PDSA Cycles are small scale, reflective tests used to try out ideas for improvement. Repeat your cycles and build on them , using learning from each test to refine the improvement idea.
Testing lets you evaluate the impact of a change and discover different alternatives. The goal is to increase your ability to predict the impact that one or more changes would have if they were implemented.
Plan your test to include who will do what, when and where.
Before beginning your first cycle think:
- What are you trying to accomplish?
- How will you know that a change is an improvement?
- What changes can you make that will result in improvement?
Not all changes will result in an improvement. It is essential to learn from what worked and from what didn’t work and capture this learning before moving to your next PDSA cycle.