“Something needs to change: Something’s wrong, and needs to be fixed, and you’ve worked hard to create a credible vision of where you want it to be in future. But are you 100% sure that you’re right? And are you absolutely certain that your solution will work perfectly, in every way?”
MindTools.com started their article about PDCA.
So, after discussing “How to write a killer marketing plan” in our previous article:
we think it’s the time to talk about what is the next step after planning and how to manage your execution to achieve your Goals.
For that reason we’ll talk today about a management cycle called “PDCA or Deming cycle”,
PDCA refers to (Plan – Do – Check – Act/Adjust).
It’s a simple repeated process but it goes larger on scale every time, as you start by applying it on a test case before starting your project and then increase the scale time by time until we get the required scale to achieve our plan goals.
1st step:
Is to make the Plan (You can check how to make it from our previous article), and that an important step to analyze the market problems and to identify the area you’ll develop & target.
2nd step:
Is to Do or to implement the plan on a test case, you can do that by a simulation or by implementing the plan on a pilot of people from your target segment. The implementation will be done to solve a market problem or to satisfy a market need through too many solutions/ways, but you select the most suitable solution from your point of view which isn’t the only thing you should rely on when taking a decision about your target segment, otherwise you can rely on the testing phase results.
Between the 2nd step & the 3rd step there is another cycle also called PDCA 😀 but this time refers to:
– Problem finding
– Display
– Clear
– Acknowledge
After making the 2nd step you have to find the problems and what did and didn’t work in your plan, then once you understand the issues that need to be fixed, you will need to visualize the issue. Visualization will make it easier for your team to see where the issue truly lays, which issues to fix in order of priority, and the key indicators of success, or KPIs, then you have to update your visual chart with the problem solutions. Also you have to keep updating your visual control displays to ensure everyone stays in-the-loop, and can easily see the project status, then communicate with your team & stakeholders and discuss the updates with them to take actions and then go to the 3rd step 😉
3rd step:
Is to Check the solutions you recommended for all market problems is it working or not & why?!
Also you measure is the pilot segment you took in your test phase is effective and sufficient for your market or not?
Depending on the success of the pilot, the number of areas for improvement you have identified, and the scope of the whole initiative, you may decide to repeat the “Do” and “Check” phases, incorporating your additional improvements.
Once you are finally satisfied that the costs would outweigh the benefits of repeating the Do-Check sub-cycle any more, you can move on to the final phase.
4th step:
The final phase is the fully implementation phase “the Act phase” where you can implement the updated plan on your target market segment with your full power. But remember:
“The final phase isn’t the last phase, as it’s a repeated improvement cycle! It’s the Deming wheel”