Author: z617322

Driver Diagram

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TOOLKIT

Purpose
The purpose of a driver diagram is to identify which parts of a system needs to change in order to achieve an improvement aim. Through identifying which parts of a system contributes – or ‘drives’ - towards achieving an aim, this tool can be used to identify which parts of a system needs to change or be improved upon in order to achieve that improvement aim.

How to use the tool
Developing an Aim Statement: The first step of a successful driver diagram is to have a clear and achievable aim statement, concisely articulating what needs to be improved upon, how this will be measured, and by when will the improvement be delivered (for example, ‘Increase service users satisfaction to an average score of 8.5 by the end of this financial year’).
Primary Drivers: Between 2-5 ‘primary drivers’ should be developed identifying what the biggest, high level factors are that will impact on achieving the aim. For example, if the aim is to increase service user satisfaction, what are the main factors that could influence satisfaction (e.g key workers, progression). Common primary drivers include factors relating to processes, infrastructure, resources, staff capacity etc.
Secondary Drivers: These primary drivers then need to be broken down into subsections called ‘secondary drivers’, providing more detailed information on what factors influence the primary drivers, and ultimately the aim. Secondary drivers are less important or influential than primary drivers, but can still influence whether or not an aim will be achieved if an improvement to a secondary driver can be delivered.
Change Ideas: To identify how an improvement can be delivered, and therefore how an aim can be achieved, teams should use the driver diagram to generate ‘change ideas’ that can be tested to see if they influence the secondary drivers and ultimately the aim. All change ideas should have an effect on at least one Secondary Driver, and therefore, will ultimately help achieve the Aim. The change idea(s) that is likely to have the biggest impact on the aim should be prioritised for testing. It’s highly recommended that a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle is used to test and evaluate change ideas.
Top tip: To increase the quality of outcomes form this tool, it’s strongly encouraged that this is completed in collaboration by a team, allowing colleagues to ‘brainstorm’ ideas.

1. The improvement aim should be a concise sentence clearly stating what will be improved. The aim should be measureable, and should state when the improvement aim should be achieved.

3. After identifying the primary drivers, these should be broken down into subsections, or ‘secondary drivers’. These provide more detailed information on which factors influence primary drivers, and therefore can lead onto influencing the overall improvement aim.

2. A primary driver is a high-level factor that can influence on whether or not the aim will be achieved. These often include factors such as staff capacity, processes, infrastructure etc. Between 2-5 primary drivers should be identified for each aim.

4. Once the secondary drivers have been identified, those completing the driver diagram should then consider what specific change ideas could be implemented in order to influence the secondary drivers, and ultimately influence whether or not the aim is achieved.

General Example
The example below shows how a driver diagram has been used to generate change ideas that could support someone to achieve the aim of loosing weight.

This aim is clear, measurable and timebound, allowing this individual to clearly track their progress in loosing weight within the timeframe they have established.

Once this individual’s diet / eating habits has been identified as a secondary driver that can ultimately influence on whether or not they achieve their aim, they have developed change ideas on how to improve their diet / eating habits. The next step would be to test this in practice to see if not snacking, or tracking calories, did lead to them loosing weight.

This individual has identified 2 primary drivers—which are the main factors that could influence their aim (loosing weight). Once they have identified the two primary drivers that could influence whether or not they loose weight, they’re able to identify the secondary drivers which influence these primary drivers. In this example, the amount this individual exercises (secondary driver) will influence whether or not they are able to burn enough calories (primary driver) to loose weight (achieve their aim).

Blank Template
This blank template can be used to complete your own driver diagram. Feel free to input information on this document or print this off to complete it on paper. Click on a box to input text.