What does the 'Plan' in Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) represent?

In the context of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, the 'Plan' phase is fundamentally about identifying a change aimed at improvement and developing a detailed approach to implementing that change. This includes proposing an idea for a specific change or intervention that is informed by the current understanding of the problem being addressed, as well as setting objectives for what the change aims to achieve.

During the 'Plan' stage, it is essential to articulate what the team hopes to test, outline the hypothesis, and forecast the potential impact of the proposed idea. This step sets the groundwork for the subsequent actions in the PDSA cycle, which involves executing the plan, collecting data, and then analyzing results. By effectively proposing a well-considered idea, teams can ensure that their strategy is purposeful and geared towards driving meaningful improvements in health processes or outcomes.