Plan Do Check Act or Deming Wheel is a management tool introduced by Dr Edward Deming in the 1950s to identify processes or products that do not work to improve them. PDCA is an acronym for Plan, Do, Check and Act, which has become one of the most popular management and strategy tools applied by many organizations. PDCA can help people and organizations solve problems and implement solutions methodically. The methodology can be used in various situations, such as exploring multiple solutions on a trial basis, avoiding the waste associated with adopting a wrongful resolution, implementing change, continuous improvement, total quality management, process development, and improvement.
Planning is the first step in the cycle. The first sub-element in the step requires understanding the problem or opportunity. For example, not having a job or finding a better job in line with career aspirations and professional qualifications. The second sub-element is setting a realistic goal. The goal should be clear and as specific as possible and with an exact time frame, for example, “To find a data analyst job in the consultancy industry by December 2021”.The goal will then be conveyed into a key performance indicator (KPI). The performance indicator will help to set specific, measurable value for the objectives. That will make it possible to develop a plan that will consider factors that affect the goal and what needs to be completed to attain it. For example, the factors that may affect finding a new job include visibility on career platforms, membership to professional bodies, attainment of the desired experience, the resume’s attractiveness, industry trends in hiring, and personal networking skills. The plan has to be visible to focus on the goal entirely.
The second stage is “Do,” which is all about implementing the plan. When implementing that plan, key considerations will be based on the small critical tasks that need to be completed every day and prioritizing the tasks. Examples include writing an appealing resume to describe individual strengths and capabilities to potential employers, subscribing to carrier platforms and networks. Further, obtaining membership or certification from the relevant membership bodies, being keen to identify job adverts, and making applications are also examples. Tracking progress for each of these tasks is essential in establishing the assignments completed, problems faced, if any, and the factors positively or negatively affecting the plan.
Phase three involves checking, which consists of assessing the outcome of plan implementation. It is a phase of inspection and analysis to establish the development of the activities done so far, whether the goal has been reached, the progress, and reasons resulting in success or failure during the plan’s implementation. Analyzing the project will seek to establish whether getting a new job was feasible, the possibility of sticking on the agenda or changing the plan, how the project can be improved or adjusted to achieve maximum results and how to minimize the negative influences caused by external factors. Some of the indicators that the plan to get a new job is on track include interview invitations and professional linkages on professional networks such as LinkedIn.
The final phase is “Act “basing on the results obtained at “Check.” The phase would necessitate adjustments such as stopping, changing, or adding. Stopping is required if the initial plan of finding the new job has failed or is likely to fail. Changing will be necessary if some adjustments are to be made on the plan as long as it is within the goal’s timeframe, for example, changing the networking strategies of getting the new job. Improvement measures and prevention mechanisms are also other essential aspects at the acting stage.