Problem Solving with PDCA

Posted by adi on Jan 2, 2009 in Default

The PDCA cycle, otherwise known as the Deming Cycle, was created by American statistician W. Edwards Deming.  Deming was instrumental in the revitalisation of Japanese business after the second world war and also helped to popularise Total Quality Management (TQM).

The PDCA cycle consists of four stages:

1. Plan
2. Do
3. Check
4. Act

1. Planning

What is the current situation?  What objective do you want to achieve?  How can this be done and what processes will be required?

2. Do

Implementation of the new processes.

3. Check

Measure the new processes and check against the previous results.

4. Act

Analyse these results and determine what action to take as a result.

Benefits of using the PDCA Cycle

• Daily routine management-for the individual and/or the team,
• The problem solving process,
• Project management,
• Continuous development,
• Vendor development,
• Human resources development,
• New product development, and
• Process trials.
  

Tags: Human resources, New product development, Project and Program Management, project management, Total Quality Management

Knowing when to focus on short-term and long-term is key to project success

Posted by adi on Nov 28, 2008 in The world of the web

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Big projects can yield great things but managing them through to fruition is a complicated process, as evidenced by the sheer number of projects that fail to meet cost, quality or deadline goals.  Recent research by Linda Houser-Marko and Kennon Sheldon perhaps provides the answer.  Clearly any project will consist of various sub-tasks, and they suggest that at various stages of the project it pays to focus on these sub-tasks, whilst at other times it is better to focus on the end goal.

Maintaining focus whilst performing each sub-task

The research indicated that whilst people were performing each task, they perform best when they keep the overall goal in mind.  Self-control is increased by global processing, abstract thinking and high-level categorisation. Taking the first step on the long road to your goal may require a greater focus on the destination.

Evaluating difficult tasks

By contrast if you or your team are evaluating a sub task that is particularly difficult it is much better to focus on that particular task.  At the start of your journey, when evaluating progress, it’s often better to focus on the individual steps. Comparing recent failure with the ultimate goal destroys motivation – instead narrow focus to succeeding on the individual task.

With the end in sight

Once tasks are easier or the end is in sight, a goal focus is once again the psychological approach to choose. It increases positive emotion, decreases negative emotion and increases perceived performance.

Tags: Business, Motivation, project management, Self control