|
Implementing Improvements
Sometimes the data we collect are very clear about what they are telling us. When this is the case, the avenues to improvement are wide open and (almost) obvious. Even still, we must remain cautious in our initiatives - testing our ideas on a limited basis, without over investing in them. One of the best ways to test an idea is to build a model of our improvement to see how it would work under simulated conditions. This is most easily done with a Work Flow Model of some sort.
Other times, the messages in the data are not so clear. When this is the case, our task can be greatly simplified if we study the details carefully. One tool that can help us to theorize as to the causes of vague or ambiguous phenomenon is the ever-adaptable Heuristic Matrix. Matrices can be customized to suit your objectives, and so they offer tremendous assistance to any Quality Improvement Team, or indeed any kind of team which is charged with investigating or understanding something complicated. This is a tool which helps us to ask the right questions, and therefore sets us walking down the correct path.
Whatever your endeavour, one imminently useful tool is the Deployment Chart, which helps to organize people and activities in a simple, graphical format that can also be used as a "status report' or "progress report" or other shared indicator.
|
|
