What is the PDCA cycle?

PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check, Act. It's a four-step method for testing and improving a process, made popular by W. Edwards Deming. Each loop tests one change, and what you learn feeds into the next loop.

What is the difference between PDCA and PDSA?

PDSA replaces Check with Study. Deming preferred it because it puts the weight on learning from the results rather than just inspecting them. In practice the steps are almost the same, and this template works for either.

Planning & Strategy

Cycle Diagram Template (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

By RP Hobbyist · Updated October 2026

A cycle diagram shows a process that loops back to the start instead of ending. The best known is PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), also called the Deming cycle, which teams use to improve a process in small, tested steps instead of one big change.

This template has five steps around a central CYCLE node: 1. Plan, 2. Do, 3. Check, 4. Act and 5. Review. Review isn't part of classic PDCA. It's a pause to look back before the next loop starts. You can rename the steps for any repeating process, like a content calendar, a sales cycle or a study routine.

PDCA Cycle Diagram template as a mind map — The Cycle Diagram template as it opens in the editor.

It opens as a new map with 6 topics already filled in. You don't need an account.

Open in the editor

When to use a Cycle Diagram

Improving a process step by step, such as cutting a support backlog
Running a pilot before rolling a change out more widely
Showing a process that repeats, like a monthly reporting cycle
Teaching continuous improvement or quality management

What goes in each branch

1. Plan: Name the problem and the change you'll try, and decide what you'll measure to know whether it worked.
2. Do: Try the change on a small scale, and note anything that didn't go to plan.
3. Check: Compare the results with what you expected. Did the number move, and was it your change that moved it?
4. Act: If it worked, make it the standard way of working. If it didn't, keep what you learned and go back to Plan with a new idea.
5. Review: Look at the cycle itself. Was it the right problem, and is another loop worth running?

Example: A clinic reducing missed appointments

Plan: send a text reminder two days before each appointment, and track the no-show rate for a month.
Do: try it with one doctor's patients only.
Check: no-shows for that doctor fell from 12% to 7%, while the rest of the clinic stayed at 11%.
Act: turn on reminders for every doctor.
Review: in the next loop, test whether a second reminder on the day helps.

Tips

Keep each loop small. A change you can test in two weeks teaches you more than one that takes six months.
Write the result you expect in Plan before you start, or Check turns into guesswork.
Add child nodes under each step for tasks and owners, and clear them out when a new loop starts.
Save a snapshot at the end of every loop so you keep a record of what you tried.

Using this template in Neuron Mapping

Click Open in the editor. The template opens as a new map.
Select a topic and press Tab to add a branch under it, or double-click a topic to change its text.
Select a topic to change its color and shape, or add notes to it in Markdown.
When you're done, export the map as a PDF or PNG, or save it to keep editing later.

Everything runs locally in your browser: your map is saved on your device, works offline, and can be exported as PDF, PNG or an editable .nmm file.