Table 4.

Plan-do-study-act: quality improvement cycle

Project Phases	Steps
Goal: Define a specific, measurable and achievable goal	Decide what you want to change
	Set a percentage or absolute change target
	Establish a timeline for completion
	Better to start small than to over-reach
Plan	What will you do?
	Who will do it?
	When will it be done?
	What are the expectations?
	What data will be collected?
Do	Carry out the plan
	Document observations
	Collect the data
Study	Analyze the data
	Did the process work?
	Was it enough?
	Was the objective met?
	Is the new process realistic?
	Are the resources available to implement this new process?
Act	Process worked:
	Implement the plan
	Process did not work:
	Revise the plan or start over with a new plan