1. Plan-Do, Plan-Do ad nauseum
The pattern of Plan-Do, Plan-Do keeps repeating itself. Check and Act are left behind. There’s always a new plan you can implement. The mistake here is not applying PDCA consistently. If you want to achieve the desired change, you have to complete the cycle, as quickly and as often as possible. You won’t make the most of PDCA by applying it once a year.
2. PDCA without Trying and Testing
This pitfall should be familiar to managers who like to stay in control (control freaks, if you will). They primarily see PDCA as a tool to plan and check the work. That leaves you with an approach that impedes progress, rather than one that solves problems. Those managers don’t want you to experiment, because it’s seen as being too risky. But Trying and Testing are essential to the Do and Check steps. Also, experimenting is essential to creating a sense of ownership of solutions to the bottlenecks that pop up daily in the workplace. And that sense of ownership is crucial to making progress together.
3. PDCA without a specific improvement goal
Too often, we still see organizations applying PDCA to help execute the regular processes. This is the third pitfall. They may be looking for the missing link in a process. Then they add that missing link so that the process functions as intended once again. Very useful, but it doesn’t contribute to the continuous improvement of processes. Without a specific goal for improvement in mind, PDCA doesn’t reach its full potential. But keep in mind that continuous improvement should be a standard part of the function.
4. Using PDCA to implement a plan
This pitfall starts with a plan that came from the upper management echelons without any rhyme or reason. But the plan has already been defined from start to finish. Management will pull out all the stops to execute this plan no matter the cost, even if it turns out that the plan is based on erroneous assumptions. This also misses the point of PDCA. The workplace ends up having to contort itself into all kinds of awkward shapes to be able to implement the plan, or at least make it look like the plan’s been implemented. At the same time, they try to keep doing whatever’s actually useful. It’s exhausting and irritating, and it negatively affects morale and your bottom line.
5. PDCA without KPIs and data analysis
Maybe the most important pitfall: trying to kickstart PDCA without genuine KPIs. You’ll notice that the continuous improvement process rests on quicksand. You’ll keep sinking further down. Without KPIs, you can’t make good plans and set goals and targets. And you’re lacking the data to monitor and analyze the execution. The check conversation then misses the point completely, because you don’t even have the data to know if you’re right or wrong. You won’t get past generalizations. If you want PDCA to work as a precision instrument, you have to think carefully about your KPIs. They connect the steps to each other. And that’s the only way to complete the cycle.
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Leo Kerklaan is a strategy professional. He advises, teaches and writes on numerous aspects of strategic performance management. He has consulting experience in many sectors of business, but also with the government. He does not only work in the Netherlands. Leo also regularly carries out assignments worldwide in a large number of different regions.
