The Deming Cycle, also known as PDCA cycle, Deming Wheel, Shewhart Cycle, or Continuous Improvement Spiral, is a model for continuous improvement of quality. It consists of a logical sequence of 4 repetitive steps for continuous improvement and learning: PLAN, DO, CHECK (STUDY), and ACT.

It originated in the 1920s with statistics expert Mr. Walter A. Shewhart, who introduced the concept of Plan, Do and See. Deming modified the cycle of Shewart towards: PLAN, DO, CHECK, and ACT. The Deming Cycle is related to Kaizen thinking and Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing.

There is another version of this PDCA cycle is OPDCA. The added "O" stands for observation or as some versions say "Grasp the current condition." This emphasis on observation and current condition has currency with Lean manufacturing/Toyota Production System literature.

The concept of PDCA is based on the Scientific Method (which can be written as Hypothesis-Experiment-Evaluation-Do-Check), developed by Francis Bacon.

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