Leading Projects and Advancing Improvements

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ACCELERATED IMPROVEMENT PROCESS AT IUPUI Indiana
SHRM Conference Indianapolis, IN August 28-29,
2007 Marilyn Bedford, IUPUI Dan Griffith,
IUPUI With credit to Ann Zanzig, Office of
Quality Improvement University of
Wisconsin-Madison
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What is Accelerated Improvement ?

• An easily adaptable process improvement tool
  that
• empowers people to make effective improvements.
• focuses on process not people.
• leads to quick realization of improvements.
• improves organizational effectiveness.

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The Essentials of Accelerated Improvement are

• leadership commitment and support.
• expertise and knowledge of staff and customers
  most familiar with the process.
• well-defined implementation plans for doable
  solutions within a short period of time.

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How AIP Works

• Much of the work is done outside the formal
  meeting time
• Meeting time is concentrated into 2-3 structured
  meetings
• Meeting time is spent on generating solutions and
  action plans

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An Overview of the AIP Process
Pre-work Meetings
Define Team Meeting 1
Design Team Meeting 2
Check Progress Team Meeting 3
Team Meeting 4 If needed
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Create Your Team

• Pre-work Meetings
• Facilitator(s) meet with sponsor and team leaders

• Process Roles
• Project Sponsor
• Provides resources, guidance and commitment to
  the project
• Team Leader(s)
• Leads planning and preparation for meetings and
  coordinates the project
• Project Recorder
• Coordinates the documentation of the Accelerated
  Improvement project Optional
• Facilitator/Consultant(s)
• Partners with team leader to facilitate the
  Accelerated Improvement Process and to consult in
  other areas as needed (e.g. data collection,
  project report). Optional

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Pre-workMeetings
Facilitator(s) meets with project sponsor(s) to
define process issues and goals
Facilitator(s) meets with co-leaders of AIP team
Clarify roles, select team members
Notify team members and schedule team meetings
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DefineTeam Meeting 1
Establish good group procedures and Describe AIP
Chart current or ideal process Flow chart
Determine data needed and make Homework
assignments
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DesignTeam Meeting 2
Review feedback to initial chart and design
solutions
Identify other steps or feedback needed for
implementation
How will we check our progress? What are our
measures of success? Assign Homework.
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Check ProgressTeam Meeting 3
Review and refine process changes and solutions
Set implementation time-line
Develop check lists, step charts, etc.
Another meeting needed or begin implementation?
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Team Meeting 4 (if needed)
Review data about implementation
Address issues and concerns
Determine next steps
Determine sustainability
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Implement and follow your progress using the
following tools

• Flowchart
• Measures of Success
• Timelines

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• What is a flowchart?
• A flowchart is a picture showing steps and
  decisions in a process.

What is a process? A process is a series of
steps aimed at accomplishing something. Almost
everything we do is a part of a process.
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A Flowchart can be used to

• document a current process.
• document an ideal process.
• identify process bottlenecks and complexities.

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Flowchart Symbols
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Academic Advisor Data in ISIS Canceling a Major
(Undergraduate)
Process Flowcharting clarifies steps and shows
complexities.

• A Process Flowchart illustrates steps in a
  process from beginning to end.
• The steps are arranged according to the order in
  which they are completed.

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Top-Down Flowcharting can help you think of major
steps in a process.

• A Top-Down Flowchart illustrates the major steps
  of a process across the top of your diagram.
• All sub-steps are detailed under each major step.

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The Deployment Flowchart identifies how a process
moves across people and units.

• A Deployment Flowchart illustrates the process by
  identifying key players across the top of the
  diagram. Each step is detailed below the key
  player/s to clarify who (person/unit) is
  responsible.

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Implement and follow your progress using the
following tools
Flowchart Measures of Success Timelines
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• Measures of Success should tell us whether we
• achieved the results we expected.
• produced results we didnt want or expect.
• improved the process/es.

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Sample Measures of Success
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Implement and follow your progress using the
following tools
Flowchart Measures of Success Timelines
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A Gantt Chart encourages multiple tasking
simultaneously to complete a process as
effectively and efficiently as possible.

• Gantt Charts
• list all tasks according to time,
  regardless of order.
• allow you to think about doing each task
  as early as possible.
• enable maximum reduction of cycle time.

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Accelerated Improvement is a versatile tool that
can be customized to meet your planning process
and improvement needs.