by David M. Williams, Ph.D. Photo by İrfan Simsar on Unsplash Whether you are a leader in a new role or one wanting to reboot your current one, you need an approach to make your work visible, to assess current conditions, and make a game plan. Here is guidance to help. Reviewing key inputs A good […]
Using Your Vector of Measures to Guide Action
in Measurement, Quality as a Business Strategy (QBS), Systems, Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Figure. Vector of Measures Displayed in Shewhart Charts Source: Mecklenburg EMS Agency, Charlotte, NC, USA One of the toughest struggles for leaders is figuring out how to focus attention on the work that best serves the customer and will get the desired results. A great place to begin is your […]
Drilling Down into Aggregate Data
in Improvement Science, Measurement, Quality as a Business Strategy (QBS), Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Every organization tracks a family of measures with data from various moments of time. The list of indicators often blend measures created by leadership with a mix of from other sources like accreditation bodies, regulators, and benchmarking vendors. These data are usually at an aggregate level or minimally stratified by […]
Benchmarking – How do we compare?
in Health Care, Improvement Science, Measurement, Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. No one likes to talk about dying. Sudden death due to heart disease occurs 250,000 times a year in the United States. A person is just living their life and unexpectedly their heart stops. Just like that…you’re officially clinically dead. Not so fast. If this happens when you’re not […]
Problem-Solving by Learning From the Process
in Improvement Science, Knowledge, Systems, Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Photo by Bluehouse Skis on Unsplash Let’s face it…patient care documentation is not the most enjoyable aspect of clinical care delivery. It takes time, the electronic medical record isn’t user friendly, and caregivers have a lot going on. It’s no surprise improving clinical documentation is a common improvement opportunity for a […]
Control Charts – What’s in a name?
in Measurement, Tools & Methods, Variationby David M. Williams, Ph.D. Provost & Murray. (2010). Health Care Data Guide. Figure 14.18. P. 127 Have you taken one of those silly quizzes on social media that ask you to answer several questions and then it tells you what political candidate is most like you or what part of the country you’re from? […]
Hand Washing, Standard Work, and PDSA Testing
in Implementation, Improvement Science, PDSA, VariationBy David M Williams, PhD Photo by Curology on Unsplash Many changes we want to implement in daily practice appear obvious and simple. It’s easy to see why leaders want to jump to implementation. Just do it! We don’t need to waste time testing. Let’s just roll it out; people will adopt it. COVID-19 is requiring us to […]
Tracking Project Progress
in Measurement, Tools & MethodsBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Improvement projects follow a trajectory from forming a team and chartering through achieving sustainable results. Whether leading a single project or monitoring a portfolio, having a strategy for gauging project progress is useful in identifying projects that are stuck and in supporting movement forward. One useful tool the Institute for […]
Is the I Chart the only Shewhart SPC chart I really need?
in Measurementby David M. Williams, Ph.D. This is part of a series of blog posts on measurement for improvement. You can read them all here. Many authors and consultants join me in arguing for collecting data over time and displaying it in a time series chart like a run chart. Some also advocate for the added […]
What about qualitative data?
in Measurementby David M. Williams, Ph.D. This is part of a series of blog posts on measurement for improvement. You can read them all here. A core component of improvement work is understanding and learning from data. This can be new to many, and for some a little intimidating. One common assumption is that all data […]