ABSTRACT
Dr. Deming gave credit to Walter Shewhart, who probably originated the concept. For years, reference was made to the "Shewhart Cycle." In honor of Dr. Deming we will call it the Deming Cycle. The best way to describe the cycle is through the use of a graphic. The cycle flows clockwise through the following steps: Plan, Do, Check, Act. This is the process that teams use as they study the process, develop a plan, implement a pilot, check results, and act in full scale implementation. The Deming Cycle is a great tool to help the team organize their thoughts and action. Dr. Deming often used a table 'to explain the cycle to his students. The quality improvement guides used the Deming Cycle to provide technical assistance to quality improvement teams as an outside consultant, their job is to help team members in the group process by observing and evaluating how the team functions.
