PDCA, sometimes called PDSA, the “Deming Wheel,” or “Deming Cycle,” was developed by renowned management consultant Dr William Edwards Deming in the 1950s. Deming himself called it the “Shewhart Cycle,” as his model was based on an idea from his mentor, Walter Shewhart.

Deming wanted to create a way of identifying what caused products to fail to meet customers’ expectations. His solution helps businesses to develop hypotheses about what needs to change, and then test these in a continuous feedback loop.