The Measures Worksheet can help to establish consistency, transparency and ownership of the project measures. It clarifies what to measure, how to measure it, and what actions will be taken using the information provided by the measures.
Intro to QI: Project Charter
Measures
What is the Measures Section?
Measurement is a fundamental component of any improvement project. The Measures section of the Project Charter answers the question - "How will we know the change results in an improvement?"
The Measures Worksheet should be used when developing the Project Charter. The details of the measure identified in the Aim statement are examined using the Measures Worksheet so the project team can agree and clearly articulate the measure to others.
The Measures Worksheet should also be used whenever the team are agreeing on new outcome, process or balance measures. It should be regularly reviewed and updated when changes are made to an existing measure.
- OUTCOME measures take longer to change and may have confounding influences on the result.
- PROCESS measures are REAL-TIME indicators of how the service is performing NOW and can PREDICT FUTURE CHANGE in the Outcome measures.
For help in defining measures, review the high-level process flow map or cause and effect diagram.
How Can it Help?
Define Measures by Completing a Measures Worksheet
Step 1: Complete Measure names
For help in defining measures, review the high level process flow map or cause and effect diagram
Step 2: Identify the (Patient) Population
Specify inclusions and exclusions for the project
Step 3: Complete the Calculation Methodology
Define the calculation methodology for each measure, eg total count, percentage with numerator and denominator, averaged result
Step 4: Complete Data Source, Collection Frequency, Timing, Data Collector
- Is the data available electronically?
- Who is responsible for data collection?
Step 5: Complete Data Analysis Section
- What is the process for presenting results? What type of chart is envisaged?
- How often is the analysis completed and reviewed?
Example of a Completed Measures Worksheet
