IT Service Management: A Guide for ITILFoundation Exam

Candidates, Second Edition

by Ernest Brewster, Richard Griffiths, Aidan Lawes and John Sansbury
BCS. (c) 2012. Copying Prohibited.

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ITServiceManagement:AGuideforITILFoundationExamCandidates,SecondEdition

Chapter 34: The Deming Cycle (CSI 3.8)

INTRODUCTION
Many organisations attempt service improvement through 'Big bang' implementations and by the utilisation of large
projects. This may be appropriate, but often small iterative step improvements to a service or process can be more efficient
and less risky.
The Deming Cycle was introduced by W. Edwards Deming as a method for quality improvement. If processes are in place,
they can be measured. Changes can be made to those process and the impact of the changes assessed via further
measurement. This enables ongoing measurable improvement.

Figure 34.1: The Deming Cycle (Source: The Cabinet Office ITIL Continual Service Improvement ISBN 978-0-11331308-2)
Over time the step improvements enable the service or process to become more mature. After each phase of Plan-DoCheck-Act, there is a period of consolidation to enable new improvements to 'bed-in' and to ensure that they are doing
what they were intended to do.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The objective is continual service improvement. This relates to the services provided by the organisation and also to the
processes used to deliver those services. The Deming Cycle may be used to improve, for example, an online ordering
service or the service level management process within an organisation.
KEY ACTIVITIES
The integration of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle with the seven-step improvement process identifies the activities of each
stage as follows:
Plan
1. Identify the strategy for improvement.
2. Define what you will measure.

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ITServiceManagement:AGuideforITILFoundationExamCandidates,SecondEdition

Do
3. Gather the data.
4. Process the data.
Check
5. Analyse the information and data.
6. Present and use the information.
Act
7. Implement improvement.

Figure 34.2: The Deming Cycle: adapted for CSI (Source: based on The Cabinet Office ITIL Continual Service
Improvement ISBN 978-0-1 13313-08-2)
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER SERVICE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES
The Deming Cycle can be used in order to improve any of the service management processes.
TEST QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 34
CSI 03
A 17

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