Continuous improvement is more than a process—it’s a way of thinking. During interviews with over 50 of the most successful business owners, a common thread emerged: perseverance, resilience in the face of failure, and the ability to learn from mistakes. These qualities, far from being individual traits alone, thrive in cultures where continual improvement is embedded into everyday work.
From healthcare to manufacturing and small business, when teams commit to learning as a group—supported by collaboration, diverse perspectives, and genuine trust—remarkable things happen.
Let’s explore real-world examples of the PDSA cycle (Plan–Do–Study–Act) in action, and how small, team-led changes lead to long-term innovation.
Continuous Improvement is a Loop, Not a Project
The PDSA cycle, originally created by Shewhart and later refined by Deming, is not a one-time fix. It is a loop, where teams consistently plan small changes, test them, reflect deeply, and adjust—learning continuously over time.
This post explores how PDSA has helped businesses across industries make meaningful progress through small, deliberate experiments.
PDSA Cycle in Small Business: Improving Customer Retention
Context: A consulting firm noticed that clients weren’t renewing after the first engagement.
Plan: After mapping the customer experience from first contact to project delivery, the team identified weak follow-up as a key issue.
Do: They piloted a 3-email check-in sequence post-project with 15 clients.
Study: 8 clients re-engaged. Feedback showed that the outreach restored connection and clarified the value delivered.
Act: The firm embedded the follow-up into its CRM system and now reviews the sequence every quarter.
Outcome: Retention increased by 30%.
Soft skills developed: Systems thinking, empathic communication, team-based problem solving.
PDSA in Healthcare: Reducing Hospital Readmissions
Results Before and After PDSA Implementation
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Readmission Rate | Baseline | –22% |
| Patient Clarity on Follow-Up | Unclear | Improved |
Context: A regional hospital faced high readmission rates for heart failure patients.
Plan: A cross-functional team designed a checklist for discharge and a post-discharge call system.
Do: Tested on one cardiac unit for 6 weeks.
Study: Readmissions dropped by 22%; patients reported clearer understanding of follow-up care.
Act: The discharge protocol was refined based on feedback and scaled across departments.
Outcome: Safer discharges, improved patient satisfaction.
Soft skills developed: Cross-boundary collaboration, systems empathy, psychological safety in team learning.
PDSA in Manufacturing: Reducing Material Waste
Context: A medium-sized manufacturer noticed excessive waste during component cutting.
Plan: A production team hypothesized that a new cut pattern could reduce scrap.
Do: Two patterns were tested during alternate shifts for a week.
Study: One method reduced waste by 14% without affecting quality.
Act: The change was standardized, and a bi-monthly review process was introduced to identify other inefficiencies.
Outcome: $90,000 in annual material savings.
Soft skills developed: Data-driven decision making, team ownership, operational awareness.
PDSA in Tech: Improving Employee Onboarding
Context: A software company found that new hires felt lost during their first week.
Plan: An onboarding team created a structured buddy system and role-specific checklists.
Do: Pilot tested with 10 new hires over a month.
Study: Surveys showed a 35% increase in confidence and engagement.
Act: Program integrated into HR workflow; retrospective meetings now follow every onboarding cycle.
Outcome: Higher retention and faster ramp-up.
Soft skills developed: Trust-building, feedback literacy, cultural onboarding.
Jose Medina, PhD Business Coach
As Edgar Schein would note, this is not just about improving a process—it’s about shaping the organization’s culture through learning in relationships.
Why Continuous Improvement Works
- Frame problems systemically (Deming)
- Reflect deeply on actions (PDSA’s “Study”)
- Learn through dialogue and trust (Argyris & Schein)
- Include diverse perspectives to uncover what a single viewpoint might miss
SEO Keywords You’re Targeting
- Continuous improvement examples
- PDSA cycle real-life examples
- Business process improvement examples
- Continuous improvement case studies
- Plan Do Study Act in healthcare / small business / manufacturing
Key Takeaways
- PDSA is a continual cycle—not a one-off project.
- Team-based learning is essential to success.
- Soft skills, culture, and systems thinking are at the heart of real improvement.
- These examples reflect Deming’s deep view of organizational learning, not surface-level fixes.
What small improvement could your team test this week?
Let’s identify it, map your system, and start learning—together.