Multiple programming processes are performed for a plurality of non-volatile storage elements. Each of the programming process operates to program at least a subset of said non-volatile storage elements to a set of target conditions using program pulses. In one embodiment, a first programming pass includes soft programming and additional programming passes include the programming of data. In another embodiment, all of the programming process include programming data. For at least a subset of said programming processes, a program pulse associated with achieving a particular result for a respective programming process is identified. The identified program pulse is used to adjust programming for a subsequent programming process.