Plan Do Study Act (PDSA)

The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is the engine that drives QI projects. Changes designed to improve a system are intentionally tested through following a series of four steps:

• Plan the change (including making specific predictions),
• Do or execute the change,
• Study results of the change, and
• Act based on what is learned.

Initial PDSA cycles on a topic typically start small, involving one or two patients, with subsequent cycles expanding in scope given positive earlier results. Intentional use of PDSA cycles accelerate teams’ learning.

The resources below are designed to assist with:

1. Design and execute a PDSA
2. Understand when to use a PDSA and when not to use a PDSA.

Resources

Read	PDSA Tracker (example by IHQI Project Manager) A primer on PDSA: executing plan-do-study-act cycles in practice, not just in name: Published by BMJ How to Collect Data While Eating Your Wings During the Super Bowl, David Kashmer, The Healthcare Quality Blog Fundamentals of Health Care Improvement: A Guide to Improving Your Patients’ Care Chapter 8 especially pp 133-142, book requires purchase
Use	IHI PDSA Tracker IHI PDSA Tracker (adapted by IHQI)