A primer on PDSA: executing plan-do-study-act cycles in practice, not just in name

Introduction

Plan-do–study–act (PDSA) cycles are the building blocks of iterative healthcare improvement.1 Although frequently regarded as separate from research,2 this quality improvement method remains rooted in the scientific method. The P in PDSA usually stands for 'plan' but could just as easily refer to 'predict'. Each cycle combines prediction with a test of change (in effect, hypothesis testing), analysis and a conclusion regarding the best step forward—usually a prediction of what to do for the next PDSA cycle.3

Too often, however, improvement teams go through the motions of PDSA cycles without really embracing its spirit or applying its scientific method. For example, an improvement team might talk about having used PDSA when in reality the original change idea remained roughly unchanged throughout the project, with no refinements to the intervention or the plan to implement it. Quality improvement rarely works out so...

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