Learning DevOps: Continuously Deliver Better Software

[P]lan, [D]o, [C]heck, [A]djust

There are a number of variations of this acronym; however, the most widely used one is Plan, Do, Check, and Adjust. You might also find PDCA being referred to as the Deming circle or the Shewhart cycle. Whatever definition you prefer, the idea behind the PDCA approach is quite simple; it is a framework and approach that you can use for continuous and iterative improvement. The following diagram should help explain this:

The iterative PDCA process

Simply put, this approach is an expansion of the inspect and adapt approaches that have been mentioned many times previously—although, if truth be told, it's been around for ...