Circle
Layer: Operational | PDCA: Full cycle | Duration: Variable | Frequency: Weekly or as needed
Participants: Team Members (with a rotating leader)
The Circle is the engine of autonomous improvement. Team Members identify improvement opportunities, estimate their value, implement changes using Stories (A3-inspired), verify results, and establish new standards.
Inputs
- Improvement opportunities surfaced in Debriefing
- Direct observations from daily work (Gemba)
- Previous Circle follow-ups
Outputs
- Stories (A3-inspired) documenting the improvement arc
- Verified results and captured value
- New standards established
- Inputs for Debriefing (realized improvements flow back up)
Key Principles
- Team Members own the improvement, not management
- Each opportunity is estimated for potential value capture before starting
- The Circle is not a meeting — it is a continuous practice with periodic check-ins
- Leadership rotates to develop everyone's problem-solving capacity
PDCA Steps
| Step | PDCA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| T3.1 | Plan | Team Members identify an improvement opportunity and estimate its potential value capture |
| T3.2 | Do | Team Members implement improvements periodically using Stories |
| T3.3 | Check | Team Members verify results against expected value and identify new potential opportunities |
| T3.4 | Act | Team Members adjust action plans and/or realize captured value into new standards |
Anti-pattern: The Ghost Circle
The Circle exists in name but not in practice. Team Members are "too busy" with daily tasks to do improvement work. Stories are started but never finished. The Circle is the first event to be skipped when the team is under pressure.
How to detect: No Stories have been completed in the last two cycles. The Board's Act column is empty. Team Members say they have "no time" for the Circle.
How to recover: The root cause is almost always that improvement work is treated as optional — something to do after the real work. The Leader must protect Circle time the same way they protect Briefing time. A team that is too busy to improve is a team that will always be too busy.