing work towards the goal and update each other about their development.
It is necessary to have a comparison of results between the previous data and Post-improvement data. Because now and then surprisingly the teams discover the missing points in the prior data even if the idea was tested before. It happens because of the eagerness to solve the problem without knowing the problem clearly. The team demo serves as the “Check” part of the cycle. As I have mentioned before, Teams deliver the stories in an iterative fashion. In the iteration demo, the teams show the tested incremental value (some percentage) to the Product owner, stakeholders (optional) and get feedback. The outcome of this meeting shows up in the backlog of the next iteration. The teams also participate in an integrated system demo. This is where all the coordination, collaboration, and alignment happens among the teams of Agile Release Train. This entire process is a continuous progression -- Developing hypothesis, testing, measuring the outcomes and adjusting for the desired result.
A thorough understanding of the root causes and team's contribution towards the problem makes the upcoming changes predictable. Sometimes finding the solution is easy but implementation becomes difficult and it’s not uncommon for a solution to create other problems. In some cases, the core problem is often broken into smaller ones. So, continuous improvement is necessary to address those subproblems. “Don’t try to eliminate all the problems since that is unlikely and you could work towards that goal for a lifetime!” -- The Toyota Way field Book Once the solutions become reality, it is wise to ensure the adjustments. Follow Genchi Genbutsu (actual place or actual thing) and observe the new process whether it is free from major problems or not. The responsibility issues play a bigger role in Action and improvement (or reflection activities). (Note: It’s not one person’s responsibility but rather the entire team has enough responsibility to take part in the product completion.)