Stage 1: Start out – what is the opportunity or problem?
The following tools can be used as part of the first stage of your project to clearly define and scope what it is you are looking to develop:
- Aims statement development
- Aligning improvement with strategic goals
- Brainstorming
- Cause and effect (fishbone diagram)
- Clinical engagement
- Commitment, enrolment and compliance
- Communications matrix
- Creating a vision
- Driver Diagram Template
- Engagement and empowerment
- Fishbone Diagram Template
- How to understand differences between individuals
- Improvement Project Charter Template
- Lens of Profound Knowledge
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Pareto Analysis
- Partnership Working with Health Service Users
- Performance Management
- Project charter, brief or mandate
- Project initiation document (PID)
- Project management: an overview
- Public narrative
- Seven steps to measurement for improvement
- Stakeholder analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Stakeholder involvement: an overview
Stage 2: Define and scope - what is the current situation?
The following tools can be used as part of the second stage of your project to help understand the current situation:
- Affinity diagram
- Aims statement development
- Aligning improvement with strategic goals
- Balanced scorecard
- Benefits realisation
- Bullet proofing
- Cause and effect (fishbone diagram)
- Clinical engagement
- Creating a vision
- Demand and capacity – a comprehensive guide
- Fishbone Diagram Template
- Gateway criteria
- Improvement Project Charter Template
- Influence Model
- Length of Stay – Reducing Length of Stay
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Pareto Analysis
- Partnership Working with Health Service Users
- Performance Management
- Project charter, brief or mandate
- Project initiation document (PID)
- Project management: an overview
- Resistance – enabling collaboration by working with it
- Responsibility charting
- Same day elective care- treat day surgery as the norm
- Same day emergency care (ambulatory emergency care)
- Scatter diagram (correlation)
- Seven steps to measurement for improvement
- Simple rules and breaking them
- Six Thinking Hats®
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Stakeholder involvement: an overview
- Supporting people through change – an overview
- Sustainability Model
- Sustainability Model Template
- Theory of constraints
- Thinking creatively to solve problems – an overview
- Tracer study
Stage 3: Measure and understand - what are the benefits and impacts?
The following tools can be used as part of the third stage of your project to clearly define and determine what measures you will use to demonstrate whether the change that you make is an improvement:
- Active listening
- Clinical engagement
- Creating a vision
- Demand and capacity – an overview
- Histogram
- Identifying frustrating problems
- Improvement Project Charter Template
- Length of Stay – Reducing Length of Stay
- Lens of Profound Knowledge
- Mapping the Process – an Overview
- Mapping: Value Stream
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Model for measuring quality care (structure, process, outcome and balancing measures)
- Performance Management
- Process templates
- Project charter, brief or mandate
- Project initiation document (PID)
- Project management: an overview
- Run Charts
- Safe to fail experiments
- Scatter diagram (correlation)
- Seven steps to measurement for improvement
- SPC Chart Template
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Stakeholder involvement: an overview
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Supporting people through change – an overview
- Theory of constraints
- Tracer study
Stage 4: Design and plan - what does the future look like?
The following tools can be used as part of the fourth stage of your project to make sure there is a clear and shared understanding of the future and an agreed action plan:
- Action Plan Template
- Aligning improvement with strategic goals
- Benefits realisation
- Bullet proofing
- Clinical engagement
- Creating a vision
- Discovery model
- Fresh eyes
- Gateway criteria
- Improvement Project Charter Template
- Influence Model
- Issues and Risk Management
- Lens of Profound Knowledge
- Managing Conflict
- Mapping: Value Stream
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Model for measuring quality care (structure, process, outcome and balancing measures)
- Partnership Working with Health Service Users
- PDSA Template
- Performance Management
- Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) Cycles and the Model for Improvement
- Project charter, brief or mandate
- Project initiation document (PID)
- Project management: an overview
- Responsibility charting
- Safe to fail experiments
- Same day elective care- treat day surgery as the norm
- Same day emergency care (ambulatory emergency care)
- Simple rules and breaking them
- Six Thinking Hats®
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Stakeholder involvement: an overview
- Supporting people through change – an overview
- Sustainability Model
- Sustainability Model Template
- That’s impossible!
- Theory of constraints
- Thinking creatively to solve problems – an overview
- Tracer study
Stage 5: Implement - action planning and reporting
The following tools can be used as part of the fifth stage of your project to implement your improvement plan:
- 2 steps down
- 30/60/90- day cycles
- Action plan
- Action Plan Template
- Aligning improvement with strategic goals
- Bullet proofing
- Clinical engagement
- Commitment, enrolment and compliance
- Discovery model
- Engagement and empowerment
- Gateway criteria
- Influence Model
- Issues and Risk Management
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Partnership Working with Health Service Users
- PDSA Template
- Performance Management
- Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) Cycles and the Model for Improvement
- Project management: an overview
- Report on progress
- Resistance – enabling collaboration by working with it
- Safe to fail experiments
- Same day elective care- treat day surgery as the norm
- Same day emergency care (ambulatory emergency care)
- SBAR communication tool- Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendation
- Scatter diagram (correlation)
- Seven steps to measurement for improvement
- SPC Chart Template
- Stakeholder analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Supporting people through change – an overview
- Sustaining momentum
- Theory of constraints
Stage 6: Handover and sustain - deployment and 'business as usual'
The following tools can be used as part of the sixth stage of your project to support with improvement becoming ‘business as usual’ with benefits realised, learning shared and a plan for sustainability in place:
- Action plan
- Action Plan Template
- Balanced scorecard
- Benefits realisation
- Clinical engagement
- Demand and capacity – a comprehensive guide
- Demand and capacity – an overview
- Lessons Learnt
- Measurement for improvement: an overview
- Measures Checklist
- Partnership Working with Health Service Users
- Performance Management
- Project management: an overview
- Reviving a stalled effort
- Seven steps to measurement for improvement
- SPC Chart Template
- Stakeholder analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis Template
- Stakeholder involvement: an overview
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Supporting people through change – an overview
- Sustainability Model
- Sustainability Model Template
- Sustaining momentum