This is a comprehensive collection of proven quality, service improvement and redesign tools, theories and techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of situations. You can search the collection alphabetically for a specific tool or browse groups of tools using one of four categories.

• Tools by stage of project – our tools, theories and techniques for implementing a service improvement project, ordered by the stage of project you are at, eg start out, handing over and sustaining etc.
• Tools by type of task – our tools, theories and techniques associated with addressing specific tasks, eg mapping the process, thinking creatively etc.
• Tools by approach – our tools, theories and techniques linked to a specific approach, eg Lean, Six Sigma, analytical tools etc.
• Tools by patient pathway – our tools, theories and techniques that relate to the stages of the patient pathway.
• Full list of tools

Full list of tools

An A-Z list of all the tools, techniques and theories contained within our online library.

• 2 Steps down
• 6S (previously 5S)
• 30/60/90- day cycles
• Action plan
• Active listening
• Affinity diagram
• After action review
• Aims statement development
• Aligning improvement with strategic goals
• Balanced scorecard
• Benefits realisation
• Brainstorming
• Bullet proofing
• Cause and effect (fishbone diagram)
• Check sheet
• Clinical engagement
• Commitment, enrolment and compliance
• Communications matrix
• Creating a vision
• Demand and capacity – a comprehensive guide
• Demand and capacity – an overview
• Discharge planning
• Discomfort zone
• Discovery Model
• DNAs – reducing ‘Did Not Attends’
• Driver diagrams (tree diagrams)
• Engagement and empowerment
• Enhanced recovery
• Flow – reduce unnecessary waits
• Fresh eyes
• Gateway criteria
• Glenday sieve – runners, repeaters, strangers
• Healthcare leadership model
• Histogram
• How to understand differences between individuals
• Identifying frustrating problems
• Influence Model
• Issues and risks management
• Leading improvement: an overview
• Leading improvement framework
• Lean – Ohno’s eight wastes
• Length of stay – reducing length of stay
• Lens of Profound Knowledge
• Lessons learnt
• Managing conflict
• Mapping the last 10 patients
• Mapping the process – an overview
• Mapping: value stream
• Measurement for improvement: an overview
• Model for measuring quality care (structure, process, outcome and balancing measures)
• Modelling and simulation
• Overcoming barriers
• Pareto analysis
• Partnership working with health service users
• Patient information
• Patient stories
• Performance management
• Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles and the model for improvement
• Process mapping – a conventional model
• Process templates
• Project charter, brief or mandate
• Project initiation document (PID)
• Project management: an overview
• Public narrative
• Reducing cancelled operations
• Reliable design
• Report on progress
• Resistance – enabling collaboration by working with it
• Responsibility charting
• Reviving a stalled effort
• Role redesign
• Root cause analysis using five whys
• Run charts
• Safe to fail experiments
• Same day elective care- treat day surgery as the norm
• Same day emergency care (ambulatory emergency care)
• SBAR communication tool- Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendation
• Scatter diagram (correlation)
• Seven steps to measurement for improvement
• Simple rules – provocation
• Simple rules and breaking them
• Six Thinking Hats®
• Spaghetti diagram
• Stakeholder analysis
• Stakeholder involvement: an overview
• Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• Supporting people through change – an overview
• Sustainability Model
• Sustaining momentum
• That’s impossible!
• Theory of constraints
• Thinking creatively to solve problems – an overview
• Tracer study
• Variation – how to manage it