Question: Identify and write up the relationship between the two models about 7-Step Planning Process and the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle Please be specific.
Plan-Do- Check-act Cycle:
The plan–do–check–act cycle is a four–step model for carrying out change. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement. Link to the rest of the information regarding this topic here: http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/project-planning-tools/overview/pdca-cycle.html
The 7-Step Planning Process
The 7-Step Planning Process is a management methodology to plot and plan strategy related to continuous process improvements within an organization.
1: Mission: Establish a Focus for the Project
Who are the customers?
What are the needs of those customers?
What is the most important problem?
How will improvement be measured?
What is a one-sentence aim of the project (e.g., reduce the number of errors in billing)?
Tools: brainstorming, affinity diagram, consensus
Step 2: Understand the Current Situation to Determine Problem
What are the steps in the current process?
How can you gather pertinent information?
How much information should you gather?
Where can you get the information?
Tools: flowchart, interviews, observations, check sheets, Pareto diagram, etc.
Step 3: Determine and Analyze Root Causes
What are the possible root causes of the problem that has been identified?
How will you verify that these are root causes?
How do you determine the root causes?
Tools: cause/effect diagram, scatter diagram, run chart, Pareto diagram
Step 4: Select, Develop, and Test Solutions
What solution(s) best address the root causes?
How do you know which solution to choose?
How do you test your solution?
Tools: criteria matrix, implementation plan, flowchart of new process, check sheets
Step 5: Evaluate and Improve Solutions
Were the root causes eliminated?
Was there improvement in the identified problem? How much?
What worked well?
What refinements are needed?
Tools: checklist, run/control chart, flowchart
Step 6: Implement Solution(s) Full Scale
What key steps in the new process should be monitored to make sure that problems do not recur?
What needs to be done to implement this change on a full scale?
Tools: checklists, tree diagram, interrelationship digraph
