Continual improvement process: Difference between revisions

The [[PDSA]] cycle is often credited to [[W. Edwards Deming]] and often called the Deming cycle though [[W. Edwards Deming]] referred to it as the Shewhart cycle. [[Walter A. Shewhart]] back in the 1920s was working at [[Western Electric Company]] with [[W. Edwards Deming]] and [[Joseph M. Juran]].  Shewhart took the standard academic scientific method of [[Inductive and Deductive Thinking]], used in [[Hypothesis Testing|hypothesis testing]], and converted it to a simple notion. When we do something we Plan it, Do it, Study it, and Act on its results: the PDSA cycle. This was a far simpler notion to use and inform the shop floor of Western Electric while building telephones, where many workers would not and could not understand the scientific method. In fact, the PDSA notion could easily be applied to everyday life; driving a car to work. Thus the PDSA cycle was very easy to relate to by Western’s workforce and gained the buy-in needed.