By David M. Williams, Ph.D. The Breakthrough Series Collaborative model is an improvement learning system that brings teams together to pursue a shared aim. Teams use an evidence-based change theory and improvement methods including the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) Cycle and time-series data (run charts and Shewhart Control Charts). In the Institute for Healthcare […]
New Article – Leading Quality Across a System
in Education, Health Care, LeadershipThe role of Chief Quality Officer (CQO) has emerged across North America and now globally over the last several years. No universal theory or professional development program existed to establish a foundation for the body of knowledge of what a CQO should include or how to lead quality across a complex health system. Dr. Williams […]
The Basic Improvement Toolkit
in Education, Measurement, VideosAs an improvement advisor in large scale improvement collaboratives, one of my responsibilities is to provide instruction on the theories and tools of improvement science. A key aim is to teach this content at a level appropriate for the audience and even more importantly enable people to turn around and apply the concepts to their own work. […]
Videos: Early Years Collaborative in Scotland – PDSA Testing & Measurement
in Education, Health Care, Measurement, PDSA, VideosThe Early Years Collaborative in Scotland aims to make Scotland the ‘best place to grow up’ by improving the outcomes of children from prenatal care through entry into primary school. This includes focus on prenatal care, health and wellness, childhood development, parental engagement, and improving the family environment. David M. Williams, Ph.D. (@DaveWilliamsATX) supports the […]
Edutopia – Designers Agreement
in EducationI like this. It’s called the Designer’s Agreement, and I discovered it on a website called Edutopia which the George Lucus Educational Foundation sponsored. It includes information and great videos about applying design thinking to education improvement. Thanks to Sandy Speicher, former CEO at IDEO, for sharing the link. Designer’s Agreement 1. Everybody is a […]
Small Tests, Collaborative Learning, & Mr. Potato Head
in Education, Health CareFor the last few weeks, I have been testing an experiential exercise to quickly train large groups to use rapid cycle, small tests of change (i.e., PDSA cycles). The exercise involves teams learning through testing how to assemble a toy Mr. Potato Head. I modified the exercise after working with with Dr. Eric Dickson on the […]