Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, the nonprofit W. Edwards Deming Institute’s mission is to enrich society through the Deming philosophy. The Deming philosophy represents a holistic approach to leadership and management that brings together an understanding of variation, theory of knowledge, psychology and appreciation for a system.
The Deming Institute honors the legacy of Dr. W. Edwards Deming by bringing his teachings to life today and for the future. Dr. Deming is considered by many to be the “master of continual improvement of quality” and is best known for his pioneering work in Japan. He is often called the “father of the third wave of the industrial revolution.”
Launching an AI-Powered eLearning Platform
By launching DemingNEXT, an eLearning platform with CYPHER Learning (“CYPHER”), the nonprofit introduced his teachings to a younger generation, developing new Deming leaders, and ensuring the transition of knowledge from Dr. Deming’s trusted colleagues. As a nonprofit with a team of just five people, the W. Edwards Deming Institute faced the challenge of expanding its reach while maintaining high-quality, accessible learning experiences.
The nonprofit looked for a modern, interactive platform that could provide learners with an engaging experience beyond traditional books and static resources — one that would empower them to apply Deming leadership principles with confidence. “Before we started working with CYPHER, we struggled to find a suitable means by which we could provide learning opportunities at the scale, quality, and accessibility that we knew we needed in order to have the greatest impact,” says Katie Krell, learning systems specialist.
With CYPHER, the Deming Institute transformed its approach to online learning, making it possible to deliver high-quality, interactive learning at scale. Automation features have been a game-changer, allowing the team to create custom learning paths, automate enrollments and deliver personalized experiences without adding administrative burden.
The platform’s group automation tools have been particularly valuable, enabling the institute to customize learning journeys for different organizations while automatically enrolling learners in relevant courses. Features like “completion actions” have helped keep learners engaged by seamlessly guiding them through their next steps.
Additionally, the organizational features have strengthened relationships with consultants, giving them their own portals to deliver Deming training in a structured, scalable way — something that wasn’t possible before the partnership. The seamless API integration with Deming.org has also simplified user onboarding, boosted enrollments, and extended the reach of their marketing efforts. “We simply could not have built this on our own — DemingNEXT is so robust that we constantly surprise people when they learn that we were able to do it all with only a team of five people,” Krell says.
Transitioning to CYPHER dramatically accelerated DemingNEXT’s launch, cutting the development timeline in half compared to their previous platform provider. Since launch, learner engagement has more than tripled, demonstrating the platform’s ability to deliver an engaging, impactful learning experience.
Learners who previously relied on books to understand Deming’s leadership principles have found that interactive eLearning modules significantly enhance knowledge retention and application. Many report that the DemingNEXT platform has given them a whole new way of understanding Deming’s teachings, allowing them to apply these principles more effectively in their work and daily lives.
Conclusion
By leveraging automation, personalization and integration capabilities, the Deming Institute has been able to scale its mission, expand its reach and create lasting impact — all with the power of a small but highly efficient team.
“We have been busier than ever, reaching new audiences who have been absolutely amazed at the quality of our online learning programs and the effectiveness and impact that it has had in their jobs and lives,” Krell says.
