Tag: Deming Cycle

One Lesson I Learned From- Karen Martin

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Karen Martin spoke at PMPA’s Management Update meeting earlier this year. Her presentation was based on her book, The Outstanding Organization

It turns out that  her book The Outstanding Organization won a 2013 Shingo Research Prize.

Shingo Prize worthy.
Shingo Prize worthy.

The book and its message are heavily pointed at achieving institutional clarity through reducing chaos.

That is a great takeaway, but was not the best one for me.

The One Lesson that I took from Karen’s presentation was that the Shewart Cycle- Plan- Do- Study- Adjust- is the authentic model for continuous improvement.

First proposed by Walter Shewart,  and edited, published, and improved by Deming,  the Shewart cycle  was recast by Japanese executives into PDCA- Plan-Do-Check-Act- and this is how many of us have learned it.

According to Karen Martin

  • In the 1980’s Deming felt that the model had been corrupted by translation difficulties.
  • Deming recommended replacing PDCA with PDSA- which he felt was closer to Shewart’s original intent.
  • “Deming continued to refer to the cycle  as PDSA and dubbed it the “Shewart cycle for learning and improvement.” (The Outstanding Organization, pp.128-129.)

So why am I a fan of Karen Martin’s PDSA reframing?

Certainly not because of this little bit of historico-semantic revisionism?

Actually, it is because unlike all of the other graphics that you can find on PDSA on google images, Karen Martin’s book  has depicted this cycle as Shewart and Deming have relayed it- a continuous, ongoing process of continuous feedback- ongoing process improvement.

It is not a wheel, PDSA is a continuous cycle of cycles!
It is not a wheel, PDSA is a continuous cycle of cycles!

This is the One Lesson I Learned from Karen Martin.

  • Ditch  the PDCA wheel visual-Embrace the continuous cycle of cycles model of PDSA.

Here is a whiteboard trailer for the book.

And, congratulations on the Shingo Research Prize.

AREIR-Anticipate, Recognize, Evaluate, Implement, Review Management Cycle

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AREIR is the tool to help you upgrade your management practice from coping to proactively managing through a defined process of anticipation, recognition, evaluation, implementation and review.

The Deming “Plan, Do, Check, Act Cycle” is useful for managing industrial processes, but it is insufficient for broader management in today’s increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous  (VUCA) world.

Planning is not the same as anticipating, and after the fact planning is too late to assure that you meet your plan without serious  negative consequences.

The AREIR Management Cycle provides a means to systematize the way that you guide your firm through today’s VUCA landscape. It consists of 5 steps

  • Anticipate
  • Recognize
  • Evaluate
  • Implement
  • Review

Anticipate is more than just planning. It is actively identifying vulnerabilities and opportunities that are likely to emerge.

Recognize means that when a change has occurred, you are aware of it.

Evaluate means to think critically about the facts and their implications for your business. (How these facts challenge your current plan and making the appropriate inferences will take courage.)

Implement gets you and your team safely back into Deming Land -it is the “Do”  in the Plan Do Check Act Cycle.

Review is where your commitment to continuous improvement is demonstrated. Without continuous improvement, companies lose their competitiveness and sustainability. Continuous Improvement is always on the agenda.

PDCA (Plan Do Check Act)  is the perfect tool for nurturing an industrial process where the inputs are known the people and processes are known, and the outputs are known.

AREIR (Anticipate, Recognize, Evaluate, Implement, Review) is the tool for managers facing a world where inputs, people, processes, outputs, and regulations can change in an instant and yet you still have to deliver results.

The ability to anticipate is what sets apart the successful managers from those who are just ‘traffic cops’ that react and respond to events.

Original Article in Production Machining