The PDCA cycle has been widely used for process improvement; therefore, it is appropriate to think that it is a useful tool for project management. The purpose of this research is to show the main contributions that different authors have made in the implementation of the PDCA cycle for continuous improvement in project management. A documentary review was carried out, using search strategies with keywords in Scopus and Science Direct. Documents from the last 5 years were collected, resulting in a total of 186 articles. When verifying the relevance to the subject of study, the list was reduced to 21. The thematic validity of the PDCA cycle, the variability of business sectors and the countries that implement and study it stand out as results. The European continent leads the volume of publications and despite finding a high volume of articles, many were discarded due to methodological weaknesses. El ciclo PHVA ha sido utilizado ampliamente para la mejora de los procesos; por ello, es adecuado pensar que es una herramienta útil para la gestión de proyectos. El objeto de la presente investigación es evidenciar los principales aportes que han realizado diferentes autores en la implementación del ciclo PHVA para la mejora continua en la gestión de proyectos. Se realizó una revisión documental, empleando estrategias de búsqueda con palabras clave en Scopus y ScienceDirect. Se recopilaron documentos de los últimos 5 años, resultando un total de 186 artículos. Al verificar la pertinencia con el tema de estudio, la lista se redujo a 21. Se destacan como resultados la vigencia temática del ciclo PHVA, la variabilidad de sectores empresariales y los países que la implementan y estudian. El continente europeo lidera el volumen de publicaciones y a pesar de encontrar alto volumen de artículos, muchos se descartaron por debilidades metodológicas.
The PDCA cycle has been widely used for process improvement; therefore, it is appropriate to think that it is a useful tool for project management. The purpose of this research is to show the main contributions that different authors have made in the implementation of the PDCA cycle for continuous improvement in project management. A documentary review was carried out, using search strategies with keywords in Scopus and Science Direct. Documents from the last 5 years were collected, resulting in a total of 186 articles. When verifying the relevance to the subject of study, the list was reduced to 21. The thematic validity of the PDCA cycle, the variability of business sectors and the countries that implement and study it stand out as results. The European continent leads the volume of publications and despite finding a high volume of articles, many were discarded due to methodological weaknesses.