PDCA Cycles Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D.

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1 PDCA Cycles Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D.
In this section we discuss how leaders of organization can prepare the organization for process improvement. These slides were organized by Dr. Alemi.

2 1-4 Leaders 5-10 Teams Last time we covered the steps that organizational leaders need to take to create a conducive environment for process improvement. This time we cover the remaining steps. We focus on steps 5 through 10, steps that process improvement teams take to change the organization for the better.

3 4. Define Problem Central & Important
Lets start with a review of the last step taken by organizational leaders. In step 4 the organizational unit responsible for quality improvement assigns an important problem to the improvement team. They invite an interdisciplinary team to address the problem and schedule the first meeting of the team.

4 4. Define Problem No Solution
They state the problem without suggesting a solution.

5 4. Define Problem Patient Experience
They provide benchmark data on patient experiences,

6 4. Define Problem No Blame blame no group for the events

7 4. Define Problem Gap & Opportunity
define the problem both as a gap and an opportunity.

8 4. Define Problem Gap & Opportunity Next?
Now it is the responsibility of the improvement team to make progress and we will describe the steps in their efforts in the remainder of these slides

9 5. Select Team Process Owners
The quality team puts together a team to address the problem. It is important to rely on process owners, these are people directly involved in the process that we are trying to improve. Keep in mind that the team should be interdisciplinary. Include physicians, nurses, other clinicians and managers. Make sure that management is included otherwise important system perspectives would be lost. Each team is expected to organize their own meetings. For each meeting they are expected to have a timekeeper, agenda and end the meeting with an evaluation.

10 6. Describe Process Process Flow Chart
The first step in understanding the problem is flow-charting the process. Flow-charting documents the process. This is useful for communicating the team's understanding to others. Flowcharting also creates a shared understanding of the process among the team members.

11 6. Describe Process No Jump to Solution
One important purpose of flow charting is to fight the common tendency among team members to jump to solutions before the problem is well understood. Flow charting delays the brainstorming and evaluation of solutions.

12 6. Describe Process Really, you do that?
Often team members are surprised at how much more goes into a process besides what they knew.

13 6. Describe Process Include in Storyboard
Flow charting is a visual step that when communicated through story boards reassures employees that the team understood the process.

14 7. Select Solution Delay Evaluation
There should be an organized approach for collecting ideas, listing them and evaluating them. Often people express an idea and evaluate it immediately afterwards. Research shows that brainstorming ideas before evaluating them is more productive: more ideas are expressed and better ideas are expressed.

15 7. Select Solution Brain Storming
In brainstorming the facilitator goes around the room and ask each person to suggest an idea. Once a large set has been collected, then the group discusses the criteria that might be used to evaluate the ideas. They rate, discuss and rate the ideas again.

16 8. Gather Data Control Charts
Many proposals fail to solve the problem at hand. It is important to gather data concerning how the intervention has solved the problem. Such data can be used to alert the team that a successful solution has been found. Data is needed because intuitions could be misleading. Data are also needed to show and tell. Data needs to be collected over time to make sure that the process is improving over time. These type of data are usually displayed using control charts. If the data does not show that the problem has been solved, the team needs to continue examining other solutions. Pilot testing and gathering data on improvement is also useful for helping other employees believe in the team's recommendations. Learning organizations need to allow for testing new ideas, even if these ideas are subsequently discarded.

17 Mass Media & Storyboards
9. Show & Tell Mass Media & Storyboards Effective change requires clear communications. One way to communicate effectively to large number of employees is through mass media. Internal marketing efforts are an example of using mass media to change employee behavior and to improve adoption of new innovations. In these efforts a central theme is used to sell larger more complex issues. In addition, various media are used to reach as many employees as possible. Effective use of media could include newsletters, video tapes, , voice mail, written letters, and other communications. One of the methods that we discuss in depth in this section is the bulletin story board. Even though we discuss this approach in depth, it certainly is not the only medium available for communicating the results of the tests.

18 9. Show & Tell Unfolding Story
In organizing a storyboard it is important to break the presentation into smaller units, distribute the story publicly and add to the story as the team progresses. The key objective an unfolding story is to actively get feedback from people not in the team.

19 10. Spread Success Market the Results
Organization leaders and team members work together to spread successful improvements from one unit to other units. They work on barriers to adoption. It is not enough to argue the pros and cons of an action. You need to address the emotional content of change, how people would feel afterwards. You need to put in place strategies that go beyond self-interest and focus on perception of the new process.

20 Teams Work on Cycles of Improvements