Agile teams love to say they value continuous improvement. But let’s be honest: saying it isn’t the same as doing it.
That’s where the PDCA cycle comes in. Plan, Do, Check, Act. It’s old-school, simple, and surprisingly effective when you actually apply it.
Plan: Start With a Smart Bet
You’ve got a pain point. Something feels off.
- Standups are dragging
- Work is stalling in QA
- Handoffs between teams feel like a game of hot potato
Instead of jumping straight to “solutions,” pause. Form a hypothesis. Ask, “What if we tried this?” Keep it specific, testable, and short-term.
Do: Run a Micro-Experiment
Don’t build a whole new system. Try something for a week or a sprint.
- Cap your WIP at 3
- Add a “blocker” column
- Swap demo presenters
It’s low-risk. It’s temporary. That’s the point.
Check: Did Anything Actually Change?
This is the part teams skip.
Check the data. Ask the team. Did it help? Did it hurt? Did it do nothing?
Small experiments only work if you take time to learn from them. Without the check, you’re just guessing in sequence.
Act: Decide What Sticks
If it worked, bake it into your process. If it didn’t, toss it and try again.
PDCA isn’t about being right. It’s about learning fast, failing small, and adjusting often.
Why It Works
Agile already gives you the rhythm: standups, retros, sprints. PDCA gives you the mindset.
It’s the operating system for learning inside delivery. A way to turn “we should try something new” into an actual change loop.
Plan. Do. Check. Act. Repeat.
Not fancy. Just effective.
