Stop guessing. Start improving.
Master the PDSA cycle — from problem diagnosis to scaled, sustained change — so every decision you make is driven by evidence, and every test you run makes your organisation measurably better.
Every persistent problem is a test waiting to be designed — I'll show you exactly how to design it.
— John Bentley
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Design a well-structured PDSA cycle from scratch, including a clear aim statement, measurable predictions, and defined test conditions.
- Apply the Study phase rigorously — analysing data and comparing results against your prediction to draw evidence-based conclusions.
- Run rapid, small-scale tests of change without disrupting live operations, so you can iterate cheaply before committing resources.
- Identify and break down complex organisational problems into testable, bite-sized change ideas using driver diagrams and root-cause analysis.
- Build a continuous improvement habit by linking multiple PDSA cycles into a coherent improvement ramp that sustains gains over time.
- Coach your team or colleagues through the PDSA model so that structured problem-solving becomes a shared daily practice, not a one-off project.
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 26 lessons
Foundations of Continuous Improvement & PDSA
Establishes why structured problem-solving matters and introduces the PDSA cycle as a repeatable, evidence-driven framework.
- 1.1The Cost of GuessworkIncluded
- 1.2What Is the PDSA Cycle?Included
- 1.3PDSA vs. Other Improvement ModelsIncluded
- 1.4The Improvement MindsetIncluded
Breaking Down the Problem — Before You Plan
Teaches structured problem decomposition using root-cause analysis and driver diagrams so every PDSA cycle targets the right thing.
- 2.1Defining the Problem Worth SolvingIncluded
- 2.2Root-Cause Analysis in PracticeIncluded
- 2.3Building a Driver DiagramIncluded
- 2.4Selecting Your First Change IdeaIncluded
Plan — Designing a Rigorous PDSA Cycle
Walks through every element of a well-structured Plan phase, from aim statement to measurable prediction and defined test conditions.
- 3.1Writing a SMART Aim StatementIncluded
- 3.2Forming a Testable PredictionIncluded
- 3.3Designing Your MeasuresIncluded
- 3.4Setting Small-Scale Test ConditionsIncluded
- 3.5Planning Data CollectionIncluded
Do & Study — Running and Rigorously Analysing the Test
Covers how to execute a small-scale change test without disrupting operations and how to analyse results against your prediction to draw sound conclusions.
- 4.1Running Rapid, Small-Scale TestsIncluded
- 4.2Documenting What Actually HappenedIncluded
- 4.3Analysing Data in the Study PhaseIncluded
- 4.4Comparing Results to Your PredictionIncluded
- 4.5Drawing Evidence-Based ConclusionsIncluded
Act — Deciding, Iterating, and Building an Improvement Ramp
Guides the Act decision — adopt, adapt, or abandon — and shows how to link successive PDSA cycles into a sustained improvement ramp.
- 5.1The Act Decision: Adopt, Adapt, or AbandonIncluded
- 5.2Scaling Up Without Losing the LearningIncluded
- 5.3Linking Cycles into an Improvement RampIncluded
- 5.4Sustaining Gains Over TimeIncluded
Coaching Others and Building a PDSA Culture
Equips leaders to spread structured problem-solving across their teams so PDSA becomes a shared daily practice, not a solo skill.
- 6.1Coaching Individuals Through the CycleIncluded
- 6.2Facilitating Team PDSA SessionsIncluded
- 6.3Making Improvement VisibleIncluded
- 6.4Building a Culture of Continuous ImprovementIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Team Leaders
You're accountable for performance and need a structured, repeatable method to fix recurring problems without relying on gut feel or borrowed time.
Operations Managers
You oversee complex processes and want a disciplined improvement cycle that lets you test changes at small scale before committing resources organisation-wide.
Quality Improvement Professionals
You know the basics of PDSA but want the rigour to apply each phase properly — especially the Study phase analysis that separates real evidence from noise.
Healthcare Administrators
You work in a high-stakes environment where poorly tested changes carry real risk, and you need an improvement method built for exactly that kind of careful, evidence-based iteration.
Educators & Trainers
You want to teach structured problem-solving to others and need a thorough grounding in PDSA so you can coach confidently, facilitate team sessions, and build lasting capability.
Change & Transformation Leads
You're driving organisational change initiatives and need a method that links individual test cycles into a coherent improvement ramp that sustains gains long after the project closes.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
John Bentley
If you've ever sat in a meeting where the same problem came up for the third time this year — and the proposed solution was essentially the same thing you tried before — you already know the cost of operating without a structured improvement method.
It's not that your team lacks ideas. It's that there's no reliable system for testing which ideas actually work, learning from the ones that don't, and building on the ones that do. So effort gets wasted. Resources get committed to changes that weren't properly tested. And the problems that should have been solved six months ago are still quietly eating into your performance.
That's exactly the gap I built The PDSA Lab to close. The Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle is one of the most powerful and transferable tools in operations and quality improvement — but only when it's applied with real rigour. Most people who've heard of PDSA could sketch the four boxes on a whiteboard. Far fewer know how to write an aim statement that actually guides a test, form a prediction that makes the Study phase meaningful, or make the adopt-adapt-abandon decision with confidence. Those are the skills this school builds, step by step.
I've designed every section to be grounded in real workplace application — not textbook theory. We'll work through root-cause analysis and driver diagrams before you ever write a plan, because getting the problem definition right is where most improvement efforts either win or lose. We'll treat the Study phase as the intellectual heart of the cycle — the moment where evidence either confirms or challenges your thinking — rather than the formality it so often becomes. And we'll look seriously at what it takes to sustain gains, scale changes without losing the learning, and build a team culture where structured problem-solving is just how things get done.
Whether you're running improvement cycles in a hospital ward, a manufacturing floor, a school, or a services operation, the method is the same. Bring your real problem. We'll work it through together.
I'm glad you're here. Let's get to work.
— John Bentley
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- 6 modules, 26 lessons
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