Improvement Teams

The goals of this module are to provide an overview of the characteristics and benefits of an improvement team for quality improvement (QI) work, the functioning roles and responsibilities of the various team members, and the stages of growth as a team evolves into a cohesive entity with a single focus. The module also provides strategies, tools, and additional resources that experienced QI teams use to become effective and successful in achieving their aims. The following is an overview of each section’s content:

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: The Power of Teams

Part 3: Selecting Members for a Team

Part 4: Defining Roles and Responsibilities

Part 5: Stages of Team Growth

Part 6: Tips from Successful Teams

Part 7: Supporting Information

Part 1: Introduction 

Improvement work within an organization is typically coordinated through an improvement team, also known as a quality improvement (QI) team. The effectiveness of the QI process often depends on the ability of the improvement team members to work well together, as well as with others within the organization. This module describes:

• The importance of an improvement team in QI projects
• How to choose effective members for a QI team
• Roles and responsibilities of an improvement team’s members
• Tips from successful improvement teams

The purpose of a QI plan is to describe the targeted quality improvement activities for an organization. Often, quality improvement activities are distributed across multiple QI projects. These QI projects should have a clearly defined aim statement. The aim statement should specify resource constraints, reporting frequency, and pertinent ground rules for completing the project. The work of the QI project is accomplished by a team of individuals, which is the QI team. In order for a QI team to be successful, there must be clear objectives to guide its activities, explicit support from its leadership, and the resources necessary to complete the project. Additional information on QI plans can be found in the Developing and Implementing a QI Plan module.