Plan

Identify who, what, when, and where

Build on the thinking you've already done as part of getting your project approved. If you need to, it's fine to rethink or change something you put on your pre-approval form.

The project team

• Identify who will work on the project and how they will work together.

Confirm:

• who the project lead is
• what the other roles are and who will fill them
• how often meetings will happen.

If your project has evolved from the original concept, you might need to adjust who is on the team.

You'll probably want to bring the group together to ensure everyone's buy-in, if you haven't already. Initial discussions will make sure all members are enthusiastic and informed about the goal, and will help identify any difficulties you haven't thought of.

Confirm how you're going to collect data

There are two main types of data – it's good to use both if you can:

• Quantitative – numerical data tells you the facts – what happened.

  Numerical data can be measured or counted (e.g. in percentages, statistics, totals). It is also called quantitative data. It gives results that tell you:

  • how many
  • how much
  • how often.
• Qualitative – descriptive data can tell you what people feel – why something happened.

  Descriptive data is non-statistical and doesn't use hard numbers. It is also called qualitative data. It is often gathered from:

  • observation and notes
  • conversations and interviews
  • surveys with open questions.

You should already have some quantitative data – the baseline measure you identified during your initial planning.

At a minimum, you should repeat the same collection after making changes so you can see if your project is having an effect. You may also choose to take measurements at regular intervals.

Qualitative data can give you a fuller picture, and help you understand why your results look the way they do.

When identifying what data to collect, remember to use an equity lens. Are you collecting data in a way that will enable you to identify equity outcomes?

Create a road map

Identify all the steps – who will do what, and when.

This step should build on the initial planning you did to identify a project and define your aim.

It's best to have a written strategy with actions and timeframes, so everyone on the team knows what's expected of them.

Having a written process will also help you see how and when to allocate resources and staff time.

To create your plan, identify:

• each step you need to take
• who will do each step
• when each step should be done.

Some tools that can help you visualise relationships between the problem, your proposed changes, and your aim are:

• fishbone diagram – also known as an Ishikawa, or cause-and-effect diagram
• driver diagram – visually shows which parts of a system need to change in order to achieve a quality improvement goal.

Ideally your plan will be a living document. At your meetings, use it to review progress.