The PDCA Cycle is a four-step improvement loop: Plan (form a hypothesis), Do (run the experiment), Check (evaluate the result), Act (adopt the findings or adjust). Each pass delivers an incremental improvement through structured learning. The cycle forms the methodological foundation for Kaizen and thus for continuous improvement in Kanban systems.
A practical example: a team finds that code reviews take too long. Plan: set a WIP limit of two for reviews to increase focus. Do: implement the change for two weeks. Check: measure whether review duration actually decreased. Act: if yes, keep the limit. If not, revise the hypothesis and start a new cycle. The key principle is that every change is treated as an experiment, not a final decision.
The PDCA Cycle goes back to W. Edwards Deming, who popularized it in Japan in the 1950s. It is based on the older Shewhart Cycle and is embedded today in virtually every improvement methodology.
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