Lesson 5: Testing Changes
Course: QI 102: The Model for Improvement: Your Engine for Change
By testing changes on a small scale and tracking your results as you go, you can see how your changes are affecting the process and how you might revise them for better results. This lesson will explain the reasoning behind the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle and demonstrate how it’s used to test changes sequentially. In this lesson, you will also conduct the first testing cycle of your own improvement project.
Estimated Time of Completion: 15 minutes
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[February 1, 2013]
Lesson Completion Score: 100%
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
1. Develop tests of change on a small scale, using the PDSA cycle.
2. Explain how to link PDSA cycles for iterative testing and refinement of a change.
3. State how to test several changes at the same time.
4. Propose and carry out a small test of change—the first PDSA—for your own personal improvement project.
Contributors
Author(s):
Lloyd Provost, MS, Statistician, Associates in Process Improvement View Profile
Robert Lloyd, PhD, Executive Director Performance Improvement, Institute for Healthcare Improvement View Profile
Sandra Murray, MA, Improvement Advisor, CT Concepts View Profile
Editor(s):
Deepa Ranganathan, Content Manager, Institute for Healthcare Improvement View Profile
Jane Roessner, PhD, Writer, Institute for Healthcare Improvement View Profile
Requirements
You must be a registered IHI.org user to take this lesson.
You must achieve a minimum score of 75% to successfully complete this lesson.