PDCA: At THE HEART OF PROBLEM SOLVING

PROBLEM SOLVING EDUCATION SERIES-PART 3

INTRODUCTION
In the previous Problem Solving topic we discussed about effective ways of problem solving. In this topic we are going to look at high-level understanding of systematic problem solving approach.
Your business may face the following four types of situations for improvement:-

1. Troubleshooting ​
2. Gap in Standard of Performance ( Existing Target)
3. New Target
4. Innovation

First two types are considered as problems that may impact the organization to achieve its business goals.  
Last two are opportunities for the organization to move to next level.
To be successful, organizations must establish competency in all the four areas.
No matter what type of issues or situations, all types must be approached systematically. The approach is called PDCA Cycle.
WHAT IS PDCA?
PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check & Act. It is a systematic way to manage problems and opportunities. PDCA is sometime called Deming Cycle, attributing to the man who introduced this cycle to the industry. This methodology was developed by Walter Shewhart. Toyota understood the power of PDCA and adopted it as their continuous improvement philosophy. No matter what an organization does, be it Lean, Lean Six Sigma or simply some quality improvement, most of it uses PDCA. 
It is important for Problem Solvers to understand and appreciate PDCA in their journey to become highly effective members of an organization.
Let us dive into each of the component.
PLAN
Plan step takes bulk of the time in solving a problem or an opportunities. In fact planning well done, will lead to success in resolving the issues. 
Plan includes the following at minimum:-

• Understanding the background to the issue(problem and opportunities), Where did the problem happened, what is the impact of the problem, specifically to the business goals and strategies?, Who are the impacted stakeholders? and etc.
• The current level of performance
• The existing process flow
• The target improvement
• What are the causes and root causes of the problem?
• What are the potential solutions to address the causes and root causes?
• What implementation actions to be carried out?

As you can see, a problem solving team will spend large amount of time in this step. In order to ensure this step can be completed timely, the selection of team members is important. Team members shall have in-depth understanding of the processes involved in the issues.
Often teams struggle in this phase because they do not have the right team members either through lack of experience or knowledge. Some problems need to be solved as a cross functional team.
DO
As the name suggest, this is the step to ensure the actions identified are implemented as soon as possible. This step is all about doing. Implement, Implement, Implement
CHECK
The teams have implemented the actions. Are they progressing or not? Have the problem been solved? The Check step is about measuring,monitoring, analysing and evaluating the progress of the actions taken to achieve the problem solving target. Remember, in the planning step, target was established. For those who are familiar with ISO 9001, the clause 9.1 refers to this.
ACT
What do you do if the target has been achieved? The team shall standardise the process, and if need to be, will develop a Standard Operating Procedures. The team will communicate to all relevant stakeholders. The project will brought to a completion.
But, if the team is not getting the desired results, then they will need to go back to Step 1- Plan, to review the process again and verify is they have left out some key informations or factors. The they continue with other steps. The cycle continues until the required target has been achieved.
SUMMARY
PDCA is a powerful high-level framework that is useful not only in problem solving, but also in project management. In our daily live, we do PDCA without even realising it. Embrace PDCA, in your problem solving journey.
Further reading...PDCA by ASQ, The gravity of PDCA
 


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