I am currently in my 12th year of Quality Management within the Healthcare Industry. In my early years I was introduced to some tools that we applied when we had large scale issues to address within the organization. However, as I’ve grown and used these tools over the years, I have come to realize that they aren’t just helpful in Healthcare but in every area of life.

The specific tool I want to talk to you about today is called PDSA, which stands for Plan, Do, Study, Act. It was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and is used in several major healthcare systems across the nation. But today, I’m going to break it down for all of my #faithfriends in a way that you can understand and apply to your personal life!

So pull out your pen and paper, you will want to take notes along the way!

First I’m going to break down each acronym so that you understand what it means and then we will go over a scenario.

P-Plan

Planning is the first step you take to make any improvements. This step is most important because it allows you to determine: what your focus is, what outcome you desire, how it will be done, how you will measure progress, who will impact, who is involved and what the actions for improvement include.

D- Do

This second step is where the action begins. You will be able to take the information identified in the Plan step and bring it to life. You will want to be sure that you follow what you have outlined to ensure that you can determine what is working and what isn’t..

S- Study

As you implement your plan you will want to take notes and study them along the way. Be sure to identify thing that you didn’t expect, or involvement of people that you hadn’t thought of. Keep note of numbers as well, as that will allow you to populate data which is very valuable!

A- Act

In the final phase you will take what you have learned from your implementation and study to make adjustments. In this phase you will either determine that something you did worked really well and that you want to keep doing that thing, or that you can improve it for better outcomes. If you identify improvement opportunity to follow the cycle again until you reach the desired outcomes you want..

Here’s a photo to give you a visual of the PDSA cycle.

Now, let’ s make this make sense in some of our everyday lives. The example I’ll use is relationship driven, because it is one that is widely relatable.

Example One:

Kesha, is a 30 year old woman who desires to get married. She is a college graduate, doesn’t have any children, serves at church, is very well put together and yet she is still having problems dating. She meets guys often, but they are all sketchy and she isn’t sure why she keeps meeting the same types of guys. She would like to make some changes for the opportunity to meet some new potential men. Let’s use the PDSA model to help Kesha figure out how to improve her dating life!

Plan, is the first step which includes identifying the problem and desired outcomes. Here’s a breakdown of some of Kesha’s current barriers: she meets guys at a local bar that she frequents after work with her friends because she doesn’t spend much time socializing anywhere else, there are only a couple of single men at her church and she thinks they’re “square”, she won’t date men with children because she doesn’t want any “baby mamma drama”, as a college graduate she prefers a man with with graduate education, she doesn’t not want to commingle within her work environment work and prefers not to date coworkers.

Kesha has a couple of friends who are single, and a few who are married. She doesn’t spend much time with her married friends anymore because they can’t hang out like they used to. She is afraid to open up to the senior women at church because of fear of judgement, and does not share her dating life with her parents out of fear that they will disapprove the men she selects.

We need to figure out how to use this information to PLAN and make some adjustments to Kesha’s dating life!

• Problem: Trouble finding suitable men to date that meet Kesha’s list

• Barriers: Meeting locations, accountability/mentoring, quality of men

• Who Is Involved: Kesha, Friends, Parents

• Desired Outcome: Find new ways to meet quality guys to date

Now, let’s use this information to develop a dating plan for Kesha using the information above.

Our next PLAN step is to identify new locations for Kesha to meet potential dates. We will also have a goal of going on so many dates per month, and identify accountability. Here are some ideas:

Kesha is an HR professional with experience in hiring and culture development. There’s a mixer in her city each month for business professionals and entrepreneurs that Kesha has been invited to. There’s also a hot new restaurant opening down town, they’ll be having a DJ and open mic on first Friday’s for the next month. Using this information and the details above let’s make a plan using the remaining steps of the PDSA model for Kesha:

Do, in this step we will outline specific actions that Kesha can take which build upon the ideas mentioned as we completed the PLAN section. Here are the recommendations for Kesha:

1. Connect with the business professionals and entrepreneur group by attending the social event. Prior to the event she should view the group website, event page and social sites to get an idea of who will be there. Images displayed will give her an idea of the environment and social attire she should prepare for. Using this information Kesha should dress the part, take some business cards, and prepare to engage and socialize! Sharing a business card is a way to connect without getting to personal upfront. It will also allow her to verify the employment of the men she may meet, eliminating the concerns of them not being truthful in this area.

2. Call two of her married friends, and ask them if their husbands have any quality single friends that she could meet. If they do, Kesha should ask them to assist with setting up a double date and give it a chance. When taking this step with trusted friends, she knows that they will not set her up with questionable men. Her friends can then give feedback on the chemistry they observed during the date and hold her accountable for following through if there is potential. Having mutual trusted friends also provides accountability with being honest up front which is what Kesha is looking for.

3. Get friends together and visit the new restaurant opening instead of going to their normal location. Because the restaurant is new, there will be an opportunity to meet new people in a fun environment. Kesha can also use her friends to help gauge potential dates. Her goal will be to attend at least two Friday’s and to set up at least one date.

Study, this is the implementation and assessment phase. In this step Kesh should evaluate and be evaluated on the actions she took from the DO section. If she has success, she can continue to proceed with the plan until she finds suitable dates. If she completes the actions without success, Kesha will go back to the PLAN Phase and come up with new ideas on ways to meet new men. In addition, Kesha will have 60 days to perform and study these actions with a goal of setting up at least three dates. She will choose one friend who can check in with her and who will hold her accountable to this goal. At the end of this time frame she will revisit her issues and determine if she made any progress.

Now, if you paid attention to what was shared about Kesha you may have noticed that one aspect of her life was missing, church. This was intentional. Churches grow, but not at a rate of speed in which places like restaurants gain new customers, thus her likelihood of meeting someone new there is limited (This shouldn’t be the case, but it is the reality). Leaving this option out however does not mean eliminating it! Should the first three ideas not work, Kesha can add attending church events or conferences for singles into the second PLAN that she will need to create.

This valuable PDSA tool could really help to change Kesha’s dating life, but it can also help to change your life too! Think about areas in your life that have been unsuccessful: career, business, family, faith, finances, etc. You can apply the same PDSA process outlined above to help identify and execute opportunities to improve.

Quality is not something that should be limited to customer service, it is something that should be visible in our personal lives as well. Take some time today and use the model to begin making the changes you need in order to improve the quality of your life.

If you have ideas, or testimonies about how the PDSA model can or has worked for you feel free to share them below!